We are all pretty excited about this year’s Oz First Editions Club. We have been looking ahead and scouring the catalogs for the perfect book for every month. About four months ago I started throwing around the idea that we could pick store favorite Maira Kalman, but I thought it was a pretty big long shot, until my fantabulous Penguin rep Doni Kay made it happen!
Kelly and Hannah have been longtime outspoken fans of Maira Kalman’s work in such books as Food Rules by Michael Pollan and And the Pursuit of Happiness. I fell in love with her art in Daniel Handler’s Printz honor winner, Why We Broke Up. But I think the biggest thing we all worried about was — would THIS book be up to snuff.
With all this rolling around in my head, I dove into Kalman’s newest picture book
, Thomas Jefferson: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Everything. This nonfiction picture book is longer than your average children’s book. Kalman’s paintings give us a look into Jefferson’s life, starting with his childhood. Monticello makes several appearances, as do many famous people from Jefferson’s life.
Kalman’s writing, however, is what makes this book unique from other nonfiction picture books. While Kalman gives all the historical details of Jefferson’s life, she also humanizes him and those who lived alongside him. She writes that peas were his favorite vegetable, that he could not live without books, and that while he had flaws, he always strived to be the best he could be.
I am not always a fan of this type of book, but if every nonfiction picture book were written like this, I think I would feel differently. Kalman has pulled off what many have struggled to do: she has made history interesting to all readers, regardless of age.
Thomas Jefferson: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Everything is available as a signed first edition here at Lemuria, and is a great way to get started in the Oz First Editions Club (just email emily@lemuriabooks.com for all the deets on how to sign up). Stay tuned for our future picks; we’ve got a great year ahead!
Some more reading for you!
The New York Times: a conversation about new biographies for children
Kirkus Review: they gave TJ a star!
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