Module 11 - George Washington's Teeth

Summary
George Washington had many dental problems.  This amusing book describes his dental dramas in a fun, colorful, and entertaining way.  This book describes each time a tooth or two fell out of our first presidents mouth.  While details are not provided about historical events they are hinted at such as crossing the Delaware.  The timeline at the end of the book is fantastic.  It provides details about the presidents teeth, with only small tidbits of information about his life and presidency.

Bibliographic Citation
Chandra, D. & Comora, M. (2003). George Washingtons teeth. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.  

Personal Impressions
I loved the verse used.  The rhyming flowed from page to page and did not feel forced or artificial.  The illustrations made the book all the more amusing to read.  Although this story is about teeth and a past president, neither of which are of particular interest to me, I think kids will enjoy it just as much as I did.
Reviews
Jeanenne (BookHive (www.bookhive.org))Poor George Washington! This book is a comical, yet informational look at the dental problems of our first president. While Washington led our country in its battle for independence, he struggled with the problem of losing his teeth and trying to get comfortable, painless false teeth. The humorous side of this book is reflected in Chandra and Comora's rhyming text and Cole’s cartoon-style illustrations. At the back of the book, there is a timeline of the important events of Washington’s life combined with information about his dental troubles. An interesting read. Category: Biographies; Humor; Read Aloud. Grade Level: Primary (K-3rd grade); Intermediate (4th-6th grade). 2003, Farrar Straus Giroux. Ages 5 to 12.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. Category: Books for Middle Readers--Nonfiction. 2003, Farrar, $16. K-Gr. 3. Starred ReviewA toothless George Washington! How is it that we have never heard about this side of our first president's life? With great enjoyment we read the amusing rhyming lines about poor GeorgeWashington's trials and tribulations on the teeth front. One by one his teeth fell out as he bravely went forth and fought the British. When Washington came home at last, the redcoats vanquished, he only had five teeth in his head. Then, try as he might to save them, those five fell out, too. What was this leader of leaders to do? It is with great relief that we read that George Washington's own ingenuity saved the day. He found all the teeth he lost and had a pair of false teeth made. As we follow Washington on his various adventures, we participate in events of those early days of the American Republic, and we see that even the most famous of people had very commonplace problems. With lively watercolor illustrations, this is a book to read again and again. 2003, Farrar Straux Giroux, $16.00. Ages 4 to 7.Forget what you thought you knew about George Washington's teeth. Plagued by poor dental health all of his life, Washington had already lost two teeth by the time he was twenty-two. Over the next 40 years he continued to lose, on average, one tooth a year until, at age 64, his last tooth was removed. Ill-fitting ivory dentures with wires caused his gums to swell and made chewing difficult and required incredible muscle control. No wonder his smile always looks so unnatural. Rollicking verse, enlivened by Brock Cole's witty drawings, tells of the effect Washington's long-suffering dental woes had on his military career and public life--"George crossed the icy Delaware/With nine teeth in his mouth/In that cold and patchy dark, /Two more teeth came out." And "Poor George had twoteeth in his mouth/The day the votes came in/The people had a President, /But one afraid to grin." Using historical records, letters, and diaries this humorous and reverent portrait follows the trail of the missing teeth and sets the record straight once and for all that Washington's false teeth were not made of wood. The appended time-line with sources gives veracity to the verse and will garner much sympathy for the Father of Our Country. 2003, Farrar, $16.00. Ages 8 to 12.George Washington's tooth problems plagued him all of his adult life. During the French and Indian War, he was even afraid the British would make fun of his dental problems. Authors Deborah Chandra and Madeleine Comora make light of George's plight ("George crossed the icy Delaware / With nine teeth in his mouth. / In that cold and pitchy dark, / Two more teeth came out!") in this lighthearted story. But their hilarious romp is followed by a marvelous, detailed timeline of Washington's life, full of dental details that make it clear this was no laughing matter: Not only was he often in great pain because of his many mouth problems, his health was compromised as well. As for those fabled wooden teeth, he never had them. But he did wear false teeth made of a number of no-less-intriguing materials, from hippopotamus and walrus ivory to the teeth of cows, elk, and humans. Brock Cole's lively, humorous illustrations are a perfect accompaniment to the narrative, while archival materials, including stern-faced portraits of Washington (whose teeth made him an unlikely candidate for smiling) and photographs of Washington's last set of dentures, illustrate the timeline. Highly Commended, 2004 Charlotte Zolotow Award CCBC categories: Historical People, Places, and Events; Biography and Autobiography. 