The House That George Built
Written by: Suzanne Slade
Illustrated by: Rebecca Bond
Published by: Charlesbridge, 2012
* In honor of Presiden'ts Day I thought that I'd post a book about Washington. More specifically, the house that he built. The book opens with a foreword about the formation of the United States of America and the search for a leader of this new country, George Washington. The pages on the left side of the book give details about the design, placement, and construction of the White House. The right side text mimics the British nursery rhyme "This Is the House That Jack Built" with "the President's House that George Built." I found this book to be informative (even I learned things about the construction of the White House!) but not too detailed that it was lost on my 4 1/2 year old son. The illustrations look to be colorful and detailed watercolor paintings. At the end of the book the author includes changes to the White House that various Presidents have made, including Clinton adding a hot tub and jogging track in 1993 and President Obama and the First Lady planting a vegetable garden on the south lawn in 2009. Slade also includes additional resources if you want to learn more about the White House. Overall, we found this to be an informative and fun read.
This book was borrowed from the library.
Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.
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I really love the non-fiction picture books you share. It's hard for me to find ones that are both interesting and factual for my kids. Is this one very text heavy? I also have a 4 1/2 year old son, so maybe it will at least appeal to him even if it's too mature for his 3-year-old brother.
ReplyDeleteThanks Amy! This book is actually not very text heavy. The left hand side has the factual text which even I found interesting. The info described on the left is then incorporated into the rhyme on the right. Your 3 year old will probably enjoy the repetitive rhyme on the right. This book appealed to both my older (almost 7) and younger (4 1/2)children.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds fun. It reminds me of another book -- but very fictional -- called "George Washington and his cows". Thanks for sharing at The Children's Bookshelf.
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