History for Kids: The Illustrated Life of John Adams

*Perfect for ages 7-9
*Includes pictures of Adams and other important people, places, and events.

"A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.” – John Adams

In Charles River Editors’ History for Kids series, your children can learn about history’s most important people and events in an easy, entertaining, and educational way. Pictures help bring the story to life, and the concise but comprehensive book will keep your kid’s attention all the way to the end.

John Adams has become one of the more popular presidents in history relatively recently, but it was not always so. For most of his life he was seen as a bit of an outsider, different from his fellow first presidents in his temperament, birth, life and politics. Adams and his son were the only presidents out of the first seven who were born north of the Mason Dixon line, and he was not an easy man to understand or work with. Not only did he have few friends, but he also often fell into long term quarrels with those he had.

Politically, Adams shared Washington’s preference for Britain as well as his preference of non-interference. However, while he was certainly the more significant man in his work and his governing, he could never seem to move out of Washington’s shadow. Even worse, his presidency was seen as threatening to the very essence of American liberty with the Alien and Sedition Acts, and his loss to Jefferson in 1800 was a repudiation of the Federalists that left Jeffersonians in power until John Quincy Adams was elected in 1824. His presidency is still viewed relatively unfavorably.

Adams remained a celebrated figure in Boston for all the work he did in Massachusetts before and after the Revolution, but his national reputation has experienced quite a renaissance over the past decade, beginning with David Mccullough’s best selling biography in 2001, followed in 2008 by the popular HBO series based on it. Then, in 2010, Dearest Friend, a record of the correspondence between Adams and his wife Abigail solidified his position as one of the most darling Founding Fathers of the 21st Century.

Several factors explain the recent boost to his legacy. First, unlike Washington or Jefferson, Adams was not a cultural icon. Therefore, Americans have had more to learn about his life and work, whereas recent historical findings about men like Jefferson are either anti-climatic or disappointing. Moreover, Adams and his son are the only two of the first 10 presidents not to have owned slaves, making it easier and more politically correct to like them. Finally, the extensive letters that passed between him and Abigail have cast him as a romantic figure in a way that few other presidents enjoy.

History for Kids: The Illustrated Life of John Adams chronicles the amazing life and work of one of America’s Founding Fathers, but it humanizes the man who could be both mercurial and tender. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events in his life, your kids will learn about John Adams like never before.