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I hadn’t planned to write a book review for Nonfiction Monday. I was looking for a poem to post for Presidents’ Day in honor of George Washington when I remembered a book I used to share in the library with my elementary students—a book I still read to the students in my children’s literature course. It’s a nonfiction book about the dental problems that our first President faced, the constant pain caused by his rotting teeth, and the dentures that were made for him. It isn’t a typical book about one of the most illustrious figures in American history. It’s a humorous story written in verse that begins at the time of the Revolutionary War and ends after George Washington becomes President and gets a pair of dentures carved from a hippo tusk.

GEORGE WASHINGTON’S TEETH
Written by Deborah Chandra & Madeleine Comora
Pictures by Brock Cole
Farrar Strauss Giroux, 2003

George Washington’s Teeth is most certainly a great book to read aloud! It’s rhythmic and rhyming and sure to tickle children’s funny bones. But…the book was well researched. In the back matter, there is a four-page time line (1732-1799) of important events in Washington’s life taken from his own letters, diaries, and accounts. It includes two photographs of his last set of dentures. There is also a list of time line sources.

This is how the book begins:

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

George Washington rushed into town,
The dentist heard his shout.
“Hold still,” he said, then gave a yank—
A rotten tooth popped out!

But that’s not the end of George’s tooth troubles. He heads off to war again with another toothache. He has swollen gums, which he soothes with oil of myrrh. He continues to lose teeth and have teeth pulled. He has to eat soft foods like mush and pickled tripe. When he crosses the Delaware River, there are just nine teeth left in his mouth. At Valley Forge, he has but seven. By the time he returns home after the war is won, he can count the number of teeth in his mouth on one hand: five. So it goes…until Election Day, when…

Poor George had two teeth in his mouth
The day the votes came in.
The people had a President,
But one afraid to grin.

When an artist comes to paint George’s portrait, he has the President put cotton in his mouth to puff out his sunken lips. Later, his dentist brings him a set of dentures. The denture’s springs snap against his tongue, fly out of his mouth—and he loses his last tooth. Poor “toofless” George gets an idea. He rummages through Mount Vernon looking for the teeth he lost. He makes a plaster mold with the teeth he finds to show to the dentist. The dentist then carves Washington a set of dentures from hippo tusk. The rhyming story ends happily with George dancing the night away at a ball.

In the book’s time line, the authors state the following: “George dies at Mount Vernon at the age of sixty-seven. It is believed that a chronic, untreated infection from the old root fragments in his gums contributed to his death.” There are many other facts included in the time line—as well as pictures of some of Washington’s portraits—that children are sure to find interesting.

Brock Coles’ cartoon-like watercolor illustrations enhance the lighthearted tone of the text. Children are sure to enjoy this humorous tale of the dental woes of the Father of Our Country.

Edited to Add:

To see a picture of a set of George Washington’s dentures, click here.
To see two more pictures of George Washington’s teeth, click here and here.


Anastasia Suen has the Nonfiction Monday Round-up for February 18, 2008.

THE JOLLY CHRISTMAS POSTMAN
By Janet & Allan Ahlberg
Little, Brown, 1991

In this sequel to The Jolly Postman, the postman goes about delivering mail to different fairy tale characters on the day before Christmas.

Once upon a Christmas Eve
Just after it had snowed,
The Jolly Postman (him again!)
Came down the jolly road…

Jolly Postman’s got a load of holiday tidings and packages in his mailbag—including a Christmas card for Baby Bear from Goldilocks and her baby sister; Beware!, a “hazardous” board game for Miss R. Hood from Mr. Wolf; and a jigsaw puzzle for Humpty Dumpty of himself from all the King’s men (and horses)—so Humpty can be put together again. At his final stop, the postman shares a cup of tea with the Clauses and receives a present himself. Not only that, Santa transports the postman and his bicycle back home in his sleigh.

In the final illustration, the Jolly Postman is settled into his armchair near the fireplace, his dog sleeping at his feet.

A Jolly Postman, warm and snug,
A postman’s dog upon the rug.
A clock that’s chiming in the hall.
A Merry Christmas—one and all!

The Jolly Christmas Postman would make a “jolly’ gift for some young child.

