So You Want to Be President?

An illustrated history of the United States Presidency, this book seems like it should be boring and dry, but it was far from it. This book kept me laughing from the first page to the last. At the same time, however, it was also highly informative. I learned about the requirements to serve as President, the responsibilities of the office of President, and facts about each President. For instance, did you know that John Quincy Adams went skinny dipping every morning? And that a determined reporter once stole all of his clothes and refused to return them until he allowed her to interview him? 

The author also did a particularly good job of gearing the book towards children. One of my favorite lines was: "The President doesn't have to eat yucky vegetables. As a boy, George Bush had to eat broccoli. When George Bush grew up, he became President. That was the end of the broccoli!" (St. George, p. 9). I also loved how she emphasized that all different types of people with varying interests, talents, and backgrounds had been the President. She ended the book by encouraging her readers in this way: "That's the bottom line. Tall, short, fat, thin, talkative, quiet, vain, humble, lawyer, teacher, or soldier [following the Presidential Oath] is what most of our Presidents have tried to do, each in his own way. Some succeeded. Some failed. If you want to be President - a good President - pattern yourself after the best" (St. George, 47).

The illustrations enhanced the text incredibly well, hence the 2000 Caldecott Medal. In their casual, hilarious political cartoon style, they brought life to the words on the page, making me laugh even more. I loved the exaggerated expressions on the cartoonish faces of the Presidents, the hilarious antics in which they were involved when the illustrator portrayed them, and the surprising accuracy they had. There was even a glossary at the back of the book listing all of the pages and what Presidents were pictured on them.

Though this book is now slightly out of date, (although, apparently an updated edition has recently been released) as it says that there has never been a President of color, it is still a very clever way to teach students about the history of the Presidency, our past Presidents, and the requirements of the office of the President!

(P.S. I know that I already posted this post, but I am re-posting it because it is a nonfiction picture book!)