O.K., there is one major boner -- Meltzer says that the Magna Carta bars the United Kingdom's sovereign from being a Catholic. The Church of England didn't get started until about 300 years after that.

Leaving that aside, this is a very nice biography of Paine intended for children, but useful for an adult who wants more that an encyclopedia article, but not a full biography. It has some very thoughtful considerations of various people's motives and situations. It is admiring, but not uncritical of Paine. Not only is it tragic that Paine's first wife died in childbirth, but he probably could have used a little help from a somewhat more practical person. I thought the author made his brilliance clear, and generated great sympathy for his troubled life. I had always heard that Paine was an atheist, but this contradicts that idea, although I'm sure he was called one. ( )