The Blacksmith

I wish more children's books were written like this! The author uses a writing style that can easily be understood by children, but includes a high level of technical detail. You see the inner workings of a bellows, the steps in making an iron ladle, and the measures a blacksmith takes to keep his anvil from falling over on his foot. You also learn how colonial cooks use a crane and trammel to adjust the heat applied to a pot of stew, and how stirrups and bridles are used to control horses. The book has a table of contents, glossary, and index. There are many illustrations with labels and captions. Some illustrations are color drawings, aothers are photographs of people in period costume performing tasks. Here is an example of the writing style: "A blacksmith had to know how to control the size and temperature of a fire. He judged the temperature by the fire's color and adjusted its heat to suit each task. A dull red fire was best for smoothing iron without changing its shape. A white-hot fire made iron the most flexible." I think this book would work nicely for kids as young as kindergarten to browse through with an adult, or for kids from 8-10 years old to read by themselves.

Bobbie Kalman presents the life, work and tools of a colonial blacksmith in an easy-to-read manner. This author's work is almost as good as a visit to a living history museum, and would also make excellent preparation for a family or class trip! The information is presented in logical sequences and illustrated with beautiful paintings and photographs, so that readers can see the importance of the blacksmith trade in colonial society, and how it touched everyone's lives back then. The blacksmith made life eaier in the kitchen, the home, the farm, working with animals, etc. This is an accurate history made accessable for students.