21. George Washington's Spectacular Spectacles

 

21. George Washington's Spectacular Spectacles. Selene Castrovilla. Illustrated by Jenn Harney. 2025. 32 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, picture book biography, history, j nonfiction]

First sentence: George Washington had to wear glasses. It was secret. He hid them in his pocket and never showed anyone. It was too embarrassing. He worried: glasses made him look odd! He feared: glasses made him look weak! He frowned: glasses made his nose look big!

Premise/plot: Did you know George Washington wore glasses? This picture book biography--more a biographical slice than a proper biography--shares an incident with young readers from American history. George Washington was trying to calm down angry soldiers who had not been paid for their service. He had a speech prepared, however, when it came time to give it....he found he couldn't read it without his glasses. Will his glasses save the day or ruin it?

My thoughts: I'd not heard of this particular incident before reading this picture book. (Newburgh Conspiracy) I enjoyed this one. Though I don't believe I've read the author before, she states in her note that this is her fifth book, I believe, about George Washington. I will have to see if my library has them.

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers

7. Lefty: A Story That Is Not All Right

Lefty: A Story That Is Not All Right. Mo Willems. Illustrated by Dan Santat. 2024. [December] 40 pages. [Source: Library] [2 stars, picture books, nonfiction]

First sentence: Hi, Righty! Did you know...there was a time when people could get into trouble...really, really BIG trouble--

Premise/plot: At its most literal (taken at face value) this is a pun-filled nonfiction picture book about perceptions through the centuries of being left handed (as opposed to right handed). 

My thoughts: I don't know if I'm disappointed because it is Mo Willems and I was expecting to absolutely love it above and beyond OR if it is just truly not my taste. Perhaps a bit of both.

While I almost-almost appreciated some of the illustrations, for the most part they just were not for me. I found them weird, odd, over-the-top. Of course, art is in the eyes of the beholder. Some readers may find the illustrations to be a great fit and wonderful.

The text was okay, fine, nice enough. Again, I am a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE, HUGE fan of Mo Willem--usually. Like his writing usually appeals to me above and beyond. These are books that I reach for again, again, again. The writing was just so so-so. There was one scene that made me smile--the one about cookies. But for the most part, I wasn't super impressed.

The subject is perhaps not the most thrilling, HOWEVER, I do think it's a fine subject. I don't know that left-handed prejudice is alive and well, a current, relevant "thing." I don't think it's been much of an issue for decades. That is, I think it's been steadily declining as an issue for decades. It just is--and no one really cares.

 I do think that this book is not to be taken at its most literal. There are a lot of elephants in the room (not literal, sadly, I wouldn't have minded a cameo from Elephant). I do think the book is a way to talk about other subjects. This tone is heavy-handed (pun-intended). In this sense I think it's a bit didactic. Here's the thing--and I've said this before--a conclusion can be one you agree with (or one you don't agree with, for that matter), and if it's written in a didactic way it can be a bit of a turn-off.

© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers