I Lived on Butterfly Hill by Marjorie Agosín

I Lived on Butterfly Hill by Marjorie Agosín, translated by E.M. O'Connor
Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Rating: 5 stars

Some years ago I was part of a writing group which encouraged us writer-participants to share what we've read. A woman a few decades older than me read a piece based on her childhood in Chile. She wrote about the hills and the sights of the sea, how her father came home from abroad and brought a woman's shawl for a woman other than her mother. There was something captivating about her story, and after she read, she explained how she and her family (had her mother forgiven her father and they left together? I've forgotten...) fled Chile during the violent Pinochet years.

I think it was this woman's story that made I Lived on Butterfly Hill to call out to me from the library shelves. I just had to read it, and I'm so glad I finally did.

The story is about and narrated by Celeste Marconi, a young girl growing up in Valparaiso, Chile, during a time of significant political turmoil. During the first few chapters, as Agosín drops hints to describe how deeply entrenched Celeste and her family are in Valparaiso, Celeste notices large ships coming into the harbor. She hears the grown-ups whisper; with the help of a wonderful dose of magical realism that is sprinkled throughout this novel, Celeste senses that some sort of darkness about will occur. Finally, it happens: the socialist President is killed, and a dictator takes over the country.

(In the book, it is fictional President Alarcon who is killed by an unnamed sunglass-wearing dictator, not real-life Allende and Pinochet.)

Celeste struggles to understand what is going on during the first week of the new dictatorship as books are burned and new rules are imposed. Many of Celeste's classmates and neighbors are "disappeared." Her parents, both doctors who work at free clinics for the poor and publicly supported Alarcon, go into hiding. Her grandmother watches over her, then decides to send Celeste to her aunt in Maine. Traveling alone and in exile from everything she's ever known to this faraway place, Celeste makes the best of it and trusts herself and has faith in her homeland while still opening herself to another way of life, and another group of people to love.

This is an excellent, excellent book. It's a long one for middle grade readers--over 400 pages--but Agosín quickly wrapped me in an emotional story about characters about which I cared deeply, and I couldn't put it down. I loved how Celeste matured into a patriot, more certain of the future of Chile than the grown-ups who were affected and still shaky from the political turmoil. 

I loved the insights young readers could get from this book: what a difference a political leader could make, what it's like being a non-native English speaker in an American school, how it isn't only Nazi Germany that has stories of escape and heroism and defiance, how many rights we Americans have that are taken for granted, the importance of literacy for a country. This book is rich with such lessons--I highly recommend it, especially if read and discussed with your child (or students).

Thomas Jefferson Grows a Nation by Peggy Thomas

Thomas Jefferson Grows a Nation by Peggy Thomas, illustrations by Stacy Innerst
Catkins Creek: An Imprint of Highlights

Rating: 5 stars

I'm one of those geeky parents who stays on top of what my children are learning in school and tries to augment the lessons at home. I figure if I'm going to be a full-time mom, I'm going to be a great one.

Lorelei is going to start a big Lewis and Clark unit in social studies this Spring. It comes at a particularly interesting time because this summer we'll be making our own trek across the continent as we move from Virginia to Washington State. Lewis and Clark met wild savages along with a whole lot of Great Unknown; I'll just be driving with three kids. We both have some challenges on our journey...

When I saw Thomas Jefferson Grows a Nation at the library, I grabbed it. It was Kiefer who wanted it read as a bedtime book, but Lorelei heard me read the title, so she ran in to join us. It's a long, necessarily wordy, nonfiction picture book. I had to pause every other page for a little bit of background or just explain something. But both Lorelei and Kiefer were curious, and learned a lot about one interesting, complicated, hugely important figure in our country's history.

The book begins: "Thomas Jefferson loved to grow things." He literally grew plants and vegetables at his home in Monticello, but he also planted seeds of freedom, the idea that America was just as important as Europe, several crops that worked elsewhere but failed in America (he remained optimistic through failure), and a nation through the acquisition of land from France.

There are many illustrations in the book that help young readers understand the text. My favorite is an illustration of Jefferson and Hamilton in a tug of war between farms and cities--would American be a nation of cities and factories or a nation of small towns and family farms?

