Mr. George Baker by Amy Hest

Hest, Amy, and Jon J. Muth. Mr. George Baker. New York: Candlewick P, 2004.

Sitting, waiting for a school bus to arrive is an interesting way for a one hundred year old man and a young school boy to get to know each other. Mr. George Baker goes to school with Harry because they are both learning to read and write. This story is a great story to show the bonds between a young child and an elderly. This story goes to show that anything is possible for Harry including being friends with Mr. George Baker. Just because Mr. George Baker is one hundred years old does not mean that he can do things that younger people do. He can dance with his wife, play his drum, and go to school. After reading this book, the reader can gain that there is no shame for Mr. George Baker to go to school with Harry; he has an inspiration to learn to read and write.

Amy Hest has an interesting take on this book as for as the “insider-outsider” debate stands. In Mr. George Baker, we gather that he can dance and play the drums. To this extent Hest is an otherwise informed because she has tried all of these things. She wanted to write a book in which an older man can do all of the things that she had tried and failed at; however she wanted this older man to be able to do the things that she couldn’t. On one of the pages, George asks his wife to dance and they dance across the page. On another page, Mr. George Baker is playing the drums with people all around him. We can gather from all of this that Mr. Baker can do all of the things at one hundred years old that someone a lot younger may not be able to do; and there is nothing wrong with that.

(This book does not have page numbers)