Chandra, Deborah and Madeleine Comora. George Washington's Teeth. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2003.
Summary:
This is a fun story, told in verse, about the life long problems that George Washington had with his teeth. The story recounts his loss of teeth through the Revolutionary war through having false teeth made from hippo tusks as president, with amusing illustrations to capture each part of the tale. After the story, there is a timeline of George Washington's life that will give young readers knowledge about the president, and about his real tooth problems.
My Impressions:
This is a very creative way to tell the story of one of the aspects of George Washington's life. While the topic of someone's teeth could be considered by most to be uninteresting, Washington is such a large figure in American history that the legend of his false teeth have carried on through the years. This story does an excellent job of portraying fact in a fun way. The funny verse along with the amusing illustrations provide the reader with the overall story of Washington's dental issues, but also provides the reader with entertainment. In addition, the timeline of Washington's life at the end of the book also provides the reader with reinforcement and context for the story.
Suggestions for the use of this book:
This book could be used in a lesson on George Washington, or it could be used in a lesson or storytime about dental hygiene.
Reviews:
Zvirin, Stephanie. Review of George Washington's Teeth, by Deborah Chandra and Madeleine Comora. Booklist, January 15, 2003.
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.
Review of George Washington's Teeth, by Deborah Chandra and Madeleine Comora. Publisher's Weekly, December 2, 2002.
In a clever approach to history, Chandra and Comora string together spry stanzas describing the dental difficulties that plagued George Washington. Rhyming verse explains how the general's rotten teeth gradually fall out during the Revolutionary War: "George crossed the icy Delaware/ With nine teeth in his mouth./ In that cold and pitchy dark,/ Two more teeth came out!" Cole complements this verse by rendering a sly watercolor twist on Emanuel Leutze's famous painting George Washington Crossing the Delaware, in a full-spread treatment: Washington still stands in quiet dignity, but the boatmen are grinning. By the time Washington is elected president, just two teeth remain in his mouth. Kids will love the details, such as the way Washington uses a pair of his molars to fashion a mold from which the dentist makes a set of dentures (these are carved from hippopotamus ivory, and even shown, in a photograph in the afterword). Infusing his bustling watercolor vignettes with comic hyperbole, Cole easily keeps pace with the lighthearted narrative. One especially funny image shows the president sprawled on the floor, legs in the air, after viewing a newly painted portrait ("George stood up to have a look-/ He fell back on his fanny./ `It doesn't look like me!' he roared./ `It looks like Martha's granny!' "). An annotated timeline at the end includes quotes from the leader's letters and diaries chronicling his relentless efforts to hide his dental problems and the extent to which they caused him chronic pain and embarrassment. A highly palatable historical morsel.
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