The Horn Book Guide

BIOGRAPHIES

Rockwell, Anne

Big George: How a Shy Boy Became President Washington

48 pp. | Harcourt | January, 2009 | Trade ISBN 978-0-15-206583-3 $17.00

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Matt Phelan. Rockwell's text describes a tall, shy boy who worked to conquer his diffidence and temper before becoming the first president of the United States. Phelan's soft pencil and gouache illustrations look almost tentative, stressing the boy in the man we know best as a great leader. This is an ideal introduction: nicely paced, admiring but not adulatory, and clear about Washington's historical importance. Websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Kathleen Isaacs | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2009