Abigail's Reviews > Dear Mr. Washington

Charlotte, James and Baby John get up to all sorts of tricks in this amusing work of picture book historical fiction, based upon the 1796 visits of George Washington to the famous Philadelphia painter Stuart Gilbert, in order to have his portrait painted. The story is told through the letters of young Charlotte to Mr. Washington, as she apologizes for her and her brothers' various misdeeds, promises to copy out and learn the rules of civility sent to them by that great man, and urges him to smile for his portrait. The book concludes with an afterword setting out the history behind the story...

Dear Mr. Washington is the third picture book I have read from author Lynn Cullen, and is something of a departure, as the previous two ( Godiva and The Mightiest Heart ) were folkloric retellings. I approached it with some curiosity, recognizing illustrator Nancy Carpenter's work as well, as I have read a number of her books. In any case, I found this one quite entertaining, appreciating the madcap antics of the Gilbert children, described in Charlotte's letters and expanded upon in the artwork. I liked the way those letters incorporated some of the rules of etiquette to be found in Washington's Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior In Company And Conversation , purportedly given by Washington to the children in the story here. I recall reading in the Chernow biography of Washington how he, unlike so many of his peers, was largely self-educated, and how carefully he studied issues of manners and etiquette, copying out 110 rules of conduct by the time he was sixteen, as part of his campaign to better himself. Given that this is so, the inclusion here of some of these rules should be very enlightening for young people, I think, giving them an insight both into the mores of the time, and into a text important to the development of our first president's character. All in all, this was an entertaining and educational book, one featuring an. engaging epistolary narrative and expressive artwork that captures the humor of the story. Recommended to young history lovers, and to anyone searching for books about George Washington for children. This could be paired nicely with a good picture book about his life more generally.