As President, he began to plan an expedition across the continent, even before France sold the land west of the Mississippi River in what became known as the Louisiana Purchase. (This was news to me; I hadn't realized he would have authorized the journey even it wasn't American territory.) Jefferson wanted to know what was out there--Lewis and Clark sent dozens of reports back to Jefferson about the fauna, wildlife, topography of the newly acquired land. After his White House years, Jefferson returned to Monticello to savor time in his garden and fields growing things--not figuratively this time, but literally.

This book helped Lorelei have a better understanding of why the Lewis and Clark journey took place by teaching her about Jefferson and the events in his life hundreds of years ago. This is a great book to have on the shelf in a classroom, or just a perfect bedtime book for any overachieving mom to read to her naturally curious kids.

President Taft is Stuck in the Bath by Mac Barnett

President Taft is Stuck in the Bath by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen

Rating: 4.5 stars

This is a book for kids who are completely SURE, absolutely POSITIVE, completely CONFIDENT that they hate books.  Because I dare--triple dog dare!--those kids to keep their arms folded in disgust and resist picking up this book.  It is just too big an invitation to partake in serious silliness.

You know the story: President Taft was a hefty fellow who allegedly got stuck in his own bathtub.  Poor guy, his most embarrassing moment is what parents and educators use to lure our kids into learning more about Presidents of the past...

Mac Barnett has taken that simple allegation and transformed a wild and silly romp of a story about Taft's time in the tub and how he gets out.  "Is this true?!" Lorelei and Ben asked, over and over, as we read the book.  They were reacting less to the story than the fantastic, colorful, hilarious illustrations created by one of our favorite illustrators, Chris Van Dusen.

According to this story, which I explained to my kids was "inspired by a true story," President Taft calls in different people to help him out, and they all have solutions to match their expertise.  The Secretary of Agriculture churns butter to help grease him out (Taft quips: "As soon as I'm out of the bath, I'll need a bath!"). The Secretary of State suggests a diet.  ("Blast it! I need something fast!") In each of these meetings, President Taft is naked in a surely cold bubble bath, his chubbiness exposed to those in the room and those reading the book.

Finally, with a big heave-ho, seven people pull him out and he catapults through the window, finally free but still very naked.  Bubbles help protect the innocent readers…  As everyone congregates and congratulates on the White House lawn, Taft meekly requests his bathrobe.

A wild and funny book, for sure!


(Confession:  To be honest, I really dislike watching embarrassing things.  There was a touch of that in the book for me, and I also felt a little badly hearing my kids laugh at a man's obesity.  I know, I know…way to bring a party down, Kate…!)

Thomas Jefferson: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Everything by Maira Kalman

Thomas Jefferson: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Everything by Maira Kalman

Rating: 2 stars

It's never a good sign when you wait until the day a book is due to read it.

For a bunch of small reasons, this new book about a President I respect a whole lot sure didn't work for me.  I know why it didn't get much attention from Lorelei (who, besides me, is the main reader of this type of nonfiction picture book in our house): there is no story. I know that she read it, but there is no tale or rise and fall and resolution pattern that is what is usually needed to grab a child's interest.

I know this next reason I didn't like it is a random quibble, but the font is also a very strange choice: it's a mix between Times New Roman and a casual, handwritten-like font that includes a whole lot of cursive.  In schools around us, cursive is taught in third grade.  But this is a book allegedly aimed for 5 to 8 year olds.  Hmm.

Thomas Jefferson: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Everything is, basically, a long list of the things in which Thomas Jefferson was interested.  Though Kalman never uses this term, it is an explanation of how he was a renaissance man.  He read on many subjects, spoke half a dozen languages, cared for his farm, designed his own house, practiced the violin three hours a day, wound the clock in his kitchen daily.

Monticello, which means "Little Mountain" in Italian

Kalman also boldly includes how Jefferson, who wrote how horrid slavery was, also owned slaves.  She even--this surprised me very much--talks about how, after his beloved wife died, he allegedly "had children with the beautiful Sally Hemings," one of his slaves.

Kalman includes her own parenthetical musings every few sentences.  After she paraphrases one of Thomas Jefferson's long-winded quotations as "Don't be lazy," she includes "(It is boring to be lazy.)" After she reports that Thomas Jefferson's favorite vegetable was peas, she includes "Peas are really wonderful and fun to count." After explaining how Thomas Jefferson had fierce tribal shields on his walls that could give you nightmares she writes "(Ugh. Nightmares. Why do we have them?)"