SNOWMEN AT CHRISTMAS
Written by Caralyn Buehner
Pictures by Mark Buehner
Dial, 2005

Snowmen at Christmas is the sequel to the popular bestseller Snowmen at Night. Although I think the text isn’t quite as strong in the sequel, this book is still a delight. In fact, I’d say it’s a visual feast for readers’ eyes. Mark Buehner’s illustrations are luminescent—street lanterns and strings of Christmas lights actually seem to glow on the pages. The outdoor scenes are infused with color. In some pictures, the sky and snow radiate shades of orange, pink, or purple—imbuing pictures of a cold winter night with warmth.

In this fanciful story, a young boy imagines how snowmen might celebrate Christmas. As he falls to sleep, the snowman in his front yard is shown slipping away. All the snowmen are on the move. They “glide down snowy avenues” and pass by shop windows “framed with twinkling lights.” They gather in the center of town and start their holiday celebration. They trim the square with icicles and holly. They enjoy frosty treats like ice cream and snow cones. Snow children play games.

Then the dancing begins:
To the tune of a fiddle,
All the snowmen line up,
And sashay down the middle.

Soon a snowman Santa appears on his flying toboggan and distributes presents. After Santa rides off, all the snowmen circle round a large Christmas tree and “sing songs about snow/and the birth of a King.” Finally, the snowmen, young and old alike, grow tired from their night of merriment.

The children are sleepy,
The grown-ups are yawning,
The snowmen go home
Just as Christmas is dawning.

By the time people arise early on Christmas morning, all of our frosty friends are back in place. They look no different from the previous day except that…

Their smiles are more tender,
Their eyes softly shine,
As the snowmen dream dreams
Of their Christmastime.

Mark Buehner’s art in Snowmen at Christmas is radiant! This picture book would be great even if it had no text. Pair this book with Raymond Briggs’ classic The Snowman.

CHRISTMAS TREE!
By Wendell and Florence Minor
Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins, 2005

Christmas Tree! is the first picture book collaboration between award-winning artist and illustrator Wendell Minor and his wife Florence. In her rhyming verse, Florence asks readers to imagine what kind of Christmas trees they would like to be. Her text is simple and spare. She doesn’t get too specific with her language. Wendell gets whimsical with his art, and his paintings provide the details—and images of what readers might picture in their heads.

Here are two excerpts from the book along with descriptions of the illustrations that are paired with them. So, readers, would you like to be...

A tree so
high it would
touch the sky?

In the illustration that accompanies this verse, Wendell paints the Statue of Liberty holding a lit Christmas tree aloft in her right hand instead of her torch.

Or a tree
so small it would
fit in the wall?

For this verse, Wendell illustrates four mice clustered around a star-topped tree made of cheese in their mouse hole. In some other illustrations, we see a huge Christmas tree balloon floating down a street in a city parade, a flock of white geese forming the outline of a holiday tree on a background of blue sky, and a tree decorated with carrots, apples, and sugar cubes—a tree just perfect for horses.

This book could be used as inspiration for an art lesson. Young artists could imagine themselves to be different kinds of Christmas trees. They could also picture themselves as trees in unique settings--shining out from a lighthouse or set at the top of a sailboat mast--the way Wendell does in this book.

A SMALL CHRISTMAS
By Wong Herbert Yee
Houghton Mifflin, 2004

Fireman Small is back to save the day—or should I say Christmas Eve—for Santa Claus. The diminutive fireman has been very busy chopping down a Christmas tree for Mayor Mole at the tree farm and putting up holiday lights and decorations in the city. By the time the stores close on Christmas Eve, Fireman Small is exhausted. He heads back to the firehouse, gets into bed, and pulls the covers over his head.

Around midnight, he hears a jingling of sleigh bells…then a CRASH! Santa has fallen head first into a coal bin and is covered with soot. Fireman Small washes Santa’s suit and tosses it into the dryer. When he removes Santa’s red suit from the dryer, he sees that it has shrunk! Then he finds Santa Claus fast asleep in his bed. Fireman Small wonders:

What about all the good girls and boys?
Who will deliver the rest of the toys?
Though Fireman Small should be snuggled in bed,
He races up to the rooftop instead.
Dressed in Santa’s suit, he hops in the sleigh.
But the reindeer refuse to fly away!

