Joan of Arc

by Ann Tompert, Michael Garland (Illustrator)

She was a peasant, who was born in a village in France. She was a soldier, who commanded an army. In time, she was pronounced a saint. Joan of Arc's life seems like a fable. Her death reads like tragedy. However, history records that she took command of French forces and drove the English from the city of Orleans. Drawing on the letters and testimony presented at Joan's trial, Ann Tompert presents a simply told narrative of a remarkable life. Joined with Michael Garland's dramatic illustrations that capture Joans' fifteenth-century world, here is the story of one of the most fascinating--and mysteriou--figures in history.

Genres: Picture Books, History, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Childrens, France

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2003

About the author

Ann Tompert is an award-winning children's book author who has written more than 20 books, including Harry's Hats, Just a Little Bit, and Little Fox Goes to the End of the World.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

So first and foremost and in my humble post perusal opinion, Ann Tompert's 2003 Joan of Arc: Heroine of France is pretty majorly textually dense and sadly thus also sometimes more than a trifle frustratingly convoluted and verbally awkward for a picture book biography that is clearly supposed to geared towards younger children. For yes, whilst reading Joan of Arc: Heroine of France, I certainly have noticed Tompert's featured narrative not really being all that linear and straight forward in movement and as such sometimes more than a bit circular and distracting (and more than likely even more so if children are not perusing Joan of Arc: Heroine of France on their own but instead are listening to Joan of Arc: Heroine of France being read aloud to them, and indeed, with young listeners probably easily losing interest and focus).

And honestly, while I do generally think that Ann Tompert tells her Joan of Arc: Heroine of France realistically and with sufficient an emphasis on Joan's fighting skills and fearlessness on the battlefield, for me personally, ANY account regarding Joan of Arc which does not also and at the same time offer at least some criticism and vehement condemnation of Joan of Arc basically being "officially" murdered by the Catholic Church is at best naively and rather problematically lacking (not to mention that Joan of Arc's later posthumous rehabilitation and subsequent canonisation as a saint should from my point of view also be seen and approached as the Catholic Church desperately trying to mitigate its own blame, its own fault regarding Joan of Arc's arrest, show trial and burning at the stake for supposed heresy). And indeed, that with Joan of Arc: Heroine of France Ann Tompert in my opinion really tries to be as non judgmental as possible towards the Catholic Church, towards the male-dominated Church hierarchy and never once even considers that Joan of Arc's declared sainthood should perhaps be taken with a huge grain of proverbial salt and to be seen as Catholicism trying to make itself look better and less horrible by suddenly considering a courageous woman who was executed because of her gender and that she was engaging in traditional male dominated work (warfare) as saintly, yes, this both emotionally and intellectually bothers me to no end.

Combined with the fact that Ann Tompert also has not bothered to include any bibliographical materials and that I really do not at all find Michael Garland’s illustrations aesthetically pleasant and consider especially Joan of Arc’s depicted facial features annoyingly like a parody, no, for me Joan of Arc: Heroine of France is only two stars and not really recommended.

[Shelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Out of the four picture book biographies I have found on Joan of Arc this one was the most geared for younger kids. That being said it was still a lengthy read for a picture book and probably wouldn't be of interest for any students younger than 4th grade. It must be challenging to sum up such an extraordinary being in only a few pages. Since Joan's life and times are not typically covered until the 7th grade these lengthier reads are fine though. The authors note in the afterward was very interesting and should not be overlooked.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

My son has been preparing a school presentation on Joan of Arc and this is one of the books we checked out from the library. I thought it gave a very good overview of who she was and the amazing things she accomplished in her very short life. It is a good read-aloud for any age but probably on a 4th grade and up independent reading level. She really is a very inspiring historical figure!

[Valerie · Rating 1 out of 5]

really weak, I thought

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

CGI illustrations, complicated historical text. Definitely for older readers middle grades research.

[Cheryl · Rating 1 out of 5]

The illustrations are beautiful, but I don't know of many young children who would enjoy this book. It might be good if they are studying Joan of Arc in school, but even then I don't think they would pay much attention. I couldn't even make it halfway through.

[Rachelklara of YHVH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joan of Arc was a visionary. She was also in tune with The Universe or The Unseen and The Seen Worlds or The Hard and The Soft Dimensions. This is a pretty good account of this history for this age group.

[Bailey Barton · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Biography) easy to read and great concise story of The life of Joan of Arc.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great on the content of the book. Wish the illustrations weren't digital but that's obviously my own hang up.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

VERY wordy and a lot of people & cities to keep track of.