I'm baffled by this book.

I Am Abraham Lincoln by Brad Meltzer

I Am Abraham Lincoln (Ordinary People Change the World) by Brad Meltzer, illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos

Rating: 3.5 stars

This book is smaller than most picture books.  Rather than standing the usual 12 or 14 inches, and being a standard rectangle, this book is a small square, about 6 by 6 inches.  That smaller-than-normal stature is ironic because by its contents, it is a bigger-than-normal book.

Meltzer (a thriller and mystery novelist who also hosts "Decoded" on the History channel) aimed to create a biography series of individuals that should and could be the heroes for today's children.  Right now, the Ordinary People Change the World series has two published books--Lincoln, Amelia Earhart, and one soon-to-be-published Rosa Parks.  As a proven author, I'm betting that Meltzer will write at least a dozen.

I think he does a pretty good job of packing in a LOT of information in this book that's aimed for 5-8 year olds.  He teaches about Lincoln's young life; he includes a specific example of how Lincoln steps in to stop a group of boys torturing (my word, not his) a poor turtle.  Courageously, he spoke up, and demanded the turtle be released.  "When you're ten years old, it's hard to do the right thing.  But someone has to."

Another vignette Meltzer includes: when Lincoln was 22, a gang of bullies challenged him to a fight.  Lincoln lost, and was angry about the fight--not because he lost, but because his opponent had cheated. He called him out on his poor sportsmanship, calmly and confidently pointing out that he'd fight all of them if he had to.  "Sometimes the hardest fights don't reveal a winner--but they do reveal character.  Especially when you're fighting for something you believe in."

I preferred to read.

The book includes the tough and true topics of slavery and war (but not of assassination), which is to be expected in a book about Lincoln.  With Lorelei we've discussed these topics, but with Ben we've only begun to explain the definition of the words, let alone the heartache they caused both then and now. The book ends by teaching kids how Lincoln used words in Gettysburg ("all men are created equal") and elsewhere to explain his personal conviction and, ultimately, to change the law that ended slavery.

I'm trying to put a finger on what it is about this book that makes it not resonate with me.  I'm not a fan of comic books, and the illustrated Abraham Lincoln in this book is a kid version of the adult--he's small but has a beard and top hat from age 6 to age 60, so...the missing aging process is a little odd to me.  The book is told in first person; I think it's pretty gutsy to actually put words in a man like Lincoln's mouth.  I'm not such a fan of that (but would kids really care? Probably not).  Meltzer is VERY preachy, taking a few pages at the end to talk about how "strength takes many forms.  But there's nothing quite as strong as standing up for someone who needs it." Maybe it is preachy for me as an adult reader, but on par for 6- and 7-year old readers?

Even though I think this book is just okay, I certainly support a Ordinary People Change the World series.  I like how Meltzer starts Lincoln's story--and his conviction, his practice of sticking up for people or animals that can't speak for themselves, his love of words--as a child.  I love that my kids can glance towards their future and wonder where they'll end up.  I know I sure wonder, too.

Elizabeth Leads the Way by Tanya Lee Stone

Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote by Tanya Lee Stone, illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon

Rating: 4 stars

Tanya Lee Stone grabs her young audience immediately:

What would you do
if someone told you
you can't be what you want to be
because you are a girl?

You better believe that it's surprising for a first grader to hear that your voice doesn't matter just because she's a girl!  Wonderfully, Elizabeth was also surprised to hear that when she was young; even more wonderfully, she had the moxie inside her to do something about it.  When she was thirteen, her father died, and everything was taken away from her mother--because without a husband, nothing belonged to her.

This fired up Elizabeth and she decided "right then and there that she could do anything any boy could do."

Her personal life began to look unlike any other woman's: she jumped hurdles while horseback, she rafted across rivers, she studied in college.  She met Henry Stanton, who believed in her strong will and encouraged her to continue to be her after they married.  She raised seven (!) kids.  One day, she and her girlfriends had lunch and got to chatting about all the things that women should be able to do, and all of these things could be available to women if only one thing: women could vote.

Her husband wondered if she had gone too far.

When she was finished,
she looked into the faces of the crowd and waited.

