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|---|---|---|
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Summary
Summary
A boy from Virginia becomes the first president
Before he was the face on the dollar bill, George Washington was a shy boy with a hot temper. But George had character and adaptability. He taught himself courage and self-control. At an early age, and without really realizing it, George Washington gathered the qualities he'd need to become one of the greatest leaders America has ever known.
Anne Rockwell's prose is dignified, Matt Phelan's illustrations are striking, and the details they reveal about George Washington's early days are fascinating, sometimes tragic, and always moving.
Includes an author's note.
Author Notes
Anne Rockwell was born in Memphis, Tennessee on February 8, 1934. She moved to New York City at the age of 18 and found a job doing typing work for a textbook publisher. She studied at Pratt Graphic Arts Center and at the Sculpture Center.
She became an author and illustrator. Her first children's book, Paul and Arthur Search for the Egg, was published in 1964. Her other books included Boats, Fire Engines, Things That Go, Our Earth, and Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth. She collaborated on several books with her husband Harlow Rockwell including Sally's Caterpillar and The Toolbox. After her husband's death, she collaborated with her daughter Lizzy Rockwell. Their books included Career Day and Zoo Day. She died of natural causes on April 10, 2018 at the age of 85.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-This picture-book biography begins when Washington was 13 years old and living at Mount Vernon with his older half brother, Lawrence. The story follows him as he grew into manhood and became a soldier. Washington was not a fighter by nature but felt it his duty to defend the country he loved. And so he did throughout the Revolutionary War, where his bravery and skilled leadership resulted in Washington becoming the first President of the United States. Told almost conversationally, the story is accessible for young readers and listeners. The pencil and gouache illustrations are inviting and lend a softness to the portrait of this founding father. The subtitle suggests an emphasis on Washington's inherent shyness and primes readers for finding out how he overcame it. In actuality, little time is spent on this trait and no problems are noted for him in that regard either in his role as general or president. Despite this oddity, the book is an approachable, readable, and likable account of an important man.-Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Socially awkward children take heart: in his boyhood, the father of our country, says Rockwell (They Called Her Molly Pitcher), "wasn't afraid of bears, or wolves, or the native hunters with bows and arrows... of anything, except making conversation." Her adulatory biography offers plenty for contemporary kids to connect with: her George Washington has a temper, dislikes the blood and gore of the battlefield and, even as a general, is the first to start digging trenches. But it's Phelan's (Very Hairy Bear) extraordinary artwork that cements the bond with readers. As his pencil-and-gouache scenes review the events of Washington's life up to the presidency, his scenes bristle with immediacy, dramatic tension and emotional insight. His fluid pictures impart the sense of vivid memories being conjured up, of history being re-lived in all its urgency and telling details. Audiences accustomed to visualizing Washington as the sphinx-like figure on the dollar bill will find Phelan's dashing, steely portrait nothing short of revelatory. Ages 6-9. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Primary) Perhaps as balance to the bicentennial emphasis on Abraham Lincoln comes this welcome new picture book biography of George Washington. Rockwell's direct text describes a tall, shy boy who admired the older brother who raised him, worked to conquer his diffidence and his temper, and went to war, first with and later against the British king, before becoming the first president of the United States. Phelan's soft pencil and gouache illustrations look almost tentative, stressing the boy in the man we know best as a great leader, and bringing the text to life. The words are well placed on double-page spreads where pictures show Washington exploring the Virginia woods, galloping on horseback, and reflecting by the fire, as well as using a sword in battle, crossing the Delaware in a small boat (not standing up), and, unlike most generals, digging a trench with his soldiers at Yorktown. This is an ideal introduction to the man for younger readers and listeners: nicely paced, admiring but not adulatory, and clear about his importance in history. A partial bibliography on the copyright page includes websites, and an afterword discusses Washington's views on slavery, adding depth to this portrayal. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Large in stature and shy of disposition, George Washington demonstrated a remarkable spirit from his early youth. This account focuses on Washington's upbringing, his Mount Vernon farming and his war experiences before his presidency, concluding with his election. Washington's hardships are convincingly portrayed as he grieves the devastating loss of his half brother in his youth. "For the rest of his life, George never spoke of that heartbreaking time." Washington's military leadership, demonstrated through Braddock's Defeat, Valley Forge and Yorktown, is effectively depicted. Repeatedly comparing Washington's life to the Roman leader Cincinnatus, his boyhood hero, Rockwell describes Washington's personal sacrifice for his fellow soldiers. The thin, swirling lines of Phelan's soft pencil-and-gouache illustrations enhance the stirring narrative, often depicting people against their natural environment; his powerful use of shadow and light emphasizes Washington's struggles and victories. Overall, a dynamic examination of one of America's first leaders. (author's note, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 7-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
From the front cover, this book announces itself as something different. A large picture of George Washington, looking younger and angrier than we're accustomed to seeing him, glowers before an acid yellow sky, in stark contrast to the shy boy described in the subtitle. The image promises a complex characterization, more sophisticated than the typical picture-book biography affords, and together Rockwell and Phelan offer up a portrait of the first president that keeps that promise. Instead of cherry-tree choppings and never telling lies, we discover Washington as a student of Cincinnatus, who learns lessons of honor that serve him throughout his life, whether or not the call to duty suits him. Rockwell gives us a whole man, from shy boy to country gentleman, reluctant battlefield hero to legendary leader, and Phelan's bold, dynamic paintings capture the nuances. In an afterword, the author considers the stain on the new nation's flag, approaching Washington's treatment of his slaves with candor and honesty. A fine biography that respects its audience as much as its subject.--Barthelmess, Thom Copyright 2009 Booklist
