Alexander Hamilton: From Orphan to Founding Father

by Monica Kulling, Valerio Fabbretti (Illustrator)

Fans of the Broadway musical Hamilton and American history lovers will want to share this illustrated biography of Alexander Hamilton with their young readers.
 
Did you know that one of our Founding Fathers was not born in America? An orphan from the West Indies, Alexander Hamilton came to the colonies and played an important role in the Revolutionary War, rising to become General George Washington’s right-hand man. But his accomplishments don’t stop there! He helped obtain the ratification of the Constitution; he was America’s first secretary of the treasury; and he established the first national bank and the U.S. Mint. A man of ambition, loyalty, and principle, he is now being celebrated as the prominent patriot he was.
 
Step 3 Readers feature engaging characters in easy-to-follow plots about popular topics—for children who are ready to read on their own.

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

48 pages, Paperback

Published February 7, 2017

About the author

Monica Kulling was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. She received a BA in creative writing from the University of Victoria. Monica Kulling has published twenty-six fiction and nonfiction books for children, including picture books, poetry, and biographies. She is best known for introducing biography to children just learning to read and has written about Harriet Tubman, Houdini, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Amelia Earhart among others. Monica Kulling lives in Toronto, Canada.

Reviews

[meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid simplification of Hamilton's life for beginning readers. It does take a pretty clear stance on the duel ("Hamilton shot to miss. Burr shot to kill.").

[Allyson Maclay · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was very age appropriate! If you have a child that loves history they will love this book. I thought I Knew everything about Hamilton but this book even taught me something

[Angelina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a person named Alexander Hamilton. He was still very very young and his father left and his mother died a few months later. He became an orphan. A orphan is a young child that does not have parents. He grew up, and he became a patriot. A patriot gives speeches about things. So, he gave speeches.Then, he became part of the army. They were fighting against the British. Hamilton was ordered to attack number ten. It was one of the weakest. The British were beaten. Hamilton was a hero. America needed a new leader. Yeah, everyone knows George Washington was the first president. He chose Hamilton to be the secretary of the treasury.

[Maura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent early reader picture biography of Alexander Hamilton. My early 2nd grader found it a bit too basic and simplistic, and thought it was lacking in a timeline and detailed back matter that he has come to expect from picture book biographies. I appreciate that it didn't sugar coat the duel at the end, but I found it striking that his wife Eliza was all but erased from the story. Overall, it may be too simple for young readers with any familiarity with Hamilton's role, but it is a solid first introduction to him for K-2 readers.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent beginning biography for kids that reads more like a story. I was disappointed that so much time was spent on his army career during the Revolutionary War, and barely covered his accomplishments as Secretary of the Treasury. And almost no mention of his wife and family. The lack of timeline, index, and bibliography make this not a great source for school reports. But it would be fine as recreational reading for children who are interested in Hamilton.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recently I read a picture book biography about Alexander Hamilton. When I saw this title I just wanted to see if it included the basic facts facts in the picture book and it does. But why do some illustrators use elongated facial features to illustrate actual people from historic times? They were actual people, not cartoon characters. These comical facial expressions make factual information seen no factual in my opinion.

[Earl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simplified biography for young Hamilton (the musical) fans with a hero's arc narrative from rags to riches and, as the subtitle reads, from orphan to Founding Father.

The text didn't read as fluidly as I would like. There were times when I felt I had accidentally skipped pages even though I hadn't.

[Kate]

Alexander Hamilton: From Orphan to Founding Father is simple, I Can Read a book that would be great for younger children to read. This book would be great to use for children if they were doing research on him. It uses words and pictures throughout the story. It would be something that children would be able to understand and still get great good information out of it.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy reader nonfiction has greatly improved over the past decade. This biographical treatment of Hamilton was thorough, well-written, and appropriate for young readers. I admire the care and thought which went into simplifying this story while retaining its scope and power.

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great introductory picture book biography on Alexander Hamilton for early readers and listeners. The author did a nice job simply outlining Hamilton's life and famous death.

[Emily Myhren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for elementary-aged Hamilton fans and history buffs.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad beginner reader but I liked the Step Into Reading volume about Eliza Hamilton much better.

[brianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

after the kids reading this grow up, they can listen to the hit broadway musical

[Alexis Verzal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it deserves five stars

[Brooke]

Simple overview of Hamilton for children. Teaches about his life as an orphan, to fighting for his adopted country, educating people about the constitution, forming the union, and setting up the first national bank with a common currency.

[Michele Knott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written biography about Alexander Hamilton. The book integrates information about the American Revolution and the way Hamilton influenced our nation for the target audience well.

[Claire Lee]

This book chronicles the life of Alexander Hamilton in a very kid friendly way. The book uses a lot of pictures and very few words. That means that it is made for beginning readers.
I found the book to be very engaging and informative for the lack of text it had. I almost prefer this kind of book to a child’s chapter book because I think it keeps the reader more focused and helps them to retain the information a lot better.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

This guy was definitely a genius.