But Elizabeth continued anyway, and stirred up a whole lot of trouble as she attempted to break the (unfair) norm.  And she continued to talk and to work and to stir up trouble (aka affect change) until she did it: she helped women achieve the right to vote.

Altogether, Stone has given us an inspiring book that is done very well for a young audience.

I've been wondering lately if I'm checking out too many nonfiction books.  Am I pushing facts on to Lorelei?  Should I step back a little and let her choose more of her own books?  She's studious enough, maybe I should encourage her humorous side a bit for a change?

And then, last week, I chaperoned a field trip with her class.  It was a long trip into Washington, D.C.--I got to ride the school bus and everything.  The stops planned were: the Old Post Office, Capitol, Washington Monument, and Lincoln Memorial.

Someone knew someone, and we not only walked around the Capitol but the kids also got a tour of the rotunda.  To be honest, most of the facts that our very young guide shared with our group flew over the kids' heads.  He was hard to hear and it was loud and his speciality was not in captivating a young audience.  But after he spoke he encouraged us to walk around and look at all the statues in the room.  I turned to look at the one nearest us; it was of three women who fought for women's suffrage.

The statue in the rotunda

We had had this book lying around for a while, so I asked Lorelei: "That statue is of Elizabeth Cady Stanton.  Do you know who she is?"

Lorelei: "No.  Oh wait!  Is she the woman from Elizabeth Leads the Way?"

Yup.  And yup, we'll be continuing to have great nonfiction books like these to introduce her to important figures and broaden her general knowledge.

Here are a few of the lessons I hope Lorelei gains from this book, and those like it:

1. Individuals matter--one person's actions can affect a whole lot of change.
2. Times were different "back then"--you've got to know what happened before, so you can better appreciate what's happening today.
3. Women can raise kids and be important outside the home--wait, is that a lesson I am telling myself, or Lorelei...?

Land of the Pilgrim's Pride by Callista Gingrich

Land of the Pilgrim's Pride by Callista Gingrich, illustrated by Susan Arciero

Rating: 3 stars

Halloween is barely over--you're probably still sick from eating too much candy--but I thought I'd throw out a book referencing our next holiday...Thanksgiving.  I'm a bit dumbfounded at the crazy-high rating this book gets on Amazon; I found it to be way too deep for the age range (5-8) it supposedly targets.  But...you decide!

Here's my review from Washington Family Magazine:

My children are all too young for serious history lessons.  Especially the youngest, at 19 months.  Like all of you, I still try to inject the older two (5 ½ and 4) with appropriately-sized bits of information whenever possible.  Through walks around the monuments, trips to historical place and dozens of books in between, they’ve picked up an impressive amount of information.  (Does knowing that Abraham Lincoln wore a top hat count?  Sure!)  

I expected Land of the Pilgrims’ Pride to fit alongside these trips of ours—to be nonfiction and educational, but geared to a young crowd.  I was right about nonfiction and educational, but should have paid more attention to the target age group for the book: ages 5 to 8.  There is a lot of information in the book.  My daughter, Lorelei, has an impressive attention span and is an advanced reader, and she soaked it up.  I was able to quiz her comprehension in a not-so-annoying way when today at the Air and Space Museum she overheard a girl tell a guide that she’d spent part of her winter break in Williamsburg.  

“Mom!  Williamsburg!  Like in the book!”  

I gave myself an imaginary gold star and patted her on the back.  (Maybe I should have patted her on the back first, but…that gives you a glimpse into my self-inflated psyche.)

To read the rest of the review--I actually do talk about the book--click here.

The House that George Built by Suzanne Slade

The House that George Built by Suzanne Slade, illustrated by Rebecca Bond

Rating: 5 stars

Here's what you get when you take me to an adult dinner party: I find a little corner and a fellow bibliophile and discuss children's books for half the night.  Thank you, husband, for putting up with such behavior!  (And, in my defense, it was the parent social for Ben's junior kindergarten class, held right around the time of the annual book fair, and I was talking with the woman who ordered most of the books...)

One of the books the school administer and I talked about was The House that George Built by Suzanne Slade.  I liked the book a lot, but when the kids and I read it we weren't sure if the house of the title was Mount Vernon or the White House.  We visited both this summer, so I was happy they had a frame of reference for each house, but they knew Washington was the only President NOT to live in the White House.  The book kept us guessing--the plans that Washington is looking at in an early illustration resemble the White House more, but on the next page the plot of land he surveys sure looks like the area surrounding Mount Vernon.  Hmm.  But, a few pages later, we knew: the White House.

