Customer Reviews

George vs. George: The Revolutionary War as Seen by Both Sides

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

We read this book as part of my son's studies of the American Revolution. In all honesty, until he began these studies, I'd never given much thought to George Washington - now I find myself fascinated by this man's character. While I've graduated to adult literature about our first President, I continue to read my son's books, as well. As this title suggests, the author attempts to present facts (drawn from historical documents) about the Revolutionary War, George Washington and King George III and to demonstrate the two men's reasoning behind the decisions they made and draw parallels between them. I got the feeling that she really wants us to "like" George III, because, according to her research, a majority of Britains did, and he wasn't really a "tyrant". She indicates that while our Declaration of Independence puts all the blame on George III, it was really Great Britain's Parliament that was to blame. George III never meant to harm anyone. Hmmmm. I'll reserve comment on that.

If you're looking for a lot of info about George Washington, this really isn't the book. If you want a children's book where the author attempts to give a look at both sides of the war, she does that here. Her artwork is wonderful in its simplicity, yet still loaded with detail.

One thing missing from this book, since it's as much about differences as it is parallels...My son wondered if George III ever actually fought for his country like George Washington did.

And then, Schanzer has Washington smiling broadly during the charge of the Battle of Princeton, as he says "It's a fine fox chase, my boys." I doubt he smiled at all, simply because he was continuously troubled by painful tooth problems, wore dismally uncomfortable dentures and was very self conscious of the whole matter. And from everything else I've read so far, a smile in the midst of battle, no matter how victorious he might have felt after Trenton, doesn't seem to fit with who he was.

The reading age range is listed as 9-12. My son is a struggling reader at age 11. He was reluctant to read it, so this was one I read to him. He asked a lot of questions and spent much time examining the illustrations - it took us quite a while to get through it, but he says he likes the book.

Beautifully illustrated book on Revolutionary War that helps explain the war by comparing George Washington and King George III. Accurate information, clearly expressed in readable prose with a good story line. Humorous and very colorful artwork is very appealing. My grandsons, ages 8 and 10, loved it, and so did I. Highly recommend this book, especially if your children are turned off by "history."

My 8 and 11 year old boys (and I, I must admit), were drawn in by this book and it's interesting illustrations. The page illustrating the different types of soldiers used by each side in the war is just the sort of thing a boy needs to engage his brain in the reading of a "boring" history book! The illustrated diagram of British government, for another example, is so much more effective than a dry paragraph describing the parliamentary system. Thus drawn in, the material found is well-presented. Not perfect, but very good. I did appreciate the author's attempt to present consideration of "both sides," rather than the typical black and white portayal of pure, heroic Americans vs. an evil, irrational enemy. Highly recommended by this homeschooling Mom.

This picture book provides an interesting look at the American struggle for independence. Its value lies in how it chronicles important events from the dual perspectives of the American colonists as well as the British, helping children to understand that the same historical event can be interpreted differently from different vantage points.

It is of additional value because its illustrated format makes the Revolutionary War accessible to lower elementary students who typically prefer their text to be accompanied by drawings. (As a nice touch, the colorful illustrations are peppered with speech balloons containing real quotes from real people about the various events taking place on each page.) The text, while simple, appears well researched and the author nicely provides more studious readers with a bibliography and index.

I really enjoyed this book as an adult who doesn't like history all that much. It gives an unbiased view of what happened leading up to, during, and after the revolutionary war (it only has a few pages after the war). I liked one of the page spreads that had information in the form of a diagram to show how each of our governments worked before the war (in America it was slightly different).

In the beginning it gave a short biography of both Georges.

All of the illustrations were great. There were speech bubbles sprinkled in with real quotes.

I don't know much about history, but it seemed to hit all the important points of the war: The Boston Tea Party, the Boston Massacre, The Battle of Lexington, Bunker Hill, etc.

My only gripe was this (the rest of the book was great): It made it seem like the Americans were getting mad for little reason when the British only had one small tea tax. Yes, it said we were mad because we had taxation without representation, but the British were being very reasonable and they gave us lots of things and deserved some taxes. Why not get mad after the British STOP being reasonable?

I think this would be an ideal book to buy and use for homeschooling to teach the American Revolution. It is long enough to use for many days I should think, and there seem to be logical stopping places. 64 pages may not seem like much, but there is a lot of information. It was easy to read. Plus, it's made by National Geographic, so you know it's good.

If you want to paint the American Revolution in a "clearly we were way more right and the British were horrible Tyrants" kind of way, then this is probably not the book for you, otherwise, definitely buy it.

Beautifully written and Illustrated book for teaching/learning about the Revolutionary War

This book is very informative and factual, with a timely progression of the events which led up to the Revolutionary War. The presentation of the book is very well done, with a nice compare/contrast of the lives of King George vs. George Washington. The book also reveals the pressures that King George underwent leading up to the War...which helps present children with different perspectives of war and that there are always two sides of a story.

Love, love, love this book. It shows not just about both Georges, but the history of America in an amazing way. I love now you see the British viewpoint as well as the Colonists. The illustrations are also equally great. We used the photos to help us understand some of the battles, and get a better understanding of the French and Indian war.

Rosalyn Schanzer has a style that is immediately recognizable and impeccably researched. Her illustrations are so good, you may miss the fact that this is an impressive history book in its own right. She presents George Washington and King George III as perfect foils, balanced in personalities and looks and interests.

Full of pictorial representations for how things looked -- uniforms and weapons; battle scenes and ballrooms. Plus, Schanzer's illustrations "speak." My kids LOVE this book.

We have learned a ton from Rosalyn Schanzer's work -- "How we Crossed the West (Lewis and Clark)" and "Gold Fever (California Gold Rush)" and "John Smith Escapes Again (Pocahontas and more!)" and "How Ben Franklin Stole the Lightning" have built information into my little learners -- information that we have turned into book reports and field trips and projects.

Thank you, Rosalyn Schanzer.


ps -- Now, could you do it again? I need a good one on the Negro Leagues in baseball (hint hint).