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I Am Abraham Lincoln by Brad Meltzer, and: I Am Amelia Earhart by Brad Meltzer

2013; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 67; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/bcc.2014.0052

1558-6766

Elizabeth Bush,

Diverse Educational Innovations Studies

Reviewed by: I Am Abraham Lincoln by Brad Meltzer, and: I Am Amelia Earhart by Brad Meltzer Elizabeth Bush Meltzer, Brad. I Am Abraham Lincoln; illus. by Christopher Eliopoulos. Dial, 2014. [40p]. (Ordinary People Change the World) ISBN 978-0-8037-4083-9 $12.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad 6-8 yrs. I Am Amelia Earhart; illus. by Christopher Eliopoulos. Dial, 2014. [42p]. (Ordinary People Change the World) ISBN 978-0-8037-4082-2 $12.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad 6-8 yrs. Comic-book trendiness meets old-school character education in the new Ordinary People Change the World series. In each entry, a child version of the title subject narrates his or her own life story and directs listeners to embrace the lessons that made them great. For Lincoln, standing up against tormenters was key, whether they be kids who thoughtlessly abused turtles, bullies who ignored the rules of a fair fight, or pro-slavery forces who would keep countrymen in bondage. For Earhart the message is “Never let anyone stop you. Whatever your dream is, chase it,” a principle she followed despite being told time and again that women were not meant to be aviators. Eliopoulos keeps things light with sweetly silly caricatures—tiny Lincoln’s pretty adorable in his top hat and tidily scalloped beard; Earhart seems cloned from Mo Willems’ Trixie, topped with an aviator hat. There is, however, an elephant in this room Meltzer is bent on ignoring: Lincoln was assassinated despite, or because of, his integrity, and Earhart’s dreams were doused in a crash [End Page 274] over the Pacific. A gentle reminder that heroism carries a price would not have been amiss here. Telling the whole truth, after all, is also a virtue. Photographs at the end of each title offer the audience a glimpse of what the grown-up subject actually looked like. Copyright © 2014 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois