Joan of Arc: A Picture Book About the Village Girl Who Led France to Independence for Children (Ages 4-8)

I love Diane Stanley's children's biographies! This reads like an exciting chapter book, even as it incorporates details and quotations from primary sources. My kids (1st - 8th grade) were completely engrossed, and begging to finish it when I said we had to save the second half for the next day. The violent end of Joan of Arc's life is not sugar-coated, but is handled quite tastefully. My six-year-old daughter could appreciate the story without inappropriate subjects coming up, while my middle schoolers and I could clearly understand some of the terrible circumstances that plagued her in her captivity and death. Some features I find particularly valuable as an educator include: - Detailed, beautiful, and engaging illustrations to draw readers in and help them to visualize unfamiliar scenes. - Maps drawn especially to accompany pages where specific places are mentioned; they include just enough detail to orient the reader and pique the children's interest, without overwhelming them with too much information - A historical note at the end of the book explaining what source material was used and how it was incorporated. This was written carefully enough that the students were still willing to sit through it as well. Introducing children to the idea of source material, and that how it's handled matters, is extremely important... perhaps more important than it has ever been before. - A clear and concise section guiding readers (including young students) through how to consider the historicity of events surrounding a subject who claimed to see supernatural visions. This facilitated discussion of the difference between observable facts, personal testimony, etc.

This has a lot of info for a picture book! Enjoyable and good details. This is the specific book scheduled by the Ambleside Online homeschool curriculum for Year 2 (this could change but it has been scheduled in Y2 for a long time and is correct at the time of this review).

My son asked me if there had been any female knights. I thought of Joan of Arc and ordered this book. He was 5 at the time I purchased it and it held his interest all the way through. The illustrations were beautiful and there was just the right level of information / detail. There were some spots where it was tough for me, as I was reading it aloud, to keep track of the timing as far as how many years this was all taking place through, but I think for the intended audience, that is fine, and we can delve further into it with more mature works as the kids get older. All in all, an excellent introduction to Joan of Arc.

I gave this book one star. I thought the story was a bit bland. Then, I gave it to a Sunday School teacher at my church. She used it to tell the children about Joan. She said that the children loved the book.

Our granddaughter, age 8, has become very interested in Joan of Arc. I purchased this book because of recommendations I read on Amazon, and I was not disappointed. It is clear and concise and the illustrations are beautiful. We only just gave it to our granddaughter, so I will have to check back with her and see what she thinks, but I am pleased.

Excellent biography for older elementary students. This was a wonderful addition to our history study of the Middle Ages. It’s a long picture book so we read it over a few days.

We finished this book for our level 2 Ambleside home school class and I thought it was an appropriate amount of information about Joan for the grade level of my child. Pictures were nice on each page and gave us a brief glimpse into the life of Joan of Arc. The tragic ending was hard to read about, but I think it was a great sound board for discussion about our faith and what we are willing to do to stand for what we believe in.

Got this for my 6yo and she LOVES it. She can't read it herself yet as it is definitely aimed at older children. My 9yo would have no issues reading this. But my 6yo asks for it to be read to her all the time. She just loves Joan of Arc.

Wonderful illustrations. Content accurate for the readers.

Wonderful, just as advertised.

A good read for 8 -10 y/olds and read-aloud for younger. The pictures are great and the writing gives enough information to not bore the young reader with too much fact.

Beautiful book both visually and in terms of the language of the text. My 5 year old grandson loves it. Finds bits of it scary but that seems to be part of his enjoyment.

Excellent account for KS2.