Worst Of Friends: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams And The True Story Of An American Feud (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
Jurmain, S. T. (2011). Worst of Friends: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and the True Story of an American Feud. New York, NY: Penguin Group.Choice2013-2014 Virginia Readers’ ChoicePersonally, I enjoy history, especially when the history includes personal information, so I was thrilled when I found this nonfiction book on a recommended book list for elementary students. I love that the story teaches the reader about the development of the American nation through the perspective of two early U.S presidents who were at times friends and at other times enemies. In addition, it incorporates statements that John Adams and Thomas Jefferson actually made in their written correspondence! Moreover, the illustrations capture the time period well, which is helpful when learning about something that occurred in the past. This book is an excellent choice for students in grades 4-6. This book could be used to supplement the history curriculum for upper elementary and middle school students when these students are first introduced to early American history. Simply from reading this book, students can learn the terms Federalist and Republican and identify what these two early political parties believed in! I think this book could be an excellent resource to add to the instructional plans when teaching students about the development of the United States Government. Audience: PrimaryGenre: Suzanne Jurmain’s children’s book Worst of Friends: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and the True Story of an American Feud is considered a historical nonfiction book. It satisfies the conditions of the nonfiction genre since its purpose is purely informative and it provides readers with true facts. It is considered historical nonfiction since Jurmain describes the events and lives of two U.S. Presidents in the 1800’s.Award: School Library Journal Best Nonfiction: 2011Summary:Often times, when people hear the word “nonfiction,” mental images of dry, text-filled books come to mind. However, not all nonfiction books must render such a response. One example is Suzanne Jurmain’s Worst of Friends. In her story, Jurmain describes two prominent historical figures in the United States: Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. Jurmain begins by presenting readers with fun, yet historically accurate, facts about the two former presidents. For example, she captures children’s attention by describing their physical appearances (John was fat and small while Tom was tall and thin), their hobbies (John liked telling jokes while Tom liked playing the violin), and their personality traits (john was talkative while Tom was a man of few words). Tom and John were amazing friends, and they did virtually everything together: they negotiated the Declaration of Independence together, they travelled to foreign countries for political matters together, and they were even insulted buy King George together. Despite their friendship, however, Tom and John had their fair share of disputes. Tom and John had radically different views as far as how the country should be run. John advocated giving the president vast amounts of power, whereas Tom vehemently disagreed. As a result of their feud, two political parties emerged and the friends grew ever more distant. After decades of dispute, the two finally reconciled and renewed their friendship.Jurmain did a spectacular job of presenting the historical accounts in a style similar to a narrative fiction story. She used a sense of humor to lighten up the facts and used various tones in her writing. This style of writing prompts children to continue asking questions about what will happen next and it engages their minds in the story. Additionally, her use of cartoon pictures made the nonfiction story more appealing to young readers.Twin text:Not only does Jurmain’s story inform students about the important historical events and figures, but it also brings about further inquiry of other United States presidents. Therefore, educators could utilize a twin text that discusses the presidents in a broader range (as opposed to focusing only on Tom and John). One book that could serve as a twin text is Kenneth C. Davis’s Don’t Know Much About the Presidents. This book serves as a great extension to Worst of Friends because it presents readers with information regarding the lives of forty-three presidents. This twin text uses a question and answer format in order to grab the student’s attention. The book poses amusing questions about the presidents and provides readers with presidential fun facts. Not only does the book provide readers with entertaining facts, but it also provides a timeline of important historical events and a series of presidential quotes. This twin text would allow readers to survey the lives of all of the presidents while also allowing them to focus in on specific presidents of their interest. Finally, Don’t Know Much About the Presidents organizes the presidential “bios” in chronological order and provides a portrait/photograph of each president. This will help the students comprehend the succession of presidents that has shaped the country’s past. Davis’s book is sure to capture the attention of even the most reluctant nonfiction reader. Not only will students learn about the friendship and feud between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, but they will also gain insight on the remaining forty-one presidents in the twin text.
What do You think about Worst Of Friends: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams And The True Story Of An American Feud (2011)?
Super cute book about friendship and the founding fathers Jefferson and Adams.
—Enzee
Interesting story with a unique point of view about two very well known men.
—antonia
Great secondary read aloud for US History and during the upcoming election.
—bmosley
