Another Interesting Kid's Book

Not to get in a rut, but I found another book today I wanted to mention. This is for an entirely different reason, though. No giggles or talk of "waterfalls". Instead, Tyler and I learned something new about our country's first president.

I have a cold and was feeling rather miserable by the time we put the kids to bed tonight. Tyler had pity on me and offered to read a book to me instead of having me read to him. He picked a short book I grabbed at the library yesterday: George Washington and the General's Dog.

Apparently George Washington loved animals. As an adult at Mount Vernon, he had lots of animals, including several dogs. Back then it was common for men to take their dogs to war with them because the dogs helped them hunt and track and kept them company. Washington took one of his dogs with him, too. In this story, Washington led his army against England's general William Howe. After one battle a dog followed Washington's army back to camp. The dog's collar indicated he belonged to William Howe, Washington's enemy. Although his soldiers encouraged Washington to keep the dog, he sent a letter to Howe indicating he'd like to return his dog. Soldiers from both sides raised white flags and the dog was peacefully returned to his master. There was even a copy of Washington's letter (which was dictated to Alexander Hamilton) at the end of the book. What an interesting bit of history! And what a good example of the kind of character I hope our children have (and wish our country's leaders demonstrated more often).