Customer Reviews

. . . If You Grew Up with George Washington

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

 

 

I have several of the "If You Grew Up...." titles in my free-reading area of my sixth grade classroom. The George Washington title is one of the most-often chosen titles--probably because they are curious about our first president. This title also gives a good description of what life was like for the gentry class of Virginia in the 1740s-1760s. Students have been able to use the information to write comparison pieces about GW's life and their own. I highly recommend this title and the others in the series for both the literature and social studies classroom. Weak readers have a high interest in the subject matter; strong readers enjoy a quick read.

Outstanding look backwards in time to discover what it would have been like to grow up with George Washington. The book answers lots of questions; What kind of clothes would you wear?, What about the bathroom?, What did children do to have fun?, What would you learn in school? How did people carry their tabacco around?, Who made the laws for the colony? and many more... Loads of cheery illustrations cover the pages.

Although I don't have all the books in this series ("if you..."), the six that I have are so fun and interesting, that I intend to get them all asap. My three children (3-8), my husband and I LOVE them.

Life in the colony of Virginia in the 1730's and 1740's -- the time that George Washington was growing up -- is described in lively detail with wonderful watercolor illustrations! Food, clothing, work, games, education, news, fashion, medicine and more are all brought to life for young readers.

How wonderful for children to get an idea of what kind of childhood formed the mind of our first American President.

This book was very good for showing my grandchildren what life was like in the olden days. Not as appreciated as I thought it would be by them, however, the book still managed to stimulate discussion about what it would have been like to live in a different time. This was quite valuable information to contrast with what children are exposed to on television and in the current world around them which must sometimes be a strange experience - no, we don't actually have spaceships or ray guns, etc.

Grandaughter (9) and grandson (4) did not return to this book as much as others in the series of "What was it like when ..... ". However, it was still a learning event in a fun way and more importantly, allows them to see and have explained to them very clearly and age appropriately, life from before their parents' (and yes! even their grandparents') were born.