MOST WANTED:
The Revolutionary Partnership
of John Hancock & Samuel Adams

John Hancock and Samuel Adams were an unlikely pair of troublemakers. Hancock was young and dashing. Adams was old and stodgy. But working together, they rallied the people of Boston against the unfair policies of Great Britain and inspired American resistance.

And to King George, they became a royal pain.

When the British army began marching toward Lexington and Concord, sending Hancock and Adams fleeing into the woods, the two men couldn’t help but worry . . . this time, had they gone too far?

Rich with historical detail and primary sources, this spirited tale takes readers through ten years of taxes and tea-tossing, tyranny and town hall meetings. The team behind Thomas Paine and the Dangerous Word reunites for a lively look at the origins of the American Revolution told through the powerful partnership of two legendary founders.

Illustrator: Edwin Fotheringham
Editor: Rotem Moscovich
Art Designer: Phil Buchanan
ISBN 978-1368026833

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KIRKUS REviews, *starred REVIEW*

The story of the partnership and unlikely friendship between Samuel Adams and John Hancock. In a punchy prose style and with rich historical detail, Marsh emphasizes the differences between the rabble-rousers. Wealthy Hancock, owner of ships and warehouses, “lived in a mansion with fifty-four windows high above Boston.” He was most interested in parties, fine wine, and looking his best in the latest fashions while being pulled around town in his golden carriage. Adams owned little, went about shabbily dressed, and was outspoken about politics. The Stamp Act prompted Hancock’s political awakening. Seeing an opportunity to recruit Boston’s wealthiest and most visible citizen to the cause of liberty, Adams invited Hancock to join in a peaceful boycott of British goods, the beginning of their powerful partnership.

Fotheringham’s distinctive art depicts Adams as serious and surly and Hancock as dashing and arrogant. Most characters are white. A notable double-page spread depicts Hancock’s enslaved black house servant responding with an expression of disgust at the irony of Hancock’s words: “I will not be a slave. I have a right to the liberties and privileges of the English constitution.” In her author’s note, Marsh notes that Hancock owned enslaved people and that the phrase “all men are created equal” excluded equality for women and nonwhite people.

A lively, insightful look at the origins of the American Revolution. (timeline, bibliography, source notes) (Informational picture book. 6-10)

school library connection, *STARRED REVIEW*

American Revolutionary organizers, patriots, and (eventual) heroes could not have had more different backgrounds or personalities. Samuel Adams was a poor but outspoken American colonist who frequently talked about liberty and law. John Hancock was rich, flamboyant, and loved partying. Both attended Harvard University. Marsh wonders how two such disparate characters were able to promote and participate in the same fight for independence from Great Britain, yet acknowledges they complemented each other. Together they became a thorn in British colonial rule and fugitives from the British army. The text covers the approximate ten years of the pre-revolutionary era until Paul Revere’s ride, the Battles of Lexington and Concord, and the Continental Congress session that followed soon after. 

Marsh does an outstanding job comparing and contrasting the character of Adams and Hancock. Edwin Fotheringham’s cartoon-style illustrations add period detail and emphasize the personalities of the two men. The richness of the British red coats, Hancock’s red velvet coat, as well as fireworks and flames all punctuate the pictures, as do bold splashes of quotations that race across the pages. Language arts teachers could use this title as a mentor text when teaching comparative writing, while social studies teachers could use it as a representative biography for the American Revolutionary period. Even general readers will have fun with the exciting limited biography. Pair this title for a similar age group with Jean Fritz’s Revolutionary period biographies of King George, Paul Revere, Ben Franklin, Patrick Henry, Sam Adams, and John Hancock. Also include Marsh and Fotheringham’s first partnership, Thomas Paine and the Dangerous Word (Disney-Hyperion 2018). Includes factual back matter. Author’s Note. Bibliography. Source Notes. Timeline.

Highly Recommended.

HORN BOOK

Here readers meet the original American political odd couple: John Adams, the serious and staunch patriot, and John Hancock, the vain dilettante drawn into the revolution through self-interest. Using a compare-and-contrast structure throughout, and with occasional illuminating quotes, Marsh shows the sharp differences between the two. She presents these men at pivotal chronological points in American history, and by doing so distills much information into small, manageable, and memorable chunks. Despite their differences, the two find common ground when together they unite the colonists around the revolutionary cause. In an afterword, the author notes that the historical lens presented by the available resources reflects a white, male perspective on the past and neglects the circumstances of women, Native peoples, and African Americans. Fotheringham, however, acknowledges one such marginalized segment of the population in an illustration showing Hancock reading a newspaper, annoyed by Britain’s demands, and being served a pot of tea by an African American servant. Hancock remarks, “I will not be a slave”; deadpan, the servant raises an eyebrow at the reader. The digitally rendered illustrations reveal, in the facial expressions of other historical figures, much about their personalities as well as creating the historical landscape. Appended with source notes, multiple end notes, a timeline, a bibliography, websites, and a list of historical places open to visitors.

publisher’s weekly

Marsh and Fotheringham (Thomas Paine and the Dangerous Word) pair up again for an engaging and thoroughly researched glimpse into key figures from the Revolutionary War era. Opening spreads alliteratively point out distinctions between two famous Bostonians: affluent businessman John Hancock (“He loved parties and peach trees! He loved praise and personal attention!”) and the less wealthy, more political Samuel Adams (“He strode around town talking politics with silversmiths and sailors, wigmakers and whalers”).

The narrative’s playful, direct style and Fotheringham’s trademark cartoon illustrations—in which facial expressions rule and oversize quill pens take on a life of their own—detail the duo’s unlikely partnership and their rebellious acts, which made them wanted men to the English.

Marsh appends the story with more historical details, as well as a mea culpa: “The origin story of the U.S. is complex and contradictory. And it is not all to be celebrated,” she writes. Noting that her traditional account leaves out stories of the marginalized, including enslaved people, Native Americans, and women, she invites readers to question her perspective and “engage critically with the text.” A timeline, extensive source notes, and a bibliography wrap up a tale that, while admittedly limited in scope, shows that the study of history can be anything but boring. Ages 6–10.