George Washington's Mother

by Jean Fitz, DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan (Illustrator)

Everyone has a mother. Even George Washington. But Mary Washington is nothing like you'd think! She hates to dress up. And she always thinks she knows what's best for George. After all, she's his mother! Another delightful true story by Jean Fritz.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Childrens, American History, School

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[LA · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one is going straight into my recycle bin. . . .

As a professional historian, I love reading history in any form, particularly one that engages children. However, I found this book to be misogynistic and hateful towards Washington's mother. Fritz's text shows Mary Washington as being a selfish, delusional woman who sought to control her son's life with her imagined penury and desire for constant attention.

If this truly was the case --- if Washington's mother was really as much of a basket case as this book claims --- why bother writing it? What's the point in writing a book about a president's mother just to argue what a nut case she was? And why put these ideas before children?

I was very surprised and disappointed that Scholastic would put its name on such a book.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went to our local library looking for a few President-themed books to read with our girls during Presidents' Day weekend. I discovered this book about our first president's mother and I thought it would be an interesting tale. It's an interesting to think about how even an idolized figure like George Washington needed to mind his mother.

We live near Mount Vernon and have visited the estate. Our girls have learned much about President George Washington at school and from books we've read. So I didn't want to read a plain old biography about him. Ho hum. This story explains more about his relationship with his mother and her influence in his life. We had never heard this story before and it certainly gave us a greater insight into the man's character.

The illustrations in this book are colorful and complement the narrative nicely. The story isn't too long or overly detailed, so it's great for independent reading by elementary school-age students or with a parent.

We enjoyed reading this book together and I will continue to search out books like this for our future studies of important people in history.

[Evan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this transitional text (more than an easy reader but without chapters) to be somewhat dull and altogether bizarre, in terms of it presenting Washington's mother as a stereotypically needy old woman who always wanted her son near yet he increasingly left her on her own as his life goes on. In the end, it was a bit of a downer and makes our first president out to be fairly inattentive to his dear mother. The misleading cover illustration of young George fishing with his mother appears nowhere in the book.

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found out that Mother Washington loved making gingerbread and folks enjoyed eating it.
She was always asking for money, thought she didn't have enough. Brought on by poor lean days of Losing George's Grandfather.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes she was demanding and insecure but George rose above it, and managed her. An important lesson.

[Stacy Renee (LazyDayLit) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A biography about George Washington's mother.

Supplemented our History unit.

[Shiloah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think I’m just about done with Jean Fritz’s false or negative biased biographies.

[Grace DeBaltzo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my favorite. The portrayal of his mother is very negative- money grubber and overly worried about being poor. The whole book is about her wanted her children to give her money it seemed. I don't know how historically accurate it was but even if it is I'm not sure I would use it in my classroom.

[Shari · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading many books yesterday to celebrate George Washington's birthday, we decided to read about the women in his life today. This story of his mother by Jean Fritz was not enjoyable and didn't quite sit right with me. It portrayed Mary Washington as a needy, greedy and delusional woman. Very disappointing.

[Christian · Rating 1 out of 5]

We didn't care for this book at all. It made her out to be quite spoiled and demanding, when she was a woman of good character. Fritz seems to have an anti-Christian tone in some of her books. (This review was written by Mom.)

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It turns out that the First Mom is both nutty and boring.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

She was a handful! Another angle to explore George Washington -- we can't turn one down!

[Brittany · Rating 2 out of 5]

Who is George Washington's mother? Great learning book to learn about George Washington's mother. Also has flashcards provided as a resource to review as an activity!

[Mary Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Level M-Interesting side to George Washington's life. It's a quick read that gives kids some more background knowledge on George Washington and his mother.

[Jessica Jensen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think it focus's on a specific view point of Washington's mother, Not all writing's that reference his mother are so hard on her character. Definitely not a book you can judge by the cover.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a very positive portrayal of Washington's mother.

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had heard a few of these details before, like how she asked Congress for money behind George's back, and how she didn't want George to go to sea. I didn't know the background about her own loss of her parents, and this helped to put some of her later actions into perspective. And that she was a Loyalist! I wish the book had said whether or not she died a loyalist.

[Jacqueline Murdock · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is nostalgic for me! I enjoyed it in Elementary school, and had fun reading it to my children while they are learning about George Washington in history. I haven’t fact checked, the information about Mary Washington, but it’s fun.

[Mellanie C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light-hearted biography of the first president's mother; gives a hint of how difficult she must have made his life.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't even know he had a mother! And I want that crusty end piece of the gingerbread.

[Jennifer Summers · Rating 4 out of 5]

My second graders really loved this book. Another great one by Jean Fritz.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

We listened to a bunch of these on a roadtrip

[Lila Marantz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book might need some fact-checking. Broadstrokes are accurate. For example, Mary owned a farm in Fredericksburg. George bought a house for his mom next to his sister, Betty.

[Jenny Schuth · Rating 2 out of 5]

George Washington's Mother is a simple non-fiction story about George Washington's Mother. I can't say I really loved this book. Jean Fritz has a no nonsense writing style that I don't particularly care for. In this book it came of as a bit sarcastic which I found a little more entertaining but I don't think I kid would particularly enjoy this book that much. I have always loved non-fiction but this book reminds me of the books I was forced to read in elementary school, and hated.

[Cognatious Thunk · Rating 4 out of 5]

George Washington, like many others, had a mother. And sometimes that mother drove him crazy. As a child whose mother was also often difficult, I loved this book. Now, as a mom, I love it in a new way.