The Joke's on George

When George Washington receives an invitation to visit Charles Willson Peale’s museum, he gladly accepts the offer.  His friend’s museum is filled with remarkable exhibits:  There’s a rare collection of Peale’s famous portraits; other rooms are inhabited by stuffed beasts in authentic landscapes.  And the newest display contains wax figures of Indian chiefs that look real enough to fool many a passerby.  But it’s a very special painting on the wall that makes even this President laugh out loud at the way life imitates art.

Buy The Joke's on George on Amazon.com. It is no longer in print, but copies are still available.

Recognition:

• 1993 Award for Children’s Literature (Association for Mormon Letters)

What the Critics Said:

• “...an entertaining tale that shows [George] Washington in a different light.”  (Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books)
• “ a delightful vignette”  “[a] handsome, entertaining glimpse of times past”    “[Kathy Osborn’s] stylized art has a naive flavor, appropriately echoing Peale's paintings; its strong designs, crisp images, and decorative colors are spiced with a sly wit that wonderfully complements Tunnell's nicely understated text.  (KirkusReviews)
• Fresh and funny, the book shows Washington in a new light: as a man who could enjoy a joke, even one on himself.  (Booklist)
• Here is a sophisticated picture book that could easily be used in Art history as well as for Washington's Birthday celebrations. . . . Told in the first person, as a descendent of Charles Wilson Peale, Tunnell gives authenticity to this story. While vocabulary may be a bit colloquial for young readers, it does add to the charm of the tale, and could serve as a springboard for dictionary activities. Not every child should be expected to understand terms such as—"doffed his hat," or "flummoxed." The brightly colored illustrations with a hint of abstract art retain the sense of creativity, yet keep the provinciality of early-American art.  (Children’s Literature, Elizabeth Young)

Here is Charles Willson Peale’s painting, “The Staircase Group,” that fooled George Washington.  He thought the painted boys, Peale’s sons, were real boys! Next to the original painting is Kathy Osborn's illustration of the scene where George bows to the painting.

Illustrated by Kathy Osborn.  Boyds Mills Press, 2001.  (Original publisher:  Tambourine Books /William Morrow, 1993.)