George Washington's World

A sort of world history for kids, from 1740-1800, set in the timeline of George Washington's life. I didn't expect much going into this Newbery Honor Book, written in 1941, but I was very pleasantly surprised. It ties world events together quite cleverly, and the narrative style is interesting and engaging. My 10-year-old son is interested in history and I think he'll love this one.

This is the first of Genevieve Foster's World of... books, where the author not only recounts the life of a famous person, but also takes a look at what was happening around the world during their lifetime. In this case we get a peek into the world between the years of 1732 and 1799. It's an engaging book. Ms. Foster presents the information in a nice, storytelling style. I also enjoyed the illustrations, though they vaguely reminded me of the early Wonder Woman comics. The one odd thing about the copy I read is that it had been "expanded" in 1997 by Genevieve's daughter, Joanna. While the extra information, adding the contribution of non-white guys, makes for a richer book, you can sort of see the "seams" of the expansion. The flow show more between those sections and the older material doesn't always go smoothly. I think it becomes especially notable when slavery is mentioned. In some parts, a person's slaves are mentioned as a matter of course, in others, the notion of slavery is roundly condemned. But that's a small blemish in an otherwise excellent book. Whether it's for your kids or yourself, take time to check it out.
--J. show less

Read for the Newbery Club of the Children's Books group on GR.

'Course, too much of it was brand-new to me. I never did have a course in world history that included this time period; I never did know relatively simple things, like the fact that Voltaire and Rousseau were contemporaries, for example, or that La Fayette was very young when he helped us gain our independence. So, to readers who do actually know history, this is surely skip-able. To me, it was entertaining & enlightening.?á"

Again, global in extent and engaging with a storylike narrative. An excellent text for advanced elementary school or middle school students.