This Grandma is used to reading the author, Brad Meltzer’s books–his adult books. I always check the New York Times Best seller lists for children’s books to buy for my grandchildren and found two children’s books by Brad Meltzer on it! I was intrigued.
I went to the internet of course, and found an online article on Entertainment Weekly at Shelf life.
That’s where I found out he had also written comic books. He, a talented, or I should say multi-talented author. This is what the article said:
Brad Meltzer has a hang-up about heroes. He keeps looking for real ones.
The thriller novelist (The Inner Circle, The Book of Fate) and conspiracy investigator (the non-fiction History Decoded) has regularly explored the dynamics of good vs. evil in the comic book world, penning stories about Green Arrow and the Justice League of America. But as the father of three young kids, Meltzer says he started to rethink what it means to be one of the good guys. Superhuman crimefighters may be fun, but they’re fantasy.
As part of a new series of picture books, he decided to focus on real-life iconic leaders, adventurers, and trailblazers. But he found his stories of heroism in an unlikely place – their childhoods.
It’s not that what these individuals did as adults isn’t something children should learn, too. Meltzer just believes it’s important to show that great people were once regular people – like the readers themselves. “We’ve put real heroes on such pedestals that they’re not human anymore,” Meltzer says. “I said to my daughter that Amelia Earhart was this amazing woman that flew across the Atlantic Ocean – and I’m waiting for her to be impressed. But when I tell her that when Amelia Earhart was 7 years old, she built her own homemade rollercoaster in her backyard and came careening down it on a crate with roller-skate wheels on the bottom, my daughter said, `Oh my gosh, she’s just like me.’
That’s when his latest book series came to him – a kid-friendly collection of cartoon storybooks called Ordinary People Change the World, which he collaborated on with illustrator Christopher Eliopoulos. The series begins with I Am Abraham Lincoln and I Am Amelia Earhart, which are on on sale now, while I Am Rosa Parks comes out in June.
And what do the books inpart?
“I was like, oh, let’s tell the stories when they’re little,” Meltzer says. So, instead of focusing on the abolition of slavery, the Lincoln book shows young Abe stopping some bullies who were tormenting a turtle – a true, but little-known account from the future president’s youth.
“That’s my favorite one we have,” Meltzer says. “Again, I can tell my kids that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves, but that’s been told so many times that it becomes this walking history book. When you say when he was 10 years old he came across these boys who were putting hot coals on the backs of turtles because they wanted to see how to make them run faster, and Lincoln makes them stop, you know, now he’s like us. These aren’t the stories of famous people; they’re what we’re all capable of on our very best days.”
His goal in writing the books is the same goal we want in buying books for our grandchildren:
“The goal was not just to put out a book or to teach a little bit of history but we’re really trying to redefine what it means to be a hero in America today, because I think that definition is broken,” Meltzer says. “Fame is very different from being a hero, and I think that, as a society, we confuse that today.” . . . .
“I know it sounds silly to use Batman in the same sentence as Amelia Earhart and Abraham Lincoln, but they’re all part of the American mythology,” Meltzer says. “Being good to someone else, being humble and showing kindness – that’s impressive. And to me, that is the lesson of my favorite heroes, real or fictional.”
Buying a book as a visit present for a grandchild that is by a wonderful author and teaches a wonderful lesson. What a win-win!
Most of the books are for ages 5-8, while his “Heroes” series, with essays about sixty real life heroes for boys and a separate one for girls goes up to age 11. You can find all the books, and even the comic books he has written for grades eight and up, at Amazon.
Joy,
Mema