George Washington for kids: a true picture book
George Gives It Back. How George Washington Showed That Power Belongs to the People 10 pages, fact-checked, at three reading levels, read aloud.
The lesson: Power belongs to the people. The strongest thing a leader can do is give it back.
Read the first pages free
Bang! Bang! A drum calls. Congress picks George Washington. Lead the army, George!
In 1775, a group of leaders called Congress had a big job to give. They picked George Washington. He would be the commander of the Continental Army.
In 1775, the Continental Congress made George Washington commander of the Continental Army. A commander is the person in charge, the one who gives the orders. Congress was a group of leaders, and this job came from them. Notice that: Washington did not grab this power for himself. It was handed to him.
Page 1 of 10
Tramp, tramp, tramp! So many soldiers. So much power. Who is in charge? George!
Now George led a whole army. Tramp, tramp, tramp! That is a lot of power for one person. What would he do with it?
Being commander of the Continental Army from 1775 meant holding enormous power. Power is the ability to make things happen and to tell others what to do. An army is one of the strongest kinds of power there is. Here is the big question of this story: when one person holds that much power, will they ever give it back?
Page 2 of 10
George Washington: a timeline of true facts
- 1775 The Continental Congress made him commander of the Continental Army. source
- 1783 After the war was won, on December 23, 1783, he resigned his command to Congress in Annapolis and went home to Mount Vernon. source
- 1789 He was elected the first President of the United States. source
- 1796 He chose not to run for a third term and published a Farewell Address, setting the example of a peaceful handover of power. source
3 reading levels
- Read to me (ages 3–5)
- Read together (ages 6–8)
- I'll read (ages 9–12)
The same true story, written three ways. Little kids hear short, bouncy lines; big kids get the details and the numbers.
Quiz time
Who made George the leader of the army?
Show the answer
Congress.
Try this at home
- Hold a family vote: everyone picks this weekend's dinner or game, count the votes out loud, and the winner gets it.
- Play Pass the Leader: one person leads a parade around the house, then hands a 'leader hat' to the next person so everyone gets a turn.
- Write or draw a Farewell note for a job you're finishing, like feeding the pet, and hand it to the family member taking over next.
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