TAKE THE LEAD, GEORGE WASHINGTON

St. George follows You’re on Your Way, Teddy Roosevelt (p. 813) with another perceptive look at the formative years of another president-to-be. Here, she focuses on three major influences in young George’s life: his admiration for his father Augustus; then after Gus’s death, for older half-brother Lawrence; and finally, the character-building survey expedition that he joined into the Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah Valley at age 16. Though she mentions the Washington family’s slaves, a domineering stepmother, and the early deaths of several siblings, in general St. George presents a rosy picture of the young squire’s early life. Powers catches that tone, depicting Washington as a tall, smiling lad in fine but often rumpled colonial garb, with an oversize head, leonine mane of golden brown hair and piercing blue eyes. The author closes with a capsule history of Washington’s later achievements, plus a bibliography aimed, inexplicably, at adults—but younger readers looking for insight into the Great Man’s character, temperament, attitudes, and upbringing will find plenty to ponder in this engaging, focused study. (Picture book/biography. 7-9)