Sign Here! A Picture Book of John Hancock by David A. and Michael S. Adler

With Independence Day just ahead on July 4, this is a good time to remember those founders who dared to pledge their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor as they signed the Declaration of Independence.

John Hancock literally put his money where his mouth (and famous signature) was. Hancock drew deeply upon his personal fortune to fund the resistance to the Crown in Massachusetts. Indeed, Hancock, with his fellow revolutionary Sam Adams, was part of the reason for the dispatching of armed British troops to Lexington and Concord, where their arrest and the seizure of the patriots' weapons Hancock had helped purchase were the purpose of the mission.

Hancock escaped arrest as the Battles of Lexinton and Corcord began on April 19, 1775, and went on to become president of the Second Continental Congress and therefore the first to sign the Declaration of Independence, joking that he would make sure his signature would be large enough for King George III to read without his spectacles.

John Hancock remained a member of the Continental Congress for three years, leaving only to assume command of the Massachusetts militia, and later served as the first elected governor of the State of Massachusetts, where he vigorously supported the adoption of the U. S. Constitution.

The latest book in David Adler's Picture Book Biographies series, A Picture Book of John Hancock (Picture Book Biography) gives young readers reason to appreciate why Americans revere and respect that famous signature and the impressive life story behind it.

Other biographies of Revolutionary patriots in this series are A Picture Book Of Samuel Adams, (Picture Book Biography) A Picture Book of Patrick Henry (Picture Book Biography), A Picture Book of Paul Revere (Picture Book Biography), A Picture Book of Thomas Jefferson (Picture Book Biography), A Picture Book of Benjamin Franklin (Picture Book Biography), A PICTURE BOOK OF JOHN AND ABIGAIL ADAMS, and A Picture Book of George Washington (Picture Book Biography).