(#37) / The United States Constitution – A Graphic Adaptation / (written) by Jonathan Hennessey and (art design) by Aaron McConnell / (Book)

Opening

Bibliographic Information:

The United States Constitution – A Graphic Adaptation /

(written) by Jonathan Hennessey and (art design) by Aaron McConnell

ISBN-13: 978-0809094707/ Hill and Wang

p. 106/ $11.53 (Amazon)

2008

Body of Content

Summary: This book is a graphic novel – representing the American Constitution in a largely visual form.  The book structures itself around the very organizational scheme of the famous document – starting with the Preamble – before moving on to Article I through VII – briefly detailing the events surrounding ratification – then moves to the Bill of Rights before finishing with the other amendments (11 through 27).  The narrative is a mix of quoted material from the Constitution and author-supplied historical information.  The former is noticeable by quotation marks – off setting it – while the latter acts as narrative glue to provide a framework and context to the modern reader.  The graphic layout looks unique throughout the novel – as some pages reply on multiple frames in a row, while other pages are one sole picture.  The book is in color and provides a nice balance between text and visual aids.    

Critique: The Preamble might represent the greatest strength of the graphic novel.  While the other sections relate information well, the opening pages help provide a historical context for the reader.  Many Americans have a general sense of the amendments: they may not know the corresponding numbers, but they know one refers to voting – others to the Prohibition era – others to the issue of slavery, etc. 

In this way, the Preamble helps set the stage for the whole document.  And the writers of this book perform a great job by the use of allusions and comparisons – of the early American government to other world governments and thinkers back during the Enlightenment.  This novel points out the relationship between the founders’ desires for a written document compared to the largely informal British constitution (p. 23).  It also points out key people – like Baron Montesquieu (i.e. “checks and balances” fame) – who helped frame key percepts, wording, and concepts within the framers’ discussions (cf. p. 20).  In other words, the authors of this graphic novel present a history lesson before presents their history lesson.

Teaser: The prose of America’s most important document comes to life in a visually-oriented graphic novel.

Information about the Author: Jonathan Hennessy lives in Los Angeles employed as a writer.  Overall, he is a seasoned writer within the television and film business.  Currently, Phoenix Pictures employs Hennessey as a story analyst (MacMillan, 2011).  His film experience demonstrates a wide divergence of titles – mostly as a production assistant or assistant director (IMDB, 2011).  Just this last fall, Hennessey again teamed with artist Aaron McConnell to produce another graphic novel – a similarly-themed, historical work – The Gettysburg Address (Amazon, 2011).

Supplemental Material

Genre: Graphic Novel / Historical Nonfiction

Curriculum Ties: History – government, founding fathers, early republic, legal code

Booktalking Ideas: 1) Have you ever wondered what shaped certain amendments within our Constitution? 2) Have you ever wanted a more narrative approach to understanding American history – this graphic novel may have some advantages over a classic textbook. 

Reading Level: The Constitution itself is more of an adult title – but the graphic novel version beings it to a younger audience – easily readable by teens 13-19.

Challenge Issues and Defense:  It is difficult to see challenges – perhaps a historian may differ on the presentation of a political party or historical person – but such a case is not likely.  

Personal Reasons for Inclusion: This represents a second title – which contains a straight curriculum inclusion (cf. Billions & Billions) – and in this book’s case, it could serve as a supplemental textbook for any American history class.

Last Thoughts

References:

Amazon. (2011). The Gettysburg Address [Webpage]. Retrieved from

http://www.amazon.com/Gettysburg-Address-Jonathan-Hennessey/dp/ 0061969761/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323748582&sr=1-2

Internet Movie Database (IMDB). (2011). Jonathan Hennessey [Webpage]. Retrieved from

            http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0377257/

MacMillan. (2011). Jonathan Hennessey [Webpage]. Retrieved from

http://us.macmillan.com/author/jonathanhennessey

Listening to (Music):

Artist – Michelle Branch / Album – “The Spirit Room”