Thomas Jefferson's Battle for Science

Bias, Truth, and a Mighty Moose!

Illustrated by Jeremy Holmes
Look inside
Hardcover
$18.99 US
On sale May 14, 2024 | 48 Pages | 9781635926200
Thomas Jefferson is one of the most famous founding fathers, but did you know that his mind was always on science? This STEM/STEAM picture book tells how Jefferson’s scientific thinking and method battled against faulty facts and bias to prove that his new nation was just as good as any in the Old World.

Young Thomas Jefferson loved to measure the natural world: plants and animals, mountains and streams, crops and weather. With a notepad in his pocket, he constantly examined, experimented, and explored. He dreamed of making great discoveries like the well-known scientific author, Count Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon.

But when Buffon published an encyclopedia of the natural world, Jefferson was furious! According to the French count, America was cold and swampy, and filled with small and boring animals, nothing like the majestic creatures of the OId World. Jefferson knew Buffon had never even been to America. Where had Buffon gotten his information? Had he cherry-picked the facts to suit his arguments? Was he biased in favor of Europe?

How could Jefferson prove Buffon wrong? By using scientific inquiry, of course! This first picture book to emphasize Jefferson’s use of scientific methods is an accessible and entertaining approach to a lesser-known side of Jefferson.
© Tina Wood
Beth Anderson, a former teacher, combines her love of writing with the joys of discovery and learning in her narrative nonfiction and historical fiction picture books. Visit bethandersonwriter.com. View titles by Beth Anderson
Jeremy Holmes is an internationally renowned children's book illustrator whose work has received numerous awards and starred reviews from critics. He won the prestigious BolognaRagazzi Opera Prima Award (2010) for his debut book There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. Visit jeremyholmesstudio.com. View titles by Jeremy Holmes

Educator Guide for Thomas Jefferson's Battle for Science

Classroom-based guides appropriate for schools and colleges provide pre-reading and classroom activities, discussion questions connected to the curriculum, further reading, and resources.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

About

Thomas Jefferson is one of the most famous founding fathers, but did you know that his mind was always on science? This STEM/STEAM picture book tells how Jefferson’s scientific thinking and method battled against faulty facts and bias to prove that his new nation was just as good as any in the Old World.

Young Thomas Jefferson loved to measure the natural world: plants and animals, mountains and streams, crops and weather. With a notepad in his pocket, he constantly examined, experimented, and explored. He dreamed of making great discoveries like the well-known scientific author, Count Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon.

But when Buffon published an encyclopedia of the natural world, Jefferson was furious! According to the French count, America was cold and swampy, and filled with small and boring animals, nothing like the majestic creatures of the OId World. Jefferson knew Buffon had never even been to America. Where had Buffon gotten his information? Had he cherry-picked the facts to suit his arguments? Was he biased in favor of Europe?

How could Jefferson prove Buffon wrong? By using scientific inquiry, of course! This first picture book to emphasize Jefferson’s use of scientific methods is an accessible and entertaining approach to a lesser-known side of Jefferson.

Author

© Tina Wood
Beth Anderson, a former teacher, combines her love of writing with the joys of discovery and learning in her narrative nonfiction and historical fiction picture books. Visit bethandersonwriter.com. View titles by Beth Anderson
Jeremy Holmes is an internationally renowned children's book illustrator whose work has received numerous awards and starred reviews from critics. He won the prestigious BolognaRagazzi Opera Prima Award (2010) for his debut book There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. Visit jeremyholmesstudio.com. View titles by Jeremy Holmes

Guides

Educator Guide for Thomas Jefferson's Battle for Science

Classroom-based guides appropriate for schools and colleges provide pre-reading and classroom activities, discussion questions connected to the curriculum, further reading, and resources.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

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