GOOD QUEEN BESS: The Story of Elizabeth I of England
by Diane Stanley and Peter Vennema

1. Bibliography:
Stanley, Diane and Peter Vennema. GOOD QUEEN BESS: THE STORY OF ELIZABETH I OF ENGLAND. 1990. New York: Four Winds Press. ISBN 027868109

Diane Stanley is Diane Stanley is the “recipient of the Washington Post / Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award and the 2008 Mazza Medallion Award for the body of her work.”(dianestanley.com) She and her husband Peter Vennema created this book and Diane creatively illustrated the pictures.

http://www.dianestanley.com/Index.htm

2. Plot Summary
GOOD QUEEN BESS is a picture book biography that is the story of Queen Elizabeth and her reign as the Queen of England. The story is set in England during the 1500 - 1600’s and it focuses on the issues that evolved during the religious movement known as the “Reformation” of the Catholics and Protestants.
King Henry VIII of England was their father and he was obsessed with having a son to take the throne after his death. His first wife had one daughter so he enforced divorce by forming the Church of England and he was the head of the church. During King Henry VIII lifetime, he was married six times. fAfter the death of their father, Elizabeth’s brother Edward VI became king at the age of nine but he died at age fifteen. The next in line for the throne was Princess Mary, Elizabeth’s half sister became Queen and the people were afraid for their country. Three hundred of the people of Protestant faith were burned for heresy. The people nicknamed her “Bloody Mary”
On November 17, 1558 Mary died and Elizabeth became queen at the age of twenty-five. She was good to her people and did not enforce a religious belief. She was an excellent ruler who could manipulate the people around her kingdom and those in foreign countries while often playing one side against the other to get the results she was seeking. Elizabeth was well educated by university scholars. She worked hard, was intelligent, had a strong memory, studied Latin, Greek, Italian, Spanish, Spanish, music and her handwriting was beautiful. The story ends with the death of Queen Elizabeth on March 24, 1603 which ended her “45th year of her reign”. Her successor was Mary’s son James VI of Scotland. This historical time was name after the Queen as the “Elizabethan Age after the remarkable queen who loved her people so dearly and ruled them so well.”


3. Critical Analysis
GOOD QUEEN BESS

The book was a 1992 - 1993 Bluebonnet Nominee and it is a powerful account of Queen Elizabeth I and the life she lived. The facts throughout the book are delivered in a significant and accurate manner by the author who is well recognized for her works in non fiction. The supporting bibliographies located at the end of the book directs the reader to additional information of Queen Elizabeth and the historical context of the 1500 -1600’s. Three additional bibliographies are provided as suggestions for young readers. A map of the Holy Crusade and the Spanish Armada that set sail to attack England is included in the book to help the reader follow the voyage and understand the geographical location of the attack.


The book is intended for children ages 4 - 8 with historical and factual information that would be educational and moving to older children as well. The book reveals the difficulties and hardships of this time. Women were not equal to men and her father felt that a son would be more appropriate to rule the kingdom but Elizabeth was a strong and powerful woman who loved her country and the people. “Through clever and subtle manipulation, she managed to keep England out of war for twenty-seven years.”
Elizabeth lived her life alone and many decisions she made were very difficult such as the signing of death warrants. The lifestyles were feasts, jewels, immaculate clothing, tournaments, festivals, and dances with the mention of small pox, the plague and no sanitary plumbing to engage the reader in what it would be like to live during this historical time.

The illustrations are colorful paintings that realistically set the time of Queen Elizabeth and the royal clothing, and animals are lifelike in detail. The paintings are detailed showing painted and wooden ceilings, tiled floors, wall paper, stone walls, furniture, and glass windows.

The text is written to assist the reader connecting with Queen Elizabeth as a real life individual who had trials and tribulations just as the reader may encounter. “She didn’t mind throwing a temper tantrum now and again if that would gain time, change the subject or win her point.”

In my opinion, the book had a very powerful and well written to provide insight and educational information for the reader in connection with the Elizabethan Age.

4. Review Excerpts

From Publishers Weekly
Once again available from the husband-and-wife team behind Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare, here is another biography from the Elizabethan Age: Good Queen Bess: The Story of Elizabeth I of England (1990) by Diane Stanley and Peter Vennema, illus. by Stanley. Describing the conflict between Catholics and Protestants, the authors lay the groundwork for Queen Elizabeth's greatest challenges: stopping the bloodshed and uniting her country under one faith, and keeping the peace with the rest of Europe. Intricate artwork conveys the delicate lace and accoutrements of court dress, patterned ceilings and cobblestone streets.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
Grade 5 Up-- That most wise and wily queen of England, Elizabeth I, is the subject of this picture biography. The handsome illustrations, exemplified by the visualization of those small English boats set afire and launched to face the Spanish Armada, are worthy of their subject. Although the format suggests a picture-book audience, this biography needs to be introduced to older readers who have the background to appreciate and understand this woman who dominated and named an age, and of whom the authors write, "When it came to a clash of wills, the two houses of Parliament and all her councellors were no match for Elizabeth." The text is clearly written, explaining the main events and key decisions of Elizabeth's life and reign. For readers wanting more depth, a short bibliography of mostly adult titles ends the book. --Amy Kellman, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


Connections: Read the story to the children displaying the pictures, while pointing out the landscape, clothing, furniture, decorations, rooms and animals. Discuss comparatively the transportation, plumbing, illness and additional topics throughout the book to how we live today.

Additional works by Diane Stanley and Peter Vennema include:

SHAKA, KING OF THE ZULUS
CHARLES DICKENS: THE MAN WHO HAD GREAT EXPECTATIONS
BARD OF AVON: THE STORY OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
CLEOPATRA