George Washington's Teeth
By Deborah Chandra; Madeleine Comora; Brock Cole (Illustrator)
(Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), Hardcover, 9780374325343, 40pp.)
Publication Date: February 2003
Other Editions of This Title: Paperback (December 26, 2007)
Categories: History - United States/Colonial & Revolutionary
 |     |
A tongue-in-cheek dental history of our first President
"Poor George had two teeth in his mouth
The day the votes came in.
The people had a President,
But one afraid to grin."
From battling toothaches while fighting the British, to having rotten teeth removed by his dentists, the Father of His Country suffered all his life with tooth problems. Yet, contrary to popular belief, he never had a set of wooden teeth. Starting at the age of twenty-four, George Washington lost on average a tooth a year, and by the time he was elected President, he had only two left! In this reverentially funny tale written in verse and 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.
Illustrated in watercolors with subtle humor by Brock Cole, the main story is followed by a four-page time line featuring reproduced period portraits of Washington.
Deborah Chandra’s previous children’s books include A Is for Amos, which Publishers Weekly called “a charmer” in a starred review. She lives in Altadena, California.
Madeleine Comora is an author and poet who lives in Glendale, California.
Brock Cole is the author and/or illustrator of many books, including the picture books Buttons, a Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor Book, and Larky Mavis. He lives in Buffalo, New York.
"A highly palatable historical morsel." --Starred, Publishers Weekly
"This accurate and intriguing slice of history should find a place in any elementary school library." --Starred, School Library Journal
" ...breezy, sympathetic, carefully-researched vignette...[one] that will have readers feeling the great man's pain - and never looking at his painted visage the same way again." --Starred, Kirkus Reviews
" Illustrator Cole is at his absolute best here, totally at ease with the human gesture and expression...This is history for youngsters that will stick; it's wild and fun and factual, without a trace of mockery." --Starred, Booklist
 |
The Privileges Jonathan Dee Random House |
 |
The Unnamed Joshua Ferris Reagan Arthur Books |
 |
Committed Elizabeth Gilbert Viking Adult |
 |
The Crossing Places Elly Griffiths Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |
