It's hard for many of us to believe that there was ever productive debate in politics, but that's just what Barbara Kerley and Edwin Fotheringham (the creators of The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy) prove with their portrait of the friendship between two of our Founding Fathers.
Everything about John Adams and Thomas Jefferson was different. From the opening page, against a backdrop of the 13 stars and stripes of the original colonies' flag, John ("short and stout") and Tom ("tall and lean") stand in stark contrast, back to back. Artist Edwin Fotheringham cleverly contrasts the differences in their backgrounds with John crawling away from his bed in a chest of drawers while Tom sleeps in an ornate cradle beneath a chandelier. But they come together for the Continental Congress and unite against tyrannical and taxing King George of England. Author Barbara Kerley demonstrates that their joint leadership benefited from their respectful disagreements and also, in an author's note, lays out the issues that would continue to divide the two men, including slavery and the balance of power between the federal government and the states.
Children will be reeled in by the friendship at the center of this picture book and close the cover with an understanding of how John and Tom's alliance--and their disagreements--helped create our nation as we know it today. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness