Duel! Burr and Hamilton's Deadly War of Words

Duel!  Burr and Hamilton’s Deadly War of Words

Written by Dennis Brindell Fradin

Illustrated by Larry Day

Walker Publishing Company, Inc., 2008

32 pages

            There are many people that just can’t seem to get along with one another.  Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, two famous men in American history, were like that.  Burr was jealous of Hamilton because President Washington liked him, and they both did and said things just to hurt each other.  After being offended by another one of Hamilton’s vicious remarks, Burr demanded that Hamilton either apologize or agree to a duel.  Hamilton accepted the duel.  What happened after that?  Did they really duel?  Did either of them die?  Read Duel! written by Dennis Brindell Fradin to find out!

            Larry Day used ink with watercolor and gouache to create the stunning illustrations in this book.  He employed both doublespreads and singles to display his illustrations, and each illustration directly connects to what is being described in the text.  The colors Day used are not very bright, and his artistic style is realistic.  Both of these characteristics are very fitting for the time period this story is written about.  I really enjoyed these illustrations, and I believe that they supplemented the text well.

            I really enjoyed this book, and I think it would be a great addition to any classroom ranging from third to sixth grade.  This book could be used as a read aloud in addition to the textbook to teach about this time period in American history.  It would allow students to get a deeper understanding of this time period, and it would address an event in history that many people do not know about.  This book would also be a good resource to use when writing an essay about this topic.  Furthermore, this book could be used to initiate a writing activity.  The teacher could ask the students to write a journal entry from the point of view of one of the seconds that accompanied Hamilton and Burr to the duel.  Overall, I believe this book would be a great addition to any elementary teacher’s collection.