A Picture Book of John Hancock

Picture Book Biography

by David A. Adler, Michael S. Adler, Ronald Himler (Illustrator)

This is the story of John Hancock, American Patriot and Founding Father. When the English started imposing unfair taxes on the colonists, John Hancock decided to stand up to the injustice. He served as a delegate to the First Continental Congress; and as the president of the Second Continental Congress, he was the first to add his bold signature to the Declaration of Independence.

Genres: Biography, Picture Books, History, Nonfiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 2007

About the author

David Abraham Adler is an American children's author. He was born in New York City, New York in 1947. He graduated from Queens College in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in economics and education. For the next nine years, he worked as a mathematics teacher for the New York City Board of Education, while taking classes towards a master's degree in marketing, a degree he was awarded by New York University in 1971. In that same year, a question from his then-three-year-old nephew inspired Adler to write his first story, A Little at a Time, subsequently published by Random House in 1976. Adler's next project, a series of math books, drew on his experience as a math teacher. In 1977, he created his most famous character, Cam Jansen, originally featured in Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds, which was published that year.

Adler married psychologist Renee Hamada in 1973, and their first child, Michael, was born in 1977. By that time Adler had taken a break from teaching and, while his wife continued her work, he stayed home, took care of Michael, and began a full-time writing career.

Adler's son, Michael S. Adler, is now the co-author of several books with his father, including A Picture Book of Sam Adams, A Picture Book of John Hancock, and A Picture Book of James and Dolly Madison. Another son, Edward, was the inspiration for Adler's Andy Russell series, with the events described in the series loosely based on adventures the Adler family had with Edward's enthusiasm and his pets.

As of November 2008, Adler has three sons and two grandsons. He lives in Woodmere, New York.

(source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Bookbag_Betty · Rating 3 out of 5]

George The Third Can Read THAT Without His Spectacles.

He Was Regular And Punctual At His Store As The Sun In His Course

What A Glorious Morning Is This!

Although I Am Probably The Largest Property-Owner, I Am Anxious The Thing Should Be Done If It Will Benefit The Cause.

TRAVELED TO // Massachusetts, London, Pennsylvania
MET ALONG THE WAY // John Hancock, Thomas & Lydia Hancock, Mary Hancock, Paul Revere, William Dawes, Dorothy "Dolly" Quincy,

[Shelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Usually I enjoy David Adler's picture book biographies; however this was an unremarkable and unmemorable summary of John Hancock's life, delivered with all the excitement of a school textbook.

[Genesis Romo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Picture Book of John Hancock by David A. Alder and Michael S. Adler, which is a wonderful book for children to read while they are in primary level grades. The book starts off saying what John Hancock is especially known for in history. John Hancock signed his name very large on the Declaration of Independence because he said while he signed, “George the Third can read that without his spectacles”. Throughout the book we see the timeline of John Hancock’s life. A hardship John Hancock had was his father passed away when he was seven, but his hardship benefited him because his wealthy aunt and uncle provided him higher education. The book describes how John became one of the wealthiest men in the American colonies. From 1765 to 1775 readers will read how the events that took place in John Hancock’s life that will eventually have King George the Third order him to be arrested. An interesting fact about this book is that John Hancock did not want Britain and America to work as one he wanted independence. One of the most important statements the book made was that in May 1775 at the Second Continental Congress John Hancock was elected president, and because he was president he was the first to sign June 28th 1776 a draft a the Declaration of Independence on June 28th 1776.
I really enjoyed reading this book on John Hancock because it gave me fun facts on one of America’s historical figures in history. The book taught history in a way teachers could approach their students for a lesson about John Hancock. The illustrations in the book can give students a sense of what was happening in history during the era America was trying to break away from Britain. The book explains how John Hancock became such an important leader for America. Often in history we hear about George Washington or the presidents, but John Hancock was not a president. He was a man of wisdom who believed in America.

[Diana Judd]

Obviously, this is a picture book about John Hancock, the leader of the Second Continental Congress and the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence. It is a biography and every page has a different date and what happened then. I liked the book because I learned things about John Hancock that I had never hear before. I wasn't a huge fan of the pictures because it's done in what has the appearance water colors and I just prefer crisp pictures in a picture book. I like them either to be cartoonish or realistic, and this was neither. The colors were kind of drab, not very appealing and the pictures just weren't anything particularly special. I also would have liked if the story of told in a more interesting fashion. I felt like it was just a list of facts droning on. The subject matter is really important and fascinating, so I just wish it had been presented in a way that was more appealing. I did like that in the back of the book it has a list of important dates, and what happened in just a couple of words. I thought that was a nice tough and a useful resource.

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another well done picture book biography. This one is a touch choppy and may need extra information along with it for kids to really understand all that's going on (the events around the American Revolution were many!).

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

the big picture is studying the founding fathers. this book is good for an overview of the time period and the events that led up to making a nation.

[Gideon · Rating 5 out of 5]

John hancock is John Adams friend.

[Nevada Libert · Rating 3 out of 5]

nice story i like how he helped america and how brave he was to do it:)