Customer Reviews

The Story of George Washington

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

 

 

We bought this book, along with several other children's books about George Washington, for our young children. This is by far my favorite among those we bought. It gives a brief overview on a child's level, without offering history in a way that is boring for small children (I thought the other ones were boring, and so did my kids.) pictures are nice, and the book is sturdy. I'm going to buy some more to give as gifts.

I got this book (along with others) to introduce small children to American History. I like the book, but feel like it's a bit "dry". Why include details like "He won the war at Yorktown, Virginia." If you only have two sentences about the Revolutionary War in the whole book, why use one sentence to mention the city and state where the war ended? Tell us that he won and some amazing, honorable thing HE DID in the the war. It is important to note that this book focuses on the WHOLE life of George Washington, birth to retirement. So, with only two sentences for each "chapter" of his life(being a board book for pre-schoolers, it IS the right length!) the events associated with his presidency and public service are told in 6 to 8 sentences. The other pages discuss where born, interests, farming, retirement, family. It's a good overview of the facts of George Washington's life.

The children enjoyed hearing about George Washington's life. They were very impressed and kept talking about it for a while.

This was a good book, my son often picked it when he wanted us to read to him. It's a solid board style book and keeps to the facts. They dodge the subject of slavery, but there are hint. All and all a good little book for 2 to 4 year olds.

This book depicts Washington on a horse surveying one of his farms. He and the slaves working on his farm are smiling at and waving to each other. It just says he was a "farmer" who owned several farms and visited his farms each day. It does not explain that he was a slave owner or who the slaves are. Given the young age this book is geared for, the author probably chose to gloss over slavery. If you are comfortable with this imagery and this text to describe it this book may work for you. I think it would be more honest not to mention it than to depict it in a sugar coated way.

Who's your daddy? Washington's birthday, February 22, should be a federal holiday. President's Day is meaningless. It is wrong to celebrate Martin Luther King's birthday and not George Washington's. Washington is the daddy, not King. After 9/11, it is clear that there are people in the world who hate the United States and would destroy it. It is time to go to our roots. The creation of the Department of Homeland Security was a step. The Patriot Act was a step. The reinstitution of Washington's birthday as a holiday should be a step. It took guts to break with Great Britain in the late 18th century. Britain owned the 13 colonies. Americans were British subjects. The American Revolution went on six years, ending when Cornwallis surrendered. The United States became a nation in 1776. The electoral college elected George Washington as its first president. Washington came from a family of Virgina planters. He believed in westward expansion and cared about foreign policy. He distanced the United States from England and France and warned against extremism in political parties.