They Were Strong and Good
1941 Caldecott Medal winner. A family memoir tracing the author’s ancestors.
Work Information
A family memoir tracing the author’s ancestors
A family memoir tracing the author’s ancestors. A Japanese edition was not confirmed in this pass, so bookIdentifiers.ja remains null.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Viking Books for Young Readers
- Published
- 1940-01-01
- Pages
- 72 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 22.1 x 1.2 x 26.2 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780670699490
- ISBN-10
- 0670699497
- Price
- 3887 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Children's Books/Literature & Fiction/Historical Fiction/United States/1800s
Awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1941, They Were Strong and Good is a classic book that follows the path of one family’s journey through American history. Robert Lawson introduces us to his forefathers and with them we brave Caribbean storms, travel to the wharf markets of New York, and fight in the Civil War. Amidst these adventures Lawson’s grandparents meet, marry, and raise a family, and later his parents follow the same cycle of life. But this book is more than just the story of one family, it’s a social history of our country. It reminds us to be proud of our ancestors—who they were, what they did, and the effect that they had on the nation we live in today. None of them were great or famous, but they were strong and good. They worked hard and had many children. They all helped to make the United States the great nation that it now is. Let us be proud of them and guard well the heritage they have left us.
Robert Lawson (1892-1957) received his art training at the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts. His favorite medium, pen and ink, is used expressively and with detail in his black and white illustrations in The Story of Ferdinand (by Munro Leaf). In addition to illustrating many children's books, including Mr. Popper's Penguins , Robert Lawson also wrote and illustrated a number of his own books for children. In 1940, he was awarded the Caldecott Medal for his picture book illustrations in They Were Strong and Good and in 1944, he was awarded the Newbery Medal for his middle grade novel Rabbit Hill .
Reviews
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Non-woke book
Love this book. Tells the story of America in the author's family. Great illustrations too. I want to write a version with my grandparents and my husband's for our children someday.
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Well written
I love this book. It's well written and a wonderful tribute to his/our ancestors.
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Great children's book
Great book for kids and a great message regarding the individual contributions of ordinary people whose lives were not characterized by affluence or fame. I'd disregard the criticisms by those obsessed with political correctness, as the author at times illustrates his own ancestors in a manner that is as unflattering as the depictions of other characters in the book. The illustrations are, as one would expect from Lawson, excellent. The author clearly has a sense of humor, as should the reader. My kids loved it.
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Geneaology for Even the Youngest
"They were Strong and Good" was purchased because of a nostalgic memory from my early years reading this Caldecott Award Winner and wanting to introduce the joy of learning about your family tree to my elementary students. It is cleverly written to demonstrate the ties among ancestors by introducing vignettes. The author did not overdo the details but added enough characterization to create an attachment. The repetitive title is used throughout and is the perfect connection for all of us to the generations that went before us. Most of us had relatives that were not famous and rich, "but they were strong and good" people. Knowing our ancestory provides us that link that helps us know ourselves. The illustrations add a vintage flavor to the book.
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Lovely picture book
Wonderful story of a family history