Why Don't You Get a Horse, Sam Adams?

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Paperback
$6.99 US
On sale Sep 09, 1996 | 48 Pages | 9780698114166

This lively biography, by Newbery Honor-winning author Jean Fritz, is a nice, personal look at a leader and his times.

In early America, when all the men wore ruffled shirts and rode grandly on horseback, one man refused to follow suit. He was the rebel leader Sam Adams, a plainspoken gent who scorned ruffles, refused to ride a horse, and had little regard for the King.

Acclaimed biographer, Jean Fritz, was born in China to American missionaries on November 16, 1915. Living there until she was almost thirteen sparked a lifelong interest in American history.  She wrote about her childhood in China in Homesick, My Own Story, a Newbery Honor Book and winner of the National Book Award.
     Ms. Fritz was the author of forty-five books for children and young people. Many center on historical American figures, gaining her a reputation as the premier author of biographies for children and young people.
     Among the other prestigious awards Ms. Fritz has garnered are: the  National Endowment for the Humanities Medal, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, the May Hill Arbuthnot Lecture Award. the Christopher Award, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Non-Fiction Award, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and many ALA Notable Books of the Year, School Library Journal Best Books of the Year, and ALA Booklist Editors’ Choice Awards.
     She passed away on May 14, 2017. 

View titles by Jean Fritz
Trina Schart Hyman was a children's book illustrator for more than 30 years. Hyman graduated from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1960. She won the 1985 Caldecott Medal for her work on Margaret Hodges' book Saint George and the Dragon. Hyman was one of the first white illustrators along with Ezra Jack Keats to regularly incorporate black characters into her illustrations. She spent the last 10 years of her life with her romantic partner, Jean K. Aull, and passed away in 2004. View titles by Trina Schart Hyman
Praise for Why Don't You Get a Horse, Sam Adams?

★"The factual narration derives humor from amusing details... and Trina Schart Hyman's charcoal drawings put the incidents into clever perspective." —School Library Journal, starred review

★"A brisk, knowledgeable glimpse of how Samuel Adams got 'ready for history. "' —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"[Fritz's] story very effectively describes the start of colonial dissent as she deftly and humorously pictures the reluctant rider. The illustrations have a corresponding blend of raffish, funny details and historical accuracy." —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Adams emerges a marvelously funny and believable man. The illustrations play upon his foibles; they are,n fact, even more outrageously mocking than the text. . . A tour de force, for both author and illustrator." —Horn Book

An ALA Notable Children's Book

A New York Public Library Children's Books: 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
Hom Book Fanfare title
A Library of Congress ''Children's Books of the Year"
A Kirkus Choice Book

About

This lively biography, by Newbery Honor-winning author Jean Fritz, is a nice, personal look at a leader and his times.

In early America, when all the men wore ruffled shirts and rode grandly on horseback, one man refused to follow suit. He was the rebel leader Sam Adams, a plainspoken gent who scorned ruffles, refused to ride a horse, and had little regard for the King.

Author

Acclaimed biographer, Jean Fritz, was born in China to American missionaries on November 16, 1915. Living there until she was almost thirteen sparked a lifelong interest in American history.  She wrote about her childhood in China in Homesick, My Own Story, a Newbery Honor Book and winner of the National Book Award.
     Ms. Fritz was the author of forty-five books for children and young people. Many center on historical American figures, gaining her a reputation as the premier author of biographies for children and young people.
     Among the other prestigious awards Ms. Fritz has garnered are: the  National Endowment for the Humanities Medal, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, the May Hill Arbuthnot Lecture Award. the Christopher Award, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Non-Fiction Award, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and many ALA Notable Books of the Year, School Library Journal Best Books of the Year, and ALA Booklist Editors’ Choice Awards.
     She passed away on May 14, 2017. 

View titles by Jean Fritz
Trina Schart Hyman was a children's book illustrator for more than 30 years. Hyman graduated from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1960. She won the 1985 Caldecott Medal for her work on Margaret Hodges' book Saint George and the Dragon. Hyman was one of the first white illustrators along with Ezra Jack Keats to regularly incorporate black characters into her illustrations. She spent the last 10 years of her life with her romantic partner, Jean K. Aull, and passed away in 2004. View titles by Trina Schart Hyman

Praise

Praise for Why Don't You Get a Horse, Sam Adams?

★"The factual narration derives humor from amusing details... and Trina Schart Hyman's charcoal drawings put the incidents into clever perspective." —School Library Journal, starred review

★"A brisk, knowledgeable glimpse of how Samuel Adams got 'ready for history. "' —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"[Fritz's] story very effectively describes the start of colonial dissent as she deftly and humorously pictures the reluctant rider. The illustrations have a corresponding blend of raffish, funny details and historical accuracy." —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Adams emerges a marvelously funny and believable man. The illustrations play upon his foibles; they are,n fact, even more outrageously mocking than the text. . . A tour de force, for both author and illustrator." —Horn Book

An ALA Notable Children's Book

A New York Public Library Children's Books: 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
Hom Book Fanfare title
A Library of Congress ''Children's Books of the Year"
A Kirkus Choice Book

Books for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Each May, we honor the stories, histories, and cultures of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Below is a selection of acclaimed fiction and nonfiction books by AANHPI creators to share with your students this month and throughout the year. Find our full collection of titles for Higher Education here.

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