Product Description

Peter the Great, crowned tsar of Russia at the age of ten, believed that whatever he wanted he should have -- and the sooner the better. What he wanted most was to bring his beloved country into the modem world. He traveled to the West to learn European ways -- the first tsar ever to leave Russia -- disguised as a common soldier.

He explored the West with excitement and curiosity and returned home ready to undertake a series of momentous social reforms. And to satisfy his boyhood dream of a Russian naval port, he began to build, on a freezing swamp, a glittering new capital to be named St. Petersburg.

In this welcome reissue of Diane Stanley's acclaimed picturebook biography, her meticulously researched text and sumptuous illustrations capture the fabulous world of seventeenth -- and eighteenth-century tsarist Russia and the greatness of its larger-than-life leader -- a man of huge stature and tremendous spirit whose impatience and vision, insatiable curiosity and boundless energy transformed half a continent.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #262830 in Books
• Published on: 1986-08-25
• Released on: 1999-08-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 2-4 This profusely illustrated biography has a moderate amount of good-sized text and at least one illustration on every two-page spread. Stanley's fine illustrations of Tsar Peter and his Russia are vivid and uncluttered, yet still give a sense of the ornate formality of the royal surroundings and attire. That Stanley concentrates on the extraordinary achievements of Peter the Great is not surprising, but the omission of some basic biographical data is a problem. Peter's ascent to the throne is presented as without difficulty, when it was actually a struggle for power among Peter, his half-brother Ivan, and his half-sister Sophia. The bitter upheavals caused by Peter's attempt to reform the church and limit its influence is reduced to the Tsar taxing long beards at court; his desire to establish Russia as a seapower is based on a pleasant sailing experience, instead of the military defeat at Azov that made Peter acknowledge his nation's lack of adequate sea vessels and ports. Peter's accomplishments are highlighted, while the measures he took to achieve such sweeping reforms are given scant attention. IncidentsPeter's childhood, his love of sailing, traveling across Europe in disguiseare described in an effort to make this complex historical figure accessible to the primary/middle grade age group, and in this Stanley is successful. A more balanced portrayalwith Peter the Great as less a saint of progress and more the ambitious ruleris yet to come. Janice M. Del Negro, Chicago Public Library
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author
Diane Stanley is the recipient of the 2000 Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award for the body of her work. Diane Stanley and her husband, Peter Vennema, have worked together on other books in Diane's award-winning biography series, including Shaka: King Of The Zulus, Bard Of Avon: The Story Of William Shakespeare, and Charles Dickens: The Man Who Had Great Expectations.

Diane has also illustrated The Last Princess: The Story Of Princess Ka'iulani Of Hawaii, by Fay Stanley, and she has written and illustrated Michelangelo, Peter The Great, Joan Of Arc, Leonardo Da Vinci, Cleopatra and Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter. Her first novel, A Time Apart, was selected as one of 1999's Top 10 First Novels by ALA Booklist. Diane Stanley and Peter Vennema live in Houston, Texas.

Customer Reviews

Sure to kindle a new interest!
I handed this to my 11 year old son to read independently. I wasn't sure it would hold his interest since it lists the intended audience as much younger. However, he finished it one sitting, brought it back to me and said, "Before I read other history books, I want to read more about Peter the Great!" What more could one ask of a book? Now to try to find something that takes that next step...

BTW, he has also read a couple of her other books and enjoys them all. I asked if he would be interested in whatever else Diane Stanley has published and he expressed great eagerness.

Just a great book!
I learned so much from this book. It is absorbing and I would love to share it with my students. Peter the Great is a very interesting figure and I wish I had been introduced to him earlier in my life.