Why Don't You Get a Horse, Sam Adams?

Oliver Cromwell wanted Sir Peter Lely to paint him "warts and all," showing who he really was. Jean Fritz's wonderful biography, Why Don't You Get a Horse, Sam Adams? apparently does the same for a Founding Father. Sam Adams' attitudes revealed in this history book for young readers may be somewhat objectionable to some, however, it is important to note that people are the product of the time and society in which they live. Adams is no different. This is our history, and you cannot tell the truth with lies. Jean Fritz's book is both humorous and accurate. Let us never lose signt of the need for accuracy, despite our objections to what truth may be.

Fritz has the rare talent of making historical figures more than interesting. She makes them human. Immersing the usual boring caricatures of her subjects in the small true stories that she has discovered in their lives, she gives us an entirely different way of looking at our American heroes. In this book, her talent for storytelling has been expertly paired with Trina Schart Hyman's intricate and intriguing pencil drawings. Sam Adams suddenly becomes somebody you'd like to sit down and have a mug of Guinness with. Without a doubt he is boisterous and a bit of a braggart. But he's also a great man, and this book never looses sight of the fact that, though ridiculous at times, Adams did great things and deserves to be remembered for them. There is little debate that Fritz's books remain some of the best historical children's biographies today. I well remember her stories from when I was a child myself, though I half wish Hyman illustrated ALL her books. This book would be absolutely perfect to teach to children during Revolutionary War history classes. Pairing it with all of Fritz's books would also be an exceptionally bright idea.

Many years ago I did a report on Samuel Adams for school. This book by Jean Fritz helped me get a high grade. It did not give me the impression that people who are smarter should be excused from being a soldier or any other ideas. In fact I enjoyed it so much that to this day I love learning about the American Revolution, because Jean Fritz made learning fun for me. I suggest that everyone read it.

I liked this book, and found that what the previous review objected to was not the author's ideas, but Sam Adams. I think that it is important to remember that most of the Founding Fathers were not the idealistic gods that we hold them up to be. Many owned slaves, many beleived that as intellectuals, they were too good for battle. It's important that kids realize that not everything is black and white, and just because a book portrays a historical figure accurately, doesn't mean you're going to like them. While Sam Adams is an elitist full of quirks, he was a great thinker and an idealist, and Jean Fritz portrays him as such.