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

· Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Steve Sheinkin and Vikas Adam
5.0
3 reviews
Audiobook
4 hr 38 min
Unabridged
Eligible
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About this audiobook

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

Ratings and reviews

5.0
3 reviews
Jessica Eberhard
September 25, 2023
one of the most memorable and accessible explanations of the American Rovolution, due to its hillarious details and stories of absurdity. Our whole family adored this. we listened to it on our way up to historic Williamsburg and Yorktown. it was excellent preparation (our kids are in 1st and 4th grade, but a little advanced in comprehension)
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About the author

Steve Sheinkin is the award-winning author of fast-paced, cinematic nonfiction histories for young readers. The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights, was a National Book Award finalist and received the 2014 Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for Nonfiction. The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery, won both the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award and the YALSA award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults. Bomb: The Race to Build-and Steal-the World's Most Dangerous Weapon was a Newbery Honor Book, a National Book Award Finalist, and winner of the Sibert Award and YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults. Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War was a National Book Award finalist, a YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award winner, and a Boston Globe/Horn Book Nonfiction Award winner. Sheinkin lives in Saratoga Springs, New York, with his wife and two children.

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