Young John Quincy

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

As she did in Three Young Pilgrims , Harness here relies as much on her ample storytelling skills as on her impressive artistic abilities to tell this edifying story of John Quincy Adams's early years. The narrative opens in the spring of 1775, as eight-year-old Johnny helps with the chores in his family's Massachusetts farmhouse while his father attends the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. The author chronicles the boy's home life, alluding to the historical events leading up to the outbreak of the American Revolution. The highlights of the war are then accessibly recapped with the help of paintings and illustrated maps embellished with painstakingly lettered notations about key incidents and individuals. Completing the volume, a brief account of Adams's adult years mentions his tour as a diplomat, his single term as the sixth president and his service in the House of Representatives until his death in 1848. Ages 5-10. ( Mar. )

Children's Literature - Susie Wilde

Young John Quincy by Harness tells the story of the sixth president of the United States by writing about what it was like during his childhood. John Quincy grew up on a farm that his mother ran while his father was dashing off to the Second Continental Congress. John lived during the time when the excitement of soldiers and a new government were all around him. No wonder he grew up to be president!

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4-The author/illustrator of Three Young Pilgrims (Bradbury, 1992) here offers a lively look at Adams's childhood. Filled with historical detail, the story also gives an introduction to the causes behind and the outcome of the American Revolution. The New England countryside and the streets of Boston are effectively portrayed in the well-written narrative, captions, and beautifully rendered watercolors. In describing the memorable events affecting Adams and his family, text and pictures also provide valuable information on and insights into colonial life. Maps and a bibliography complete the package. Attractive and accessible, Young John Quincy joins Jean Fritz's popular titles in helping young readers understand and appreciate history.-Cyrisse Jaffee, formerly at Newton Public Schools, MA

Carolyn Phelan

Meet John Quincy Adams, eight years old and living on his family farm in 1775. Pa's away at the Congress in Philadelphia but drops in or sends a letter from time to time to keep everyone (characters and readers) informed on the road to independence. With an uneasy mixture of fact and fiction, this book takes on too much: it tells about the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution, introduces readers to the Adams family, and shows how the war affected their lives on the home front. Meanwhile, the prologue and epilogue fill in the historical background facts, the maps are cluttered with hand-lettered fast facts, and the story sinks under the weight of the information cargo it tries to carry. The book's most successful feature is its artwork: panoramic watercolor paintings that give the period an appealing air and the people real personality. There's an exuberance in the pictures that elevates the text. Despite its flaws, libraries may want to have copies of this on hand for teachers seeking picture books set in the period.