King George What Was His Problem?, Steve Sheinkin
King George What Was His Problem?, Steve Sheinkin
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King George: What Was His Problem?
Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the American Revolution

Author: Steve Sheinkin

Narrator: Vikas Adam, Steve Sheinkin

Unabridged: 4 hr 38 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/10/2021


Synopsis

New York Times bestselling author and Newbery Honor recipient Steve Sheinkin gives young listeners an American history lesson they'll never forget in the fun and funny King George: What Was His Problem?: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the American Revolution.

A Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year
A New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing

What do the most famous traitor in history, hundreds of naked soldiers, and a salmon lunch have in common? They’re all part of the amazing story of the American Revolution.

Entire books have been written about the causes of the American Revolution.
This isn't one of them.

What it is, instead, is utterly interesting, ancedotes (John Hancock fixates on salmon), from the inside out (at the Battle of Eutaw Springs, hundreds of soldiers plunged into battle "naked as they were born") close-up narratives filled with little-known details, lots of quotes that capture the spirit and voices of the principals ("If need be, I will raise one thousand men, subsist them at my own expense, and march myself at their head for the relief of Boston" --George Washington), and action. It's the story of the birth of our nation, complete with soldiers, spies, salmon sandwiches, and real facts you can't help but want to tell to everyone you know.

“For middle-graders who find Joy Hakim’s 11-volume A History of US just too daunting, historian Sheinkin offers a more digestible version of our country’s story...The author expertly combines individual stories with sweeping looks at the larger picture―tucking in extracts from letters, memorable anecdotes, pithy characterizations and famous lines with a liberal hand.”―Kirkus Reviews

About Steve Sheinkin

Steve Sheinkin is the critically acclaimed author of National Book Award Finalist and Sibert Medal winner Bomb: The Race to Build -- and Steal -- the World's Most Dangerous Weapon; Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War, winner of the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction; and National Book Award Finalist The Port Chicago 50. He resides in Saratoga Springs, New York.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Betsy on July 27, 2008

Children are taught history. They turn into teenagers and find out that much of what they learned was prettified or their textbooks left out huge chunks of morally ambiguous grey matter. They go to college (some of them) and view with extreme skepticism any history, knowing as they do now that every......more

Goodreads review by Ed on July 05, 2019

Yes, an adult can really learn history from a kid's book! I knew bits and pieces of this from other places, but putting the whole revolutionary war together into a short book helps to integrate it all together in my mind despite my short attention span. The author is good at finding weird little deta......more

Goodreads review by Jessica on September 23, 2017

My main problem with this book is the misleading title. I was under the impression that the book would be about King George and his perspective of the American Revolution. While the book is informative, it is most certainly NOT about King George. He is mentioned, but not enough to give him the title......more

Goodreads review by Erin on March 21, 2025

Such an interesting romp through some of the chief events leading up to and throughout the American Revolution. Although not a comprehensive account of the war, it is full of interesting quotes from first-hand accounts and letters, and it helps you get a good idea of some of the major events and cha......more

Goodreads review by Michelle on March 06, 2024

I did this as a history readaloud with the three younger boys (grades K,2,4) and I was really impressed. It was engaging and funny enough that even my history-resistant kid was interested. The book incorporated primary source quotes without being clunky. And it highlighted individual characters thro......more