Module 11: George Washington's Teeth by Deborah Chandra

Summary

George Washington's Teeth is a humorous tale about our first president's dental issues. During each monumental event in his life, George Washington seems to lose a tooth. Once he has lost all of them, he is fitted for a set of interesting dentures.

Bibliographic Citation

Chandra, D. & Comora, M. (2003). George Washington's teeth. New York : Farrar Straus Giroux.

Impressions

I really enjoyed reading this book. The historical information the authors provide at the end of the book is worth noting. Not only does this book introduce readers to our first president, but it entertains them as well.

Reviews

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. — Stephanie Zvirin
Reviewed January 1, 2003-Booklist

K-Gr 5-In 28 rhymed, four-line stanzas, Chandra and Comora tell the sad story of George Washington's teeth. Beginning with the onset of the Revolutionary War, the countdown takes poor George from just about a mouthful of painful, rotten teeth to a state of complete "tooflessness"-and then to a pair of entirely successful dentures. Cole's watercolor cartoon illustrations are just right, giving comic vent to George's despair, hopelessness, fevered attempts at finding his teeth, and final triumphant, toothy strut at a ball. A beautifully illustrated four-page time line shows portraits of the dentally challenged first president and photos of his homegrown, incredibly uncomfortable-looking dentures, made of gold and hippopotamus ivory. (Contrary to legend, Washington never had wooden ones.) Given that his death was probably hastened by an untreated infection from old root fragments in his gums, this is not only a historical treatise, but also a great lesson in dental hygiene. Paired with Laurie Keller's antic Open Wide: Tooth School Inside (Holt, 1998), it could be used as a real-life example of the havoc wreaked by bad teeth. With 17 sources listed as contributing to the art and dental information on the time line, this accurate and intriguing slice of history should find a place in any elementary library collection.-Ann Welton, Grant Elementary School, Tacoma, WA
Reviewed January 1, 2003-School Library Journal

Library Settings

This book could be used in a book talk program about American presidents. It could also be used to teach children important events that took place during the Revolutionary War.