The Founding Fathers! illustrated by Barry Blitt Atheneum, 2015
TWO STARRED REVIEWS...!
* "Winter's folksy narrative manages to give each of the founders both dignity and humanity. Blitt's signature style is perfectly suited to this droll enterprise.... Wonderful for future constitutional scholars and other curious young readers." (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) Read the review
*"Blitt’s pen-and-ink caricatures are right in line with Winter’s playful tone, as he pokes fun at Washington, Paine, and others, while giving readers a strong understanding of why these figures’ contributions to the developing nation were so significant." (Publishers Weekly,starred review) Read the review
"This comprehensive yet lighthearted compendium of facts about the founding fathers — one gentleman on each two-page spread — has the great bonus of Barry Blitt’s illustrations, with their nervy, dancing pen-and-ink lines and softly frenetic watercolor washes. Winter’s tone strives to be approachable (“Basically, the founding fathers’ opinions were all over the map”) without shying away from the tough stuff, like that many of the liberty-loving founders owned slaves." (The New York Times Book Review) Read the review
"By breaking down the fusty sounding group Winter brings the individuals — quirky, fierce, and united in their passion to build a country — to life." (The Boston Globe) Read the review
"In a series of two-page spreads, Winter and Blitt provide 14 of the nation’s founding fathers, detailing their accomplishments, hypocrisies, and humanity.... Winter’s informal, occasionally irreverent narrative pairs beautifully with Blitt’s practiced political cartoonship. Individually, the pieces offer indelible depictions of these sometimes heroes that respect and skewer them in equal measure. Taken together, they deliver a revolutionary Revolutionary history that defies simplification to honor the profound complexities of the origins of the United States." (Booklist)
