George Washington: True Patriot

Heroes of History #4

by Janet Benge, Geoff Benge

Written for ages 10 and up -- enjoyed by adults!

"Behind George were enemies; in front, a raging ice-packed river. Poling across had seemed his best chance, but now large blocks of ice slammed into his makeshift raft, twisting it off course. Just as George dug his pole in and pushed with all his might, a block of ice hit the raft -- the raft slammed into the pole -- and George was overboard."

On a dangerous mission for the British army, young Major Washington had no idea that one day he would lead an army of fellow colonials in a bitter battle for independence against Great Britain herself, the most powerful empire in the world.

In each new crisis, the young United States sought out George Washington. As commander in chief of the Continental army, chairman of the Constitutional Convention, and first president, this indispensable American served the struggling nation when its survival and form hung in the balance.

Genres: Biography, History, American History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Historical

190 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2001

About the author

Janet and Geoff Benge are a husband and wife writing team with twenty years of writing experience. They are best known for the books in the two series Christian Heroes: Then & Now series and Heroes of History. Janet is a former elementary school teacher. Geoff holds a degree in history. Together they have a passion to make history come alive for a new generation. Originally from New Zealand, the Benges make their home in the Orlando, Florida, area.

Reviews

[Daniel Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise biography of one of our greatest presidents as part a history series. He was a strategic and courageous military leader, and was able to hold the colonial army together. And as the first American president, he established a wise code of conduct for future presidents to follow.

[Abigail Branch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a history nerd. When I was younger, I became fascinated with the life of George Washington. My mom bought this book for me and I read it over and over. It's a great book and any kid who likes history will love it.

[Johnny Aiello · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good intro for middle schoolers (and me)

[Josiah Aston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice story of the events in George Washington's life, but I struggled with understanding how he became so popular so quickly with mostly failures and incompetence in his first few years. I felt more could have been written about his character and manner of conduct, which I surmised were his primary assets in his ultimately successful military and political careers.

[JD' · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear son,
This is the 500th book I've recorded reading on Good Reads 📚. The greatest victory in American history is Valley Forge and the Crossing of Delaware in the 1st Christmas 🎄 morning in US history.
The humility and wisdom of George Washington that's so incredible is: he didn't fight or crave power. He was the 1st world leader to give up his military power and presidential power without going to war or causing blood shed. The whole world was shocked.
It was sad to read about the reign of terror going on in France 🇫🇷 where everyone who even looked guilty for 10 minutes would be executed by the guillotine. It's kind of like family court in America. Just for being a father, we are given life time restraining-orders. Americans were so outraged, that they spoke of Feather 🪶 and Tarrimg our 1st president George Washington.
I was very sad to read of such a great man, dying because he went for a horse 🐎 back ride in the rain and didn't change his wet clothes right away. As a result he caught a cold. When 3 doctors came.. they would bleed the general 4 times in a single day, killing president Washington.
Dear son, I love you. One day you will be great at everything like George Washington.

[Elizabeth Braden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great story about George Washington and his life and death. I learned many things that I had never learned in school. The author writes about facts about Washington's life, and the good, the bad, and the ugly, as they say. Janet Benge has done an excellent job of helping us to see Washington as a man who served his country for many years. I enjoyed the personal aspects about Washington with Martha his wife and also with their children, adopted children and grandchildren. I enjoyed how the author put together the professional Washington along with the personal Washington. I could picture Washington fighting battles in the various wars in which he served as well as his children and grandchildren climbing all over him and him playing with them as well! I would highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to know more about George Washington, the Father of the USA!

[Kathryn Egly · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 13 year old son (George) and I read this ‘George Washington’ biography together and now George wishes his middle name was Washington. We have so much admiration and respect for our first president. He was a true patriot who worked tirelessly to create, protect, and lead the United States of America.

Did you know George Washington decided the leader of our country should be called “The President of the United States?” (or “Mr. President” for short)

[Hank Pharis · Rating 2 out of 5]

For whatever reason I did not find this one as good as the rest of the Benge's series.

(NOTE: I'm stingy with stars. For me 2 stars means a good book or a B. 3 stars means a very good book or a B+. 4 stars means an outstanding book or an A {only about 5% of the books I read merit 4 stars}. 5 stars means an all time favorite or an A+ {Only one of 400 or 500 books rates this!).

