by Moe Zilla

Created on: July 22, 2010

"The Revolutionary War
George hoped would soon be won,
But another battle with his teeth
Had only just begun."

It's always nice to see a children's picture book that's written in rhyme - and this one throws in some American history. For example, the last two pages offer a detailed historical timeline for the life of George Washington, though it includes a surprising number of entries about his teeth. ("1789. George is elected President. He has two teeth left in his mouth: the lower right first molar and the lower left bicuspid...") In almost obsessive detail, Deborah Chandra and Madeleine Comora weave the tale of the first president's dentures - while his more historical accomplishments are only a background.

"All that night George tossed and moaned,
Another tooth was sore.
But at the dawn he saddled up
And galloped off to war."

As the British attack, George Washington commands the continental army - and worries that his men will laugh at him if they discover he's losing his teeth. The book actually counts down the loss of his teeth - from ten after the fierce battle in New York, to nine after he cracks a tooth eating a hard nut. Then it's back to the American Revolution, and the historic Christmas Day dawn attack on the British at Trenton - though the authors still retain their obsessive focus.

"George crossed the icy Delaware
with nine teeth in his mouth.
In that cold and pitchy dark,
Two more teeth came out!"

Honestly, I'm not sure that's a historical fact, though the story is accurate in following the Battle of Trenton with some (rhyming) lines about Valley Forge - where Washington loses another tooth. Washington spent a miserable winter there in 1778, before the rebels formed a crucial alliance with France. For the real George Washington, the war still dragged on for at least three more difficult years. But for the authors of this book, after Valley Forge - the war is already over!

"The Redcoats fled - George won the war!
When he returned alive,
Martha checked for seven teeth
But counted only five."

Obviously there's some "artistic license" being taken to shrink the war into a few familiar tableaus for younger readers. But it still seems unnecessarily disrespectful to have the first president depicted in rhyme as falling back "on his fanny," when a portrait painter makes him look like "Martha's granny".  Children may laugh, and get some early familiarity with important stories from American history - but if anything, this book's historical value lies more in the sociological study of the dental customs of 18th-century America. The authors defend this approach in red letters on a white page which precedes the opening of the book. "All of his life, George Washington had problems with his teeth and worked hard to save them," they note.

"This story is based on what really happened to George and his teeth."

Learn more about this author, Moe Zilla.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.