King George: What Was His Problem?

This is a great book for a reluctant historian in 4th grade and up to adult. It is fun to read and to share.

History is not my thing, so understand that when you view those 5 stars. For years Steve Sheinkin has written history textbooks. In his research he has come across some great stories that are not often told, but the textbook companies have never allowed him to include those nuggets in their books. Sheinkin finally decided to take all those stories and write his own book. And that's all you get--interesting tidbits, stories, and quotes that help the reader view those involved in the Revolution as real, living, breathing people, not just...well, dead guys on paper. If you teach 5th or 8th grade social studies, read this book. It could have a strong impact on students who are struggling to learn facts about the American Revolution.

Children are taught history. They turn into teenagers and find out that much of what they learned was prettified or their textbooks left out huge chunks of morally ambiguous grey matter. They go to college (some of them) and view with extreme skepticism any history, knowing as they do now that every historical text was written by someone with an agenda. And then sometimes, once in a great while, they return to the historical moments they learned about in their youth and try to figure out, really figure out, what happened all those centuries ago. In this case, author Steve Sheinkin's journey took a slightly different route. He was a writer of historical textbooks and to his chagrin he watched as the most interesting aspects of his recaps and historical pieces were thrown on the cutting room floor (so to speak) while the dull, rote, standard "facts" got left in. The solution? Write his own hilarious encapsulation of the American Revolution with every loony detail and fascinating fact intact and present. And if he happened to make the entire war more interesting and understandable in the process, so be it. Paired with illustrator Tim Robinson, Sheinkin isn't adverse to a little skimming himself, but for the most part this is probably the most interesting book on the revolution for kids you're going to find this side of Jean Fritz. We all know about the American Revolution, right? There was this tea party and... uh.. Paul Revere rode around on a horse. And there was this crazy king who ruled us and "don't fire before you see the whites of their eyes" and... yeah. That stuff. A little foggy on the details? Well in "King George: What Was His Problem?" author Steve Sheinkin brings the 18th century into focus like no one else. With section headings like "Revere and That Other Guy" and "How to Start a Revolution", kids will learn just as much about George Washington's atrocious love poetry as they will the details of "General Burgoyne's Pretty Good Plan". The term "history comes alive" is trite, but if it weren't I'd definitely employ it when describing this book. Illustrations by Tim Robinson complement the action and back matter includes a "Whatever Happened To...?" section that talks about the rest of the major players' lives, heavily researched and beautifully presented Source Notes, and Quotation Notes. What's nice about this title is that unlike a textbook it doesn't indulge in the notion that history is a series of unambiguous facts. History is a slippery eel here, and different accounts often receive equal attention. And be aware that even though Sheinkin likes to pepper his book with the mildly ridiculous, he never descends into rumor or hearsay. So basically if you're looking for some corroboration to that rumor you heard that George Washington had a particularly large tuchis, seek thee elsewhere. And just look at all the stuff that adults like myself never learned in school! Elements like the fact that British official

Though written for young adults, King George: What Was His Problem? is a take on the history of the American Revolutionary War sure to fascinate readers of all ages. King George: What Was His Problem? mentions details about the war that are often left out of textbooks, but all the anecdotes are entirely true! From the real reason why Benedict Arnold turned traitor (he felt underappreciated and needed money), to the battle of Eutaw Springs where patriot soldiers fought "naked as they day they were born", to the story of a woman who fought with American troops while dressed as a man, to the straight scoop on the founding fathers and much more. Cartoony black-and-white illustrations and a final thumbnail biography section about the rest of the lives of the Revolutionary War's major players round out this extremely readable introduction to America's struggle for independence. Very highly recommended especially for public and grade school children's' library collections.