Status
Available
Collection
Publication
HarperCollins (2001), Edition: 2nd ed., 40 pages
Description
Follows the life of the strong-willed queen who ruled England in the time of Shakespeare and the defeat of the Spanish Armada.
Local notes
School Library Journal, 11/30/1990
Gr 5 Up-- That most wise and wily queen of England, Elizabeth I, is the subject of this picture biography. The handsome illustrations, exemplified by the visualization of those small English boats set afire and launched to face the Spanish Armada, are worthy of their subject. Although the format suggests a picture-book audience, this biography needs to be introduced to older readers who have the background to appreciate and understand this woman who dominated and named an age, and of whom the authors write, ``When it came to a clash of wills, the two houses of Parliament and all her councillors were no match for Elizabeth.'' The text is clearly written, explaining the main events and key decisions of Elizabeth's life and reign. For readers wanting more depth, a short bibliography of mostly adult titles ends the book. --Amy Kellman, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Gr 5 Up-- That most wise and wily queen of England, Elizabeth I, is the subject of this picture biography. The handsome illustrations, exemplified by the visualization of those small English boats set afire and launched to face the Spanish Armada, are worthy of their subject. Although the format suggests a picture-book audience, this biography needs to be introduced to older readers who have the background to appreciate and understand this woman who dominated and named an age, and of whom the authors write, ``When it came to a clash of wills, the two houses of Parliament and all her councillors were no match for Elizabeth.'' The text is clearly written, explaining the main events and key decisions of Elizabeth's life and reign. For readers wanting more depth, a short bibliography of mostly adult titles ends the book. --Amy Kellman, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Media reviews
Kirkus
Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, 1990)
Appropriately for their audience, the authors only hint at the darker side of Elizabeth's reign. They include a simplified but accurate explanation of the English Reformation and its immediate consequences; a discussion of the Queen's political astuteness, its roots
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in her troubled childhood, and how she made being a woman an asset; a fair account of her vexed dealings with Mary, Queen of Scots; and illuminating details of interest to children--such as summers "on progress," when Elizabeth escaped the plague and "stopped in little villages. . .received humble gifts. . .and won the hearts of her people." As in the authors' Peter the Great (1986), Stanley's carefully researched, beautifully detailed illustrations take up even more space than the text. Combining 20th-century realism with the decorative, more formal style of 16th-century painting, they add both drama and a visual sense of history. An admirably clear, attractive summary. Bibliography. 1990, Four Winds/Macmillan, $15.95. © 1990 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Children's Literature
Jan Lieberman (Children's Literature)
Author/illustrator Diane Stanley and her husband, Peter Vennema charmed us with Peter the Great and now they have brilliantly brought to life Elizabeth I of England. In a mere 40 pages the reader learns of Henry VIII and his wives, his falling out with the
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Pope, the birth of Elizabeth, her rise to power, the pageantry of her Court, and her astute political savvy. Ms Stanley's illustrations depict the grandeur of the Court and the magnificence of the Queen's costumes. 1990, Four Winds/S&S Childrens, $16.95. Ages 9 to 11. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Texas Bluebonnet Award (Nominee — 1993)
Boston Globe–Horn Book Award (Honor — Nonfiction — 1991)
Kentucky Bluegrass Award (Nominee — Grades 4-8 — 1992)
William Allen White Children's Book Award (Nominee — 1992-1993)
Orbis Pictus Award (Recommended Title — 1991)