| The Hatmaker's Sign A Story by Benjamin Franklin Retold by Candace Fleming Illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker
The Hatmaker's Sign is a story that Benjamin Franklin told to Thomas Jefferson to make him feel better about the changes people wanted to make to the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson thought it was perfect but some members of Congress wanted to rewrite it and leave parts out. Benjamin Franklin tells him the story of the hatmaker's sign.
A hatmaker is getting ready to open up his own shop and he has designed the sign he wants to hang above his door. He thinks it is perfect but his wife suggests that he leave out a part of the sign. He agrees and decides to remake the sign, he then heads off towards the signmakers shop when he comes across someone who tells him he should leave a part out of it. He agrees and designs a new sign. This keeps happening over and over until finally the sign is blank. When he takes the blank sign to the signmaker, the signmaker is confused. The hatmaker tells him what happened and then the signmaker suggests a design for the sign. It is the exact same design the hatmaker originally made, he thinks it is perfect.
Benjamin Franklin tells Thomas Jefferson that no matter how well something is written people will want to change it. Thomas Jefferson struggles with this as the Congress debates his Declaration, but in the end they did not change it much, they thought it was perfect.
This is a great story to read to 2nd graders up to 4th grade. This book would be good to illustrate to children that even though they might have to revise a paper it is okay. I think it also a good lesson that you should trust your instincts and that not everyone will agree with everything you do.
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Wednesday, April 24, 2013
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This sounds like a great book! Children often become self conscious of their work, especially if their peers are judging it. It shows kids that their work, especially hard work, will be enough and be "perfect." It's a great moral lesson, as well as teaching a little about history,
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a really good book. I think it has a two really great lessons that young children need to learn. It shows that they should be open to others' opinions (like constructive criticism) but at the same time there are situations where they should follow their instincts. It's important for children to know that not everyone has the same opinion, and there are different ways to do the same task. I also like that it teaches a history lesson too.
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