James Madison Book Award Winner, 2008
The Many Rides of Paul RevereAuthor: James Cross Giblin
Publisher: Scholastic Press/Scholastic Inc.
The Many Rides of Paul Revere transports young readers back in time to the world of this legendary American patriot who is perhaps best known for his famed midnight ride in 1775 before the Battles of Lexington and Concord. In this engaging biography, James Cross Giblin shapes a more complete image of Paul Revere, following him from his early days training to be a craftsman in his French immigrant father’s workshop to his fervent and daring involvement in the colonists’ fight for independence from Britain. Children ages nine through twelve will be surprised to learn that in addition to being an expert silversmith and serving as “Messenger of the Revolution,” Revere did everything from making false teeth to engraving cartoons and paper money to casting church bells. Rich with archival prints and paintings and enhanced by an abundance of useful backmatter, this handsome book is an exciting ride through the American Revolution with one of the era’s great heroes.
Press Release: Lynne Cheney Announces 2008 James Madison Book Award Winner and Lifetime Achievement Award
James Madison Lifetime Achievement Award
Albert Marrin
Winner of the 2005 James Madison Book Award for Old Hickory: Andrew Jackson and the American People and author of the 2007 James Madison Honor Book Saving the Buffalo, Albert Marrin has made a career of bringing knowledge and understanding of American history to children. A former junior high school social studies teacher, and now a professor emeritus of history at Yeshiva University, he has written more than two dozen nonfiction books for young people. His latest achievement is The Great Adventure: Theodore Roosevelt and the Rise of Modern America (Dutton Children’s Books/Penguin Young Readers Group), a dual portrait of a pivotal American leader and the rapidly changing times in which he lived. Middle school students will be absorbed by the vivacity of our nation’s 26th president, who once proclaimed, “The greatest doer must also be a great dreamer.” This sparkling text is punctuated by well-selected contemporary black and white photographs and cartoons.
James Madison Honor Books, 2008
Black and White Airmen: Their True HistoryAuthor: John Fleischman
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
In Black and White Airmen, John Fleishman examines racism in America and the war in Europe through the remarkable story of a friendship that almost wasn’t. The paths of John Leahr and Herb Heilbrun crossed many times during their childhood: they were born in the same year in the same city, they lived in the same neighborhood, they attended the same elementary school, and in the third grade, they were even in the same class. But despite these similarities, John and Herb were not friends due to the color barriers of the time. John was black and Herb was white. Both men went on to serve as U.S. Army fighter pilots during World War II, but it was only fifty years later that they met again and became best friends. Young adult readers with an interest in military aviation will especially enjoy the many photographs, diagrams, and maps in this book that recount the different, but sometimes shared experiences of two brave airmen during the Second World War.
Down the Colorado: John Wesley Powell, the One-Armed ExplorerAuthor: Deborah Kogan Ray
Publisher: Frances Foster Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Drawing on firsthand accounts and interspersing her text with quotes from the daily journal kept by John Wesley Powell, Deborah Kogan Ray skillfully describes the historic 1869 expedition that followed the Colorado River to the end of the Grand Canyon. A minister’s son, Powell was enthralled by the wonders of the natural world from a young age and was determined to study science, despite his father’s protests and the loss of his right arm below the elbow during the Civil War. This thrilling tale of his journey from Green River City in Wyoming Territory to the Virgin River in Arizona Territory will captivate students in grades three through six as they encounter raging waters, scorching temperatures, damaged boats, and dwindling supplies alongside Powell and his crew. With soft illustrations in muted tones of red, orange, and brown, Down the Colorado captures the rugged beauty and exhilaration of the western landscape.
The Snow Baby: The Arctic Childhood of Admiral Robert E. Peary’s Daring DaughterAuthor: Katherine Kirkpatrick
Publisher: Holiday House
Born in a house covered with tar paper on an icy bay in northern Greenland, Marie Ahnighito Peary was destined to have a childhood like no other. As the daughter of renowned explorer Robert E. Peary, Marie lived for months without sunlight, dressed in a fox skin coat and seal skin boots, and had sled dog puppies and Inuit children as her companions. Katherine Kirkpatrick’s book is full of details that will appeal to her young audience. Through Marie’s story, readers learn about Admiral Peary’s valiant struggle to be the first man to reach the North Pole and about the price that heroism can exact on families. Designed in colors of white, blue, and silver, The Snow Baby channels the Arctic environment. Children ages eight to twelve will delight in its photos, all of which look like they came straight from the Peary family album.
Whale Port: A History of TuckanucketAuthor: Mark Foster
Illustrator: Gerald Foster
Publisher: Walter Lorraine Books/Houghton Mifflin Company
Whale Port traces the fictional village of Tuckanucket from 1683 to the present day, chronicling in historically accurate detail the evolution of the whaling industry and its importance to the development of New England towns. When settlers discover that the whales that occasionally wash ashore are a valuable source of blubber and baleen for trade, they know that their future and their livelihood is on the sea. Students in grades five through seven will observe with interest as Tuckanucket grows and changes in response to the needs of the whale fisherman and their profitable new business. The Fosters’ informative writing and engrossing illustrations bring to life this vibrant community, the people who inhabit it, and the challenges they face. Secondary text provides fascinating facts about a variety of more technical topics, such as building whaleboats, the many uses for sperm oil, and the management of the wharf.
Read about the 2007 James Madison Book Award Winner