They Were Strong and Good

by Robert Lawson

Book Overview

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... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Library Binding
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670699497
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
• Length: 72 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.3" x 0.5" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Families and History

We read the Caldecott Award Book for Health. We were studying families. This is a great book that is easily understood by lower elementary grades. It is about how 3 generations relate to each other. It could be used to study family or American history. A very good book I would recommend for grades 2nd and below.

Beautiful Tribute to the author's ancestors

I think this book is simply beautiful. The drawings are simple and clean. It's inspiring to me and I am considering writing and drawing a similar book about my own ancestors for my children and grandchildren. I know we're not supposed to comment on other reviews but here goes. I can see where those who are caught up in the here and now atmosphere of political correctness might call it racist but personally I don't see it. Maybe it's because I've spent years digging into my own family history and learning about the beliefs and attitudes and my ancestors. If I were to write a similar book about my ancestors am I supposed to skip or gloss over the fact that some of them owned slaves? They did, and they probably did not treat them like honored guests. Was Lawson supposed to draw the little black boy in the same good quality clothing as the little white boy. That would be nice, but that's not the way it was and it can't be altered or ignored. We should not forget those attitudes because that's what prevents them from prevailing today. A true historian tells it like it was - and that's what Lawson did. Alex Haley and Dee Brown brilliantly wrote about history from the slave and Indian points of view, Lawson tells it from the white settler point of view. You need all points of view to see the whole picture. Great book!

A "Children's" book through my tears.

I was born in '44 and my mother read this book to me time and again while showing me the drawings. I later endeavoured to read it myself. The book is not racist! It is an accurate depiction of the way things were and it tells, and tells well. the stories of the lives of the people in the book. It tells of the warmth of the love they had for each other, but without saying so. It tells of the fineness of character and the nobility of honor that they possessed, but, again, without saying so. It is a book that at age fifty seven I cannot read without weeping nor without feeling intense pride and admiration for all those in the stories. The stories awakened in me a curiosity and reverence for the stories of the lives of my own ancestors.....and I hope it does the same for each of you. What they went through! What suffering and privation! And how well they lived their lives. It is a book to give each of us pause to think and consider and reflect on the entire business of living our lives and on what standards of life and morals and principles we should chose to live by. But, simply put, it is a book of stories about ancestors and stories of what they did and stories of how they lived their lives and who they knew and how those they knew lived too. And from those simple stories may be learned the most important lessons in life. Thank you and I hope you come to love They Were Strong and Good as I do. It may be sold as a "children's" book but it should be in the library, and in the heart, of every adult.

A good versatile book about history and the Civil War

The pictures are so entertaining that they could almost tell the story without the words. A man is writing a story about his parents and his grandparents as he remembers the story from his childhood. His parents and grandparents were very interesting people. One grandfather was a ships captain who brought home strange and wonderful gifts to his family and friends. The other was a preacher who also fought in the Civil War. His father fought in the Civil War when he was only 14 years old. His grandmothers and mother were quiet and peaceful women. The book also tells about how each couple met and decided to get married.

American history reflected in the lives of individuals.

I am twenty-eight years old, and I have read and enjoyed this book since I was a child. One characteristic of it struck me, however, as I was reading it to my nephew the other day. The story of the narrator's father offers a fresh perspective on the Civil War. History is not only the description of national/international events. It is also important to learn how individuals experienced these events. What our children are taught in school about the Civil War can be complemented by the saga in this book. It is just the kind of thing which Ken Burns would adore.This book also contains the stories of the narrator's mother, and of his grandparents. These stories are exquisitely detailed, and the award-winning illustrations correspond well to these items, people and events which are part of the grand kaleidescope of American history.I wonder how factual this book is?