A Book About Benjamin Franklin

by Ruth Belov Gross, Anna DiVito (Illustrator)

Recounts Franklin's boyhood in Boston, his successful career as a printer in Philadelphia, his scientific discoveries, and his work for the American colonies and the new United States as postmaster general, diplomat, and statesman.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction

61 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Born in Philadelphia and raised in Florida, Ruth Belov Gross has lived in New York City ever since graduating from the University of Miami in 1950. Although her first job out of college was as an editorial assistant for a children's publishing house, Gross never planned to write for children herself. Instead she went on to a successful career as a medical writer, where she became adept at thorough and meticulous research and translating complex medical information into nontechnical language.

Such skills served her well when she wrote her first children's book, What Do Animals Eat?, in 1970, and though she initially assumed she would return to medical writing, she never did. “I was finally doing what I had always wanted to do — without knowing that it was what I had always wanted to do.”

Since then, Gross has written numerous books for children, specializing in nonfiction and re-tellings of traditional tales. She welcomes questions and comments from children, and often uses their input to make her work more thorough. When they are not working, Gross and her husband enjoy cooking, gardening, and vacationing in Vermont, where they have a tiny A-frame house in the woods.

Reviews

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 SOLID STARS

[JSK · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun children's book highlighting the life of Benjamin Franklin. I am something of a Franklin fan and have read several books about him (including his own autobiography), but even with that, this book still contained a few anecdotes that were new to me! Overall this is an enjoyable, quick read, but as it's a children's book, certain colorful elements of Ben's life are not mentioned. (Things like his son William being born to a local prostitute that Ben patronized, and the fact that Ben disowned William completely when they had a falling out over the Revolution.) So this book is by no means definitive, but it's not meant to be. It does the job of introducing Ben to children. Let them find out the sordid details later!

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable light introduction into one of the most famous of Americans.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very easy read for the young ones. I like the life lessons that Ben Franklin shared with us that the author shared with the readers.