Leila Hirschfeld - Its Up to You, Ben Franklin

Text copyright 2019 by Leila Hirschfeld and Tom Hirschfeld

Cover art copyright 2019 by Wikipedia Commons

Interior illustrations copyright 2019 by Lisa Weber

Excerpt from Its Up to You, Abe Lincoln text copyright 2018 by Tom and Leila Hirschfeld

Excerpt from Its Up to You, Abe Lincoln cover art copyright 2018 by Lisa Weber

Excerpt from Its Up to You, Abe Lincoln interior illustrations copyright 2018 by Lisa Weber

All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Crown Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Childrens Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

Image credits are located on .

Crown and the colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

Visit us on the Web! rhcbooks.com

Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at RHTeachersLibrarians.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

Trade Paperback ISBN9780553509496

Ebook ISBN9780553509519

Random House Childrens Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.

v5.4

a

For Ben Hirschfeld, who takes after his namesake in so many good ways

Y OUR LIFE , B EN , WAS AN amazing journey. Beginning as a poor apprentice, with no schooling past the age of ten, you faced a hard road. But along that road you made unique choices, choices that took youand Americain new and stunning directions. Who else but you could have achieved all these milestones?

Founding Father: Youre the only person who signed all of Americas big four early documents, including the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

Diplomat/spy: You played a part in the Revolution second in importance only to George Washingtons, first getting Frances help to win the war and later settling with England to end it.

Scientist: Your groundbreaking research on electricity established a whole new scientific field, and you shed light on dozens of other topics, from lead poisoning to the Gulf Stream.

Inventor: You saved countless lives with your lightning rod and low-smoke stove, from which you refused to profit, and delighted mankind with your bifocal spectacles, musical instruments, and other inventions. Oh, and you were the first kitesurfer!

Writer: Americas leading author of your century, you wrote international bestsellers including Poor Richards Almanack and your famous Autobiography.

Entrepreneur: Starting almost penniless, you worked your way up to control a newspaper, a publishing house, a chain of printing shops, and large real estate holdings.

Civic activist: You founded Americas first lending library and volunteer fire corps, an Ivy League college, a hospital, and many other institutions that improve life for your fellow Americans to this day.

Public servant: You founded and ran the US Postal Service, served Pennsylvania as an assemblyman and later as three-time president of its executive council, and helped write the states constitution.

Along the way, Ben, you also blazed new trails in understanding what it means to be an American, and you gave America a new image on the world stage. You truly pioneered the American Dream, in which anyone can rise in society through hard work and self-discipline. But how did a humble candlemakers son from Boston rack up this awesome list of achievements? What kind of person does it take to rise from modest beginnings to become one of his countrys (and the worlds!) all-time heroes?

Okay, maybe you didnt always seem so humble or modest. You had a lot to feel pleased with yourself aboutand you did. But people still liked you, because you never took yourself too seriously. Of all the Founding Fathers, Ben, you were always the most easygoing, the quickest to smile or crack a joke. That makes you the perfect subject for a biography: not only did you choose one fascinating path after another, but you remembered to have fun along the way.

On your lifes voyage, Ben, you faced more than your share of crossroads. Even more than for most people, the decisions you made there changed the world. Were going to take a look at eleven major choices, from how you dealt with your bossy older brother to how you confronted Americas deep problem of slavery. At each junction, well explore where you were coming from, which ways you could have gone, and why you chose the path you did. Were going to walk in your shoes and discover the earthshaking times you lived in, the mind-blowing deeds you accomplishedand the exceptional person you really were. Its not just history, Ben: its your story.

THE CHALLENGE

Y OU RE STUCK WITH THE WORST boss everwho happens to be your big brother!

THE BACKSTORY

I T S FUNNY THAT HISTORY WILL remember you as laid-back and grandfatherly, Ben. You may be easygoing, but you also think for yourself. From a very young age, your independent mind has led you to challenge authority.

Of course, what most people dont know is that youre continuing a Franklin tradition. Family lore tells of a long line of rebels who stood up for religious or political freedom:

Your great-great-grandfather, an English village blacksmith, was an activist ahead of his time, spreading the recently outlawed Anglican religion and organizing nearby peasants against unfair land laws. It helped that he knew how to read, which was unusual then.

The first of many Franklins to get into hot water for writing was his youngest son, Henry, whose poem insulting a local noble got him tossed in jail for a year.

According to Ben, his great-great-grandfather Thomas Franklin kept his Anglican Bible tied to the underside of a stool. Hed read it to his family on the sly, ready to flip the stool right side up if anyone came snooping!