Module 11 George Washington's Teeth

George Washington’s Teeth

Citation:

Chandra, D. & Comora, M. (2003). George Washington’s Teeth. New York: Farra Straus Giroux.

Summary:

The author chronicles historical events of George Washington’s life through the loss of his teeth. “Starting at age twenty-four, he lost on average a tooth a year, and by the time he was elected President, he had only two left! In this reverentially funny tales based on Washington’s letters, diaries and other historical records, readers will find out what really happened as they follow the trail of lost teeth to complete tooflessness” (Chandra and Comora, 2003).

Review:

Booklist starred (January 1, 2003 (Vol. 99, No. 9))

“K-Gr. 3. Second only to kids'curiosity about George Washington and the cherry tree may be their interest in his teeth.Did the prez wear wooden dentures? Chandra and Comora set the record straight with wit, verve, and a generous amount of sympathy for poor Washington and his dental woes. Unfurling smoothly against a backdrop of Washington's career as soldier and president, the tale goes forward in sprightly, read-aloud rhyme that never falters: "Poor George has two teeth in his mouth / The day the votes came in. / The people had a President /But one afraid to grin."And illustrator Cole is at his absolute best here, totally at ease with human gesture and expression. Each spread is a tableaulike scene (or scenes) filled with costumed characters busily engaged in humorously visualizing the actual history. The color palette and energy of the art harks back to Cole's Buttons (1999), but there's much more detail and movement in these pictures, which work well as amusing preparation for the more sedately illustrated, annotated time line of George's dental decay that precedes a full roundup of historical sources the authors used in telling the tale. This is history for youngsters that will stick; it's wild and fun and factual, without a trace of mockery” (Titlewave, 2011).

　

Impression:

I read George Washington's Teeth too and loved it. I had actually bought it for my daughter, but had not actually read it. I plan on reading it to my class since we study the American Revolution. It has a lot of interesting and entertaining information in it. I did not realize that Washington only had two teeth when he became President. He had a lot of dental problems. I now notice that in a lot of his portraits his face does appear to be swollen; it's because of infected teeth or gaps left after most of his teeth fell out. The painters would have him put cotton in his mouth because his face was so sunken in because of his missing teeth. I was lucky enough to travel to Washington, D.C. a couple of summers ago and was able to visit Mount Vernon. There is a musuem on Washington's estate and on display are the fake teeth that Washington would wear and often times they were made of bone not wood like most people believe. This book was a perfect example of what I think an informational book should be like.

Library setting:

I would have students create a timeline similar to the one at the end of the book except the events would be simplified and would include pictures that the students drew and colored.



Titlewave. (2011). [Review of George Washington’s Teeth by Deborah Chandra & Madeleine Comora]. Retrieved from http://www.titlewave.com/search?SID=7083990ad58d141b96f708da08da0f61