<i>Big George: How a Shy Boy Became President Washington</i> (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Big George: How a Shy Boy Became President Washington Elizabeth Bush Rockwell , Anne Big George: How a Shy Boy Became President Washington; illus. by Matt Phelan. Harcourt, 200948 p ISBN 978-0-15-216583-3$17.00 R Gr. 3-4 "He wasn't afraid of bears, or wolves, or the native hunters with bows and arrows who shared those woods. George Washington wasn't afraid of anything, except making conversation. He was shy." Rockwell launches what promises to become a character study of the general and president, but she quickly abandons the shyness theme and turns out a solid if standard, biography. The focus is largely on Washington's childhood years and his military career, with only a page on his presidency, but Rockwell's smooth storytelling and knack for economically rendered [End Page 256] military episodes should connect well with elementary-grade children who haven't yet amassed much Washingtonian detail beyond the powdered wig and false teeth. Phelan's rough line and gouache pictures, similar in spirit and style to the biography illustrations of Don Brown, are sophisticated enough to draw and retain the attention of independent readers on the brink of deserting the picture-book format, and large enough to be viewed as a classroom readaloud. This title neatly fills a niche between David Adler's primary-level biographies and Russell Freedman's heavily illustrated Washington at Valley Forge (BCCB 12/08) for slightly older readers. With Lincoln poised to steal the thunder this Presidents Day, some fresh material on Washington should be warmly welcomed. Copyright © 2009 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois