Thomas Jefferson: A Picture Book Biography

This a good book for intermediate children on up. The author knows how to write to inform without a lot of fluff. Thomas Jefferson was a very complicated man. He lost his wife after only 10 years of marriage, his grief over this lasted 6 months, and then into the political man that we all have learned and loved. Yet, his inner man struggled with equality of each person, especially with the black slaves that he owned. In many memoirs, he expresses this thought-provoking justice, yet he does not free those slaves. In examining Thomas Jefferson, it should allow us to examine ourselves, as the inner-person struggles on the deep pains of the heart.

My second-grader decided to research Thomas Jefferson for a school report. I ordered this book and was quite pleased. It has lots of good information without being wordy. In the back of the book is a two-page spread of quotes from Jefferson, as well as a timeline of his life. The illustrations are beautiful! Highly recommended.