Book review: 'Benjamin Franklin's Wise Words' highlights famous sayings in an awesome, kid-friendly way

Just in time for Independence Day, this book is so much fun. In fact, I was going to review it a few days ago and then couldn't find it. Turns out, my kids keep hiding, "Benjamin Franklin's Wise Words" from each other because they love it so much.

This book is divided into seven sections and those sections are filled with more than 50 of Benjamin Franklin's famous sayings. Words of wisdom like, "A true friend is the best possession" and "well done is better than well said" are expounded upon and illustrated.

image used with permission from Media Masters Publicity

My 9-year-old son loves this book. He's been coming to me all week, explaining what Benjamin Franklin's sayings mean. It's pretty easy for adults to read Franklin's philosophies, but sometimes  those words can go right over kids' heads. This book quotes Franklin's sayings and then explains what they mean in simple, modern terminology. It then goes on to relate fun anecdotal stories and facts about Franklin's life. So not only can kids learn from Franklin's wisdom, but they'll learn about his life, the early days of the United States, and about other founding fathers.

Now, let's talk about these awesome caricature-like illustrations. They are full-color and add so much personality to the book. My six-year-old told me today that "Benjamin Franklin's Wise Words" is her new favorite book. Granted, she hasn't actually read it, but she wanted to flip through alllll the pages and show me her favorite illustrations; she thinks many of them are quite hilarious.

"Benjamin Franklin's Wise Words" is a clean book with nothing offensive in it. Not only does it teach about U.S. history, but it also relates wonderful words of wisdom in a happy, light-hearted manner.

Author K. M. Kostyal has written several historical books for National Geographic. Illustrator Fred Harper is a former artist for Marvel Comics.