2003, Farrar Straus and Giroux, 40 pages, $16.00. Ages 7-11.Now It Can Be Told: that severe, square-jawed look that the Father of Our Country flashes in his portraits reveals not only strength of character, but also his struggle to hide the fact that he was nearly (entirely, later in life) toothless by keeping a succession of spring-loaded false teeth in place. Drawing information from Washington's own writings, the authors deliver a double account of his dental tribulations: first in sprightly rhyme-Martha "fed him mush and pickled tripe, / But when guests came to dine, / He sneaked one of his favorite nuts. / Then he had only nine"-followed by a detailed, annotated timeline. Cole's (Larky Mavis, 2001, etc.) freely drawn, rumpled-looking watercolors document the countdown as well, with scenes of the unhappy statesman at war and at home, surrounded by family, attendants (including dark-skinned ones), and would-be dentists, all in authentic 18th-century dress. Contrary to popular belief, Washington's false teeth were made not of wood, but of real teeth and hippo ivory; a photo of his last set closes this breezy, sympathetic, carefully-researched vignette on a note that will have readers feeling the great man's pain-and never looking at his painted visage the same way again. (source notes) 2003, Farrar Straus & Giroux, $16.00. Category: Picture book/nonfiction. Ages 7 to 9. Starred Review. © 2002 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.Finally, here's an historical picture book with teeth and a biting sense of humor. Witty poets Deborah Chandra and Madeleine Comora give a snappy twist to the old "wooden teeth" fable about the first American president's tooth trouble. First they provide readers with a hilarious poetic account of what really happened to Washington and his teeth, because, as their research reveals, all his life he waged a fierce battle with his choppers and worked hard to save them. "The Revolutionary War / George hoped would soon be won / But another battle with his teeth / Had only just begun. / GeorgeWashington rushed into town / The dentist heard his shout / `Hold still,' he said, then gave a yank / A rotten tooth popped out!" One by one (or two by two) they went, all the while George returned to battle, sailed to New York and crossed the Delaware. By the time he chased the Redcoats from Valley Forge he was down to five teeth. When he had just one rotten tooth left, he at last solicited a dentist to make false teeth. "George put them in, but when he smiled / Springs snapped against his tongue / Out flew those teeth -- `Aagh!' George shrieked. / `They've knocked out my last one!'" The rest, as they say, is history. Or is it? The surprise ending just goes to show you that famous stories are often just that -- stories -- with little regard for the facts. And so the authors take the opportunity to set the record straight in a wonderfully researched timeline on the four pages after the end of the charming rhyming story. It's a treasure trove of Washington tooth trivia that puts to rest the old "wooden teeth" tale, for, in fact, he had teeth carved from hippo, walrus and elephant ivory, and cow, elk and human teeth...but never wood. To prove their point, the delightfully fun and informative book concludes with visual artifacts from the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution. The irresistibly fun evidence? Two photos of the false teeth themselves. Now that's something to chew on. 2003, Farrar Straus and Giroux, 40 pages, $16.00.He’s first in war, first in peace, but dead last in oral hygiene. As General Washington’s military and political star rises, his teeth drop, and Chandra is right there to mark each milestone in his career with the current count of his dwindling dentition: “George crossed the icy Delaware/ With nine teeth in his mouth./ In that cold and pitchy dark,/ Two more teeth came out!” When the penultimate tooth falls,George resorts to his first set of dentures, embarking on what readers of the end materials will recognize as a long and painful relationship with false teeth of every ilk. Chandra’s quirky take on the revered Founder’s embarrassing medical dilemma is appealing in itself, but it’s questionable whether young listeners will understand the historical backdrop or catch the humor in Cole’s gentle but deft line-and-watercolor parodies of Washington’s famed poses. An appended four-page timeline of Washington’s dental woes, which is geared to a much older audience, is easily as intriguing and entertaining as the main text, with ample quotes from letters and diaries and with portrait reproductions that trace his progressive facial disfigurement. A closing photo of Washington’s last set of dentures--a cumbersome and painful-looking affair in gold and hippopotamus ivory--fairly ensures that viewers will brush and floss before bedtime tonight. (Reviewed from galleys) Review Code: Ad -- Additional book of acceptable quality for collections needing more material in the area. (c) Copyright 2003, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2003, Farrar, 40p, $16.00. Ages 5-8 yrs.This book tells the lifelong struggle that George Washington encountered with bad teeth. The story is told in rhyme, which will be appealing to children, and each "tooth number" is italicized to show emphasis on how quickly he lost his teeth. The ending cleverly tells how George finds a remedy for all his tooth loss. False teeth are made by using plaster and his "old" teeth to make a mold for his new set of false ones, with the help of his dentist. Children will be amazed at what he went through. A very good time line taken from diary entries and other nonfiction sources follows the story. Nonfiction (973.4). Grades 2-5. 2003, Farrar Straus Giroux, Unpaged., $16.00. Ages 7 to 11.Stephanie Zvirin (Booklist, Jan. 1, 2003 (Vol. 99, No. 9))Marya Jansen-Gruber (Children's Literature)Beverley Fahey (Children's Literature)CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices, 2004)Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2002 (Vol. 70, No. 24))Vicki Arkoff (Midwest Book Review, "Vicki's Bookshelf" column, March 2003)Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, February 2003 (Vol. 56, No. 6))Patty Kunkel (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 16, No. 1))

Elementary Library Uses

This would be great for introducing timelines or biographies for younger students.  It approaches both in an easy to understand manner.