Now what is Fireman Small supposed to do? Why, he delivers all the presents in his fire truck instead! When Santa’s sack is empty, Fireman Small finally heads back to the firehouse and goes to bed. He arises on Christmas morning to find Santa and the sleigh gone—but the jolly old man has left a present for his little helper…along with a note, which includes the following lines:

Thank you, Fireman Small,
You’re a fine substitute.
Please keep this token,
My now tiny red suit!

The small size of this book and Yee’s charming watercolor illustrations make this a cozy book for sharing with a little someone cuddled on your lap.

BEAR’S FIRST CHRISTMAS
Written by Robert Kinerk
Illustrated by Jim LaMarche
Simon & Schuster, 2007

A young bear finds a cave to hibernate in and settles down for the winter. He is awakened from his sleep by a mysterious sound. He leaves his cave to follow the sound. Along the way he meets and helps a number of other wild animals: a crow, a moose, a pheasant and her chicks. All the animals then follow the bear through the snow in hopes of finding a place where they can safely spend the night.

On the bear trudged till he saw, through more snow,
A lair or a burrow all lit by a glow.
Icicles hung from its top, sharp and bright.
Its sides had a space that was open for light.
And what’s this from inside? That wonderful sound!
After all of his trekking, its source had been found.

It’s not a lair or burrow that they animals have happened upon—it’s a house where a family is celebrating Christmas. The animals peer in through a window and see a room aglow with light—light from people’s faces and eyes and from a glorious Christmas tree. Then the family turns off the tree lights and goes off to bed. The animals don’t have a clue about the meaning of the lights and the music and the gladness they had witnessed this chill winter night.

As the animals trudge on, a spark inside them gives off an inner glow. Bear breaks a wide trail for moose who is carrying the pheasants on his back. The pheasants burst into song filling the air with sweet music. Finally, the animals arrive at bear’s “well-hidden den.” The animals hibernate in the safety of the cave until spring arrives. They are warmed with the memory of the light of the tree—a light that remains with them.

The text written in rhyming couplets is quite long. Nonetheless, this rhythmic tale scans well and is gorgeously complemented by Jim Lamarche’s illustrations. There’s a softness to LaMarche’s young bear, an endearing main character who is often depicted with a gentle, childlike expression. LaMarche varies the size of his pictures—some are double-page spreads, some are full-page spreads, and some are smaller spot illustrations. He also uses close-ups and changing perspectives to add visual interest to this quiet story.

Bear's First Christmas would be a good book to share with young children learning about hibernation.

You can read reviews of the following books in my Poetry Friday: Christmas Stories in Verse post at Blue Rose Girls.

MR. WILLOWBY’S CHRISTMAS TREE
By Robert Barry
Doubleday, 2000

SANTA’S STUCK
Written by Rhonda Gowler Greene
Illustated by Henry Cole
Dutton, 2004

MERRY CHRISTMAS, MERRY CROW
Written by Kathi Appelt
Illustrated by Jon Goodell
Harcourt, 2005

IF I BUILT A CAR

Chris Van Dusen is also the illustrator of the Mercy Watson books written by Kate DiCamillo. His style of illustrating is very much the same in If I Built a Car, which is a recipient of the E. B. White Read Aloud Award.

In the book's author blurb, Van Dusen tells readers that he "has always been intrigued by glimpses of the future found in the 1950s and '60s issues of Popular Science magazine. Headlines would read The Car of Tomorrow!, and fantastic artwork might show sleek machines zooming down 'magnetic highways.'" Van Dusen's artwork in If I Built a Car certainly transported me back to the 1950s. It reminded me of the glimpses of the future we saw in magazines and on television back then. I'd like to note that I asked my husband to read the book last night and give me his opinion. My husband, who used to read Popular Science when he was a kid, loved the book!

If I Built a Car isn't a story with a beginning, middle, and end. It's a book written in verse in which a young boy relates to his father the kind of car that he would like to design and build. It's a book about using one's imagination and having dreams.

About the Book: Jack, the young narrator, tells his dad what his "future" car will be like while they are out driving. Jack explains to his dad what materials the car will be made from, the elements of its design, and all the nifty features it will have.

