Ben Franklin and His First Kite FROM THE PUBLISHER
Ten-year-old Ben Franklin finds working in his father's candle shop boring -- he'd much rather be doing experiments. He can't wait to try out his latest idea. With nothing but a simple kite, can Ben get across the pond -- without swimming a single stroke?
FROM THE CRITICS
Children's Literature - Sally Canzoneri
Though billed as nonfiction, this is a fictional story based on an incident from Ben Franklin's boyhood. There is a good deal of dialogue that is obviously fictional. Moreover, the events differ from Franklin's own description of the day he used his kite to pull himself across a pond. In Krensky's version, young Ben purposely sets out to conduct an experiment using his kite. In Franklin's description, he was trying to amuse himself with his kite and enjoy swimming at the same time, when he discovered that the kite would draw him across the water. Aside from concerns always raised by presenting fiction as nonfiction, the approach taken in this book is troubling. Young readers would probably like the real Ben Franklin better than the rather know-it-all character in this book; they would also learn that scientific discoveries are made by close observation of everyday events as well as through planned experiments. This book is one of the "Childhood of Famous Americans" series and a Level 2 "Ready-to-Read" book. 2002, Aladdin/Simon & Schuster,
School Library Journal
Gr 1-3-Krensky's text about Franklin's first experiment with a kite is well written and conveys a number of known facts about the man. Throughout the easy-to-read story, Franklin has conversations with his friends and parents, and his observations are well described. Dodson's watercolor illustrations nicely portray details of the period. The children are skillfully drawn, and the action is well expressed in the art. This is a good addition to any collection for beginning readers.-Elaine Lesh Morgan, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
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