Discovering a Founding Father

books:

	• Now & Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin Gene Barretta Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), 2006 - 40 pages average customer review:based on 7 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Discovering a Founding Father

As the book opens, the endpapers display a timeline noting Franklin's numerous inventions and progressive ideas.

Barretta's opening illustration depicts Franklin's many roles as a writer, diplomat, printer, musician, postmaster humorist, scientist, inventor, traveler, philosopher, cartoonist, statesman inscribed on cobblestones while Ben stands on the cobblestones, framed in a style reminiscent of the one hundred dollar bill.

The book describes Franklin's inventions and concepts and depicts how those ideas are still in use in the present.

Experiments with lightning lead to the invention of the lightning rod. A store clerk uses the Grabber for grabbing a box of cereal that is out of reach, while on the opposing page Franklin uses his Long Arm to reach a book high on a shelf.

His See Far/See Near became today's bifocals and his improvements to fireplace design helped move smoke out of houses. He designed the first clock with a second hand and as the reader looks at a school bus driver checking the mileage on the odometer and we see Ben's odometer on a cart which was used while he was postmaster general to measure postal routes.

Barretta shares the information with humor. We see an alarm clock buzzing at 6 a.m. with the moon still high in sky while bleary eyed kids struggle to struggle to wake up. Franklin advocated the idea of daylight savings as a means to save candles and gain more daylight for farmers.

Benjamin Franklin is the Founding Father of choice to study in depth here in 5th grade. His extraordinary life lends itself to many areas of the curriculum. This is terrifically engaging nonfiction picture book that would be great fun to share with students.

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Very nice book!

This cleverly written and nicely illustrated book was enjoyed by my son, and taught me several things about Ben Franklin I didn't know! It shows how Ben's cool ideas are still in use today, without feeling like a history lesson.

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Now & Ben

This book has great illustrations. The students I teach spent time looking through all of the details. The stories are accurate and include a fun sense of humor. Students from grade 4-6 also enjoyed the book.

Pleasingly Inventive

Mr. Barretta offers an abundance of pages that make this book a worthwhile purchase. Properly bound, the hardcover edition is chock-full of finely detailed drawings that will grab your child's attention.

Packed with illustrations and information about Benjamin Franklin, Now & Ben offers readers, both young and older, insight into our nation's most creative Founding Father!

At turns surprising and common sensical, this volume, a generous 40 pages, continues to stimulate and entertain my children (and me!) with Franklin's contributions that permeate our lives daily.

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reviews: page 1, 2

The inventions and inspiration of Benjamin Franklin and how they?ve stood the test of time What would you do if you lived in a community without a library, hospital, post office, or fire department? If you were Benjamin Franklin, you?d set up these organizations yourself. Franklin also designed the lightning rod, suggested the idea of daylight savings time, and invented bifocals?all inspired by his common sense and intelligence. In this informative book, Gene Barretta brings Benjamin Franklin?s genius to life, deepening our appreciation for one of the most influential figures in American history.

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