[Gloria · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I learned some new things from the book about Washington’s life that I didn’t know before, I was disappointed that the authors didn’t mention Washington’s Christian faith. The book also ended abruptly after his death. I was hoping it would cover his funeral and the aftermath following his death.
Overall, I give it 3 1/2 stars.

[Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

We read this aloud and my kids were so surprised that the vast majority of those book was not about his presidency. Washington’s contributions to the unifying of this nation were numerous before he was ever president.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very concise but interesting insight into the life of George Washington. I learned so many things about him I never knew before! Great introduction for anyone beginning to study his life, this is the book to read that makes you want to learn more!

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

George Washington was a far more extraordinary man than I realized. This is a late elementary, maybe middle school level, but if all you know is the cherry tree and president/general, this is probably worth the short amount of time it would take to read.

[Rachel L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened with the kids Sept 2022. Good starter bio, but I really want to find sources that are a little more honest about the darker side of history and historical figures (presenting unrealistically whitewashed pictures of history isn’t doing anyone any favors) and this isn’t that.

[Kristin]

Interesting to learn how he sort of fell into the roles in life, yet I am grateful. I have been enjoying learning about some people in USA’s early history and some of their thoughts behind the ideas to protect against tyranny and learn of their flaws even though they are still spoken of today.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty good, but not one of the better biographies by these authors.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, full of history about George that I didn't know. Great book for kids.

[James C Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, greatly enjoyed reading this one with my two boys.

[Elijah Messenger · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good biography of George Washington, and it shows why he was a great man, but why did they end his story almost exactly after the revolution ended?

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

5* Audio

[Ammie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciated the depth and length of this bio. I will read more in this series.

[Erinn Dooley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no idea the struggles this great man went through starting at a young age. Very exciting book. Very interesting man.

[Debbie Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a GREAT book. I have read a lot of books about George Washington and I still learned new things when reading this book. Like... I never knew that after the Battle of Trenton, when George Washington and his men crossed the Delaware and attacked the British the day after Christmas 1776, that he had trouble with part of the army.

"The Philadelphia militia had not shown up for the battle because their commanders assumed it was impossible to attack in a blizzard. He was even angrier when he received word on December 27 that the militia were finally in place for the battle." pg. 139

Now Washington had men stuck in Princeton, NJ when he was back in PA. And they needed rescuing from the British.... how annoying. They could not follow orders when given, arrived late, did not know the battle had already taken place, and were now a further problem for their commander.

I also learned some things in chapter 18 about our First President. It is hard to fathom the many decision he made that set a precedent for the Presidents of the future. Decisions on whether a President should: ride a horse, go to friends homes for dinner, how a President should mourn a family members death, and especially how a President should step down once his term was over. For Kings never step down and the world was watching.

We have much to thank President Washington for. His dependence on God helped to guide him and give him a firm foundation on which to stand.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this biography! It was detailed enough to feel like we really got a feel for his life, but not TOO drawn out. After reading SO much about him during the Revolutionary War, it was refreshing to read about his early life and his family, and also what he did after the war (obviously, became president, but more how he ended up as president.) Reading about him, I have a much greater appreciation for why he is so honored and respected, despite making mistakes and sometimes doubting himself...someone who, at the height of military power, resigned his command, and who could've gone on to continued political power, stepped down after a 2nd term as President. He faithfully served his duty to his country, while sacrificing his own personal life. After reading how he died, I really wished they had better medicine because he probably could've lived to enjoy his retirement a lot longer if they didn't practice such ridiculous "medicine".

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this one as much as the others in this series. Not sure why, but perhaps it was because it covered a lot of American War history and mentioned lots of different places. As I'm not American, I got a bit lost at times. I have visited Mount Vernon and found it a really fascinating place to visit, so I enjoyed the parts of the book where it talked about Washington's farm.

[JoAnne Styger · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting, age appropriate fiction on the life of George Washington. If it were just for myself, I would've given 3 stars, but as a supplement for a student studying American History, it deserves more.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great juvenile level biography. We listened to this on audiobook and it is very well done.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

road trip audiobook