A Lesson In Understatement

They Were Strong and Good by Robert Lawson

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Lawson's illustrations sometimes undermine the reverential tone of this book.  When he says that his mother's mother did not like sailing on the sea, he provides a drawing of her very expressive backside as she hangs forlornly over the side of the ship. 

Despite the stereotypical representations of mammies and indians, this book would make an excellent model for kids to do their own family biographies in the same simple declarative style.  I know I was bored by my parents' old time-y stories.  Surely, today's youth can recall some of the stories they themselves have endured.



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