Free with Museum Admission
Recommended for ages 9-12 and their adults

How did a poor kid from the island of Nevis end up forming our new nation’s economy? As a part of our Summer of Hamilton program series, we’ll discuss Newbery-Honor author Jean Fritz’s middle-grade biography Alexander Hamilton: The Outsider. We’ll also take an up-close look at some rare and precious documents related to Hamilton’s life and times from the Gilder Lerhman Institute of American History’s vast collection.

About Alexander Hamilton: The Outsider
Alexander Hamilton’s story, though it mostly takes place before there is such a thing as the United States, is uniquely “American.” Coming from humble beginnings, he becomes George Washington’s aide de camp and, eventually, the nation’s first Secretary of the Treasury… But he’s not without his enemies along the way. From Booklist’s starred review: “Fritz, a notable biographer of the Revolutionary War period for young people, provides a brisk, well-written account introducing Founding Father Alexander Hamilton as an outsider to America… This lively biography sheds light on Hamilton’s character and his place at the nation’s beginnings.”

About the Reading into History Family Book Club
Every month families read a historical fiction or nonfiction book together at home, and then attend a Book Wrap event, where they share reactions to the book, see cool Museum artifacts and documents related to the story, and meet other history detectives and special guests! Past special guests have included authors Walter Dean Myers, Avi and Rita Williams-Garcia, plus Museum curators, historians, and other experts.