What does George Washington really look like? Many people's answer would be to just look at the one dollar bill. I was just like them until I read The Many Faces of George Washington by Carla Killough McClafferty. What a fabulous nonfiction read!
What if you wanted to create a life-like representation of what someone from the past looked like, but you didn't have that person's bones to measure? In 2005 a team of historians, scientists, and artisans set out to do just that. They wanted to create three likenesses of George Washington at three key points in his life: at age 19(as a surveyor), 45 (General Washington), and 57 (President Washington). McClafferty's book chronicles the process the team goes through to investigate and create the wax figures that now stand at Mount Vernon. She interweaves the history of George Washington at those three key moments in his life. The photographs and illustrations really enhance the text. The close-ups of the wax figures are amazing because the figures are so life-like.
A bonus about the book is that it is written by a local author. She lives in Little Rock, Arkansas. I love to showcase books to students who have been written by people that live near.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I would love to hear from you. Let's start a conversation.