Peter the Great Hardback - 1986

In this welcome reissue of Diane Stanley's acclaimed picture book biography, her meticulously researched text and sumptuous illustrations capture the fabulous world of seventeenth--and eighteenth-century tsarist Russia and the greatness of its larger-than-life leader--a man of huge stature and tremendous spirit whose impatience and vision, insatiable curiosity and boundless energy transformed half a continent. This nonfiction picture book is an excellent choice to share during homeschooling, in particular for children ages 6 to 8. It's a fun way to learn to read and as a supplement for activity books for children.

Peter the Great, crowned tsar of Russia at the age of ten, believed that whatever he wanted he should have--and the sooner the better. What he wanted most was to bring his beloved country into the modem world. He traveled to the West to learn European ways--the first tsar ever to leave Russia--disguised as a common soldier.

He explored the West with excitement and curiosity and returned home ready to undertake a series of momentous social reforms. And to satisfy his boyhood dream of a Russian naval port, he began to build, on a freezing swamp, a glittering new capital to be named St. Petersburg.