The Tudors

The Tudors: Kings, Queens, Scribes, and Ferrets! Marcia Williams. 2016. 48 pages. Candlewick Press.  [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: For thirty years, a great civil war raged across England. I was not alive to witness it, but it is still spoken of with awe.

Premise/plot: This nonfiction picture book was "written" by Arthur Inkblott and his ferret, Smudge. Its packed with information about Tudor England: the kings, the queens, famous folk, and common folk too. The subjects covered include:

• The Wars of the Roses
• The Battle of Bosworth Field
• Who was Henry Tudor?
• Henry VII rewrites History
• A Royal Wedding
• Money
• Power
• Christopher Columbus
• Henry VII's Family
• The Spare Prince
• Henry VIII: The Headstrong
• Palaces and Potties
• The Field of the Cloth of Gold
• Henry's Great Matter
• Henry's Six Wives
• The Death of Bluff King Hal
• The Short Reign of Edward VI
• Queen Mary I
• Queen Elizabeth II
• Mary, Queen of Scots
• The Spanish Armada
• Sir Francis Drake
• Sir Walter Raleigh
• William Shakespeare
• The End of the Tudor Dynasty 

My thoughts: This one may be above my maturity level. In other words, Marcia Williams' biases are evident and they don't align with my biases. Perhaps many readers won't come to the book with opinions on these monarchs and the truth of their reigns. But I do. The Tudors are not my favorite. And Richard III has been WRONGED by Williams' text. That's all I have to say about that.

The font of this one is super-super tiny. And everything is very busy--the text is crammed as are the illustrations.

But it is mildly entertaining. I think my favorite bits focused on the commoners. 

© 2018 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews