Thomas Jefferson

In this third release in the Getting to Know the U.S. Presidents video series (see review of George Washington in VL-11/07), adapted from Mike Venezia's 2004 book of the same name, a cartoon figure of Jefferson narrates the text with a slight Southern accent, while historical paintings and prints alternate with cartoon action to illustrate the information. While Venezia always inserts humor—Patrick Henry, after dramatically stating, “Give me liberty or give me death!” grabs a bunch of flowers and keels over—his overview is sound, as viewers learn that Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence; designed and built his own home, Monticello; negotiated the Louisiana Purchase (Venezia depicts a cartoon Napoleon as a late-night-TV hawker—”But wait, there's more!”); sent Lewis and Clark forth on their historic expedition; founded the University of Virginia; and even smuggled a strain of Italian rice into the United States because he thought it would grow well here. Useful despite—or perhaps even because of—the silliness (which will appeal to the target audience), this is recommended. Aud: E, I, P. (G.A. DeCandido)