Here's an excerpt from the book:

You'll see that I've added a lot of neat things:
Plush fender skirts and retractable wings,
Three headlights up front, four taillights in back,
Plus two giant fins like our old Cadillac!
My brand-new design will be curvy and round,
With special jet engines that don't make a sound.
I'll paint it bright colors with accents of chrome
And top it all off with a Plexiglas dome.

The illustration that accompanies this excerpt is a two-page spread that shows what Jack imagines his car will look like. The gouache painting of the huge car is bright and colorful. Through the semi-transparent dome, we can see the outline of shapes. Is that a robot at the wheel? Is that a table lamp? Kids will certainly want to see what's under the dome of Jack's imaginary car.

In addition to the the fins and dome and jet engines and retractable wings, Jack explains that his car will also have a chassis made of polymer gel--his invention--that will prevent the car from getting dented if it should hit something. Some of the other features of his auto include a couch, a fish tank, a fireplace, a pool beneath a sliding floor, an instant snack bar, and (yes) a robot to steer the vehicle when the driver gets sleepy! But...wait...that's not all! The fenders of Jack's car will let it float on water like a catamaran. The car will also be able to submerge so the driver and passengers can investigate underwater. And the best feature of all?

Last but not least, the best feature of all
Comes down to a button that's shiny and small.
Push it and then, in the wink of an eye,
The car will take off! We'll be up in the sky!

I think Van Dusen's colorful retro-style illustrations are a perfect complement to his rhyming text. Even really young children who can't read could have a grand time studying the pictures of Jack's futuristic car. The front and back endpapers are filled with Jack's labeled sketches of his car's design. They'd be a great inspiration for young artists.

I know I would have loved this book when I was young. I think any kid who is a daydreamer would. It's a perfect picture book for kids who are mechanically inclined...for kids who like to draw...for kids who like to build things. It's definitely a great book for budding engineers. I am planning to give If I Built a Car to a grand nephew for summer reading. I bet he'll be inspired to design his own car of the future!


Bet you'd like to see the illustration of Jack's instant snack bar! Just click here.

Click here to see Jack's car blasting out of the water into the sky.


If I Built a Car is on the 2008 Master List of the Monarch Award sponsored by the Illinois School Library Media Association.

Heaven Looks A Lot Like The Mall by Wendy Mass. Reviewed from ARC supplied by publisher, Little Brown. Publication date September 2007.

The Plot:
Tessa in in gym class and sees the orange dodgeball approaching. She doesn't duck. BAM. And she finds out that -- heaven looks like the mall? The hell?

A book in verse.

The Good:
Don't be mistaken about Tessa; she's not a mall rat. Well, she is and she isn't. See, her parents both work at the mall, so she's grown up there. And now that she's dead --

OK, this is NOT another one of those dead teenagers and their post-death lives books. For one thing, Tessa is not dead; not yet. She's in a coma. Whether or not she wakes up depends on what she learns about her life so far.

And how will she learn it? A trip down memory lane; or rather, a trip thru the mall. Tessa reflects on what she's bought at the mall in her lifetime, starting with her first pair of shoes and ending with her Junior Prom dress; and her actions and choices related to each item. And by the end, we find out why, when Tessa saw that ball coming -- she didn't dodge.

I like Tessa because in many ways Tessa isn't always likable. Jealousy and the other dark things that lurk in a third grader's heart drives her to steal her best friend's purple gel pen -- and Tessa gets away with it. It seems her life is a series of bad choices, some found out, some kept hidden. Why are these the events she is revisiting? And why does she view her life by looking at the bad? This book is about how we view our own history; what choices we make, including why we make them.

Another thing: the fonts on the cover? The fonts of the names of mall stores.

A bit of one of the poems; as background, a birthday party, a magician, and two girls have just made fun of a young Tessa.

Lord & Taylor
...
And before I can think,
the Hawaiian Punch I am holding just happens
to slip out of my hand and on top of Hailey's head,
and I probably won't get invited
to any more birthday parties for a while,
which is fine by me because I know
it's impossible to pull a flower
out of someone's ear.

Today's round up is at HipWriterMama.


Links:
Bildungsroman/ Little Willow interview with author
A Year of Reading reports on a Wendy Mass talk
oracle review
teen reads too author interview
edited to add: Reading Rants review