Roger Williams: Founder of Rhode Island

Children's Literature

Compass Point's "Signature Lives" series includes biographies of early colonial leaders. In nine chapters the book explores the subject's life and accomplishments with illustrations taken from paintings and prints newly colored for greater appeal. Without attribution of artist, date, or purpose, teen readers will need to be reminded that many of the images are not the work of eyewitnesses; instead, they often reflect later times and attitudes. Williams (1603-1683) was well educated and started his career as a chaplain to a Puritan family. Persecution of dissenters drove him to Massachusetts, where he came to believe in the complete separation of religion and government. His radical ideas led to expulsion from the Massachusetts Bay colony. Moving south, he founded the town of Providence and later obtained a royal charter for the colony of Rhode Island. Burgan describes Williams's many ideological conflicts--with other Puritan colonists, with Quakers, even with his own brother. Through it all, he held fast to his belief in the right to freedom of worship and to his advocacy for the Indians' right to their own land, though he reluctantly became involved in the savage King Philip's War with the Wampanoags. Williams's important legacy was a firm insistence on the right to freedom of conscience and the separation of church and state. For young adults who are at all interested in these early times, the biographies will be useful despite a few deficiencies of grammar and style. Extra features are a time line, a bibliography, a glossary, and Williams's "Life at a Glance." 2006, Compass Point, Ages 12 up.
—Barbara L. Talcroft

School Library Journal

Gr 7-9-Each biography includes a chronology of the subject's life and the significant events of his times, a chart of quick facts, and an extensive index. The books are enlivened with full-color paintings, sketches, maps, and photographs. In the first title, Winthrop's concern for religious freedom is portrayed, as is his belief that Puritan precepts should be the laws of the people. Williams recounts the life of a man determined to separate the church from the affairs of the state. In the third book, Somervill tells the story of William Penn and his struggle to find a place to worship without persecution. All three books discuss why the men left England, their joys and trials in the New World, and their search to find the perfect colony. While not especially lively, the narratives offer clear pictures of life in Colonial times.-Delia Carruthers, Sunset Ridge Middle School, West Jordan, UT Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.