Module 11

 Informational Books

George Washington's Teeth by Deborah Chandra & Madeleine Comora

Pictures by Brock Cole

Bibliography
Chandra, D., Comora, M. (2003). George Washington's Teeth. New York, NY: Square Fish.


ISBN 978-0-312-37604-8

Summary

According to a letter Washington wrote he did at one time wear false teeth secured by wires hitched around his remaining teeth, which were not many. His last set of dentures were made by a Dr. Greenwood, and carved from hippopotamus ivory.  There are many rumors about our first president and his teeth, and now we can say that he didn't have a set of wooden teeth, but they were not much better either.  This cute rhyming story tells the story of hie teeth and how he always had issues with it, he lost a tooth every year after he turned 24. 

My Impression

It was an interesting and informative book for our young readers, recommend it for kids, since it is a fast read and full of great pictures and makes him so human.

Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The creators of George Washington's Teeth unhinge the jaws of history to examine the mouth of America's first president, tracking the poor man's dental woes as he gallops to war, crosses the Delaware, and, with only two teeth left, takes his place as leader of the country. Washington was plagued by black, rotting teeth from the time he was 22, losing about one a year until he was nearly "toofless" and had to have his first dentures made from a hippotamus tusk (that's right, not wood!). Poets Deborah Chandra and Madeleine Comora begin their quirky historical tale at a lively clip: "The Revolutionary War/ George hoped would soon be won,/ But another battle with his teeth/ Had only just begun..." Indeed. Evidently he was losing teeth even as he crossed the Delaware: "George crossed the icy Delaware/ With nine teeth in his mouth./ In that cold and pitchy dark,/ Two more teeth came out!" (Cleverly, illustrator Brock Cole mimics Emanuel Leutze's famous painting "Washington Crossing the Delaware," making Washington seem more uncomfortably tight-lipped than dignified.) The story ends happily ever after with the crafting of a nice new pair of ivory false teeth that allow George to dance around the ballroom through the night. Truth be told, however, he would be deeply troubled by his teeth until the day he died. A four-page, illustrated historic timeline of Washington's life (and mouth) completes this carefully researched, very funny, charmingly illustrated picture book that works to humanize a larger-than-life historical figure and in turn, history itself. Brilliant! (Ages 7 and older)

From Publishers Weekly

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. All ages. 

Use in Library Setting

It should be available to younger readers, and used in classrooms as a resource for their projects and to set the record straight about him having wooden teeth.  The kids will get a kick out of this story.

Review. (n.d.). George Washington's Teeth. [Review of the book George Washington's Teeth]. 

Amazon.com. 
Available from

http://www.amazon.com/George-Washingtons-Teeth-Deborah-Chandra/dp/0312376049/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354847658&sr=8-1&keywords=george+washington%27s+teeth

Image from

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/george-washingtons-teeth-deborah-chandra/1102949112?ean=9780374325343