This is the story of how the White House was built.  We started liking the book a whole lot.

It is two stories in one.  Similar to the G is for Gold Medal alphabet book series, this book has both a cumulative poem and a longer, more informative, nonfiction-y story.  It is, not to point out the obvious, a good spin of The House that Jack Built. A sample of the cumulative rhyme:

This is the brick,
that was baked strong and thick,
that was laid on the foundation,
that was dug for our nation,
that held the design,
that would stand for all time,
that was drawn for the lot,
that great, scenic spot,
for the President's House that George built.

It is fine stuff.  It works really, really well--while the illustrations show the building of a grand house, Suzanne Slade builds her poem.

But the background stuff--the history in the book--makes it even more valuable for teachers and parents alike.  Each page is filled with interesting facts; here are some things I learned from the book:

• The site on which the White House now resides was originally part of Maryland.
• Instead of dragging thousands of bricks to the site, two kilns were built on site and used to bake bricks from the clay and sand on the building site.
• Stone was limited; instead of importing some from England (unthinkable!) he changed the design from three stories to two to keep the stone American-made.
• (In the notes in the back) Obama and his wife planted a vegetable garden with a whole lot of vegetables, but no beets--Obama doesn't like beets.  (What?! Kiefer and I are big fans of them!)

Please feel free to stop here if you're just wondering whether or not you should buy the book (you should!).  I have to add a few more historical notes because I found them way too fascinating to NOT share with those interested, including my pal Paula.

Paula, an irreplaceable force at Ben's school, told me that she heard the book was inaccurate.  She said, clearly, that L'Enfant designed the White House and James Hoban oversaw the building of it.  This was not the story in the book!  Also, most of the interior was done under John Adams--this much in the book is true to Paula's story, as the picture of a much dismayed Abigail as she moves into a shell of a mansion shows.

In the Author's Note, Slade writes that Washington invited French-born architect Pierre-Charles L'Enfant to draw up plans for the presidential palace.  But his design was too elaborate and too expensive, so he opened a design contest to the public.  He received nine entries.  One was from a man with the fake name "AZ."  Over 100 years later, people finally uncovered facts that solved the mystery of AZ's true identity: Thomas Jefferson.  Washington selected the design by James Hoban, an Irish immigrant.  The two men worked together to improve Hoban's original design.

This book inspires me to learn even more about this fantastic, important historic building.  I definitely think we'll have to take the kids down to the White House soon, though I'll have to explain once again why it is that we can't stroll up to the door to meet President Obama.

My Senator and Me by Senator Edward M. Kennedy

My Senator and Me: A Dog's-Eye View of Washington, D.C. by Senator Edward M. Kennedy, illustrated by David Small

Rating: 5 stars

Of all the children's books about politics, this is by far my favorite.  I don't mean to judge a book by its cover, but...c'mon, check out that cover.  Aren't you in love with that friendly canine already?  Just admit it...that pup is ca-yooot!

Without a doubt, David Small's fantastic illustrations once again make a good story into a fantastic book.  But the story alone would be pretty good.  Splash, Senator Kennedy's Portuguese Water Dog, is proud to be a senator's dog.  He's happy to explain the ins and outs of politics to readers who are just a little bigger than he is.

"If you want to serve your country, Washington, D.C., is a good place to be.  Washington is the capital of the United States.  The President lives there.  The Supreme Court works there.  The Congress--made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate--meets there.  And they all try to make our country a better, fairer, safer place for people and animals."

The real Splash.
(Oh, and the real Senator Kennedy.)

That's how it starts.  I was already hooked on the cover, but add that dose of patriotism and service...?  I'm a goner.

Just as the book gets a little serious about how a senator is elected, enter a batch of puppies from which the Kennedys select Splash.  And, from that point on (after, I'm guessing, some high-quality obedience training), Splash accompanies Senator Kennedy to his office in the Russell Senate Office Building where he sits through meetings, travelings on the underground tram, attends press conferences (as still as a statue), receives pets galore, and gets the quarreling committee meeting members' attention by howling.  The only place Splash is not permitted to go is on the Senate floor, where the Senators vote on a law to improve the quality of schools.

This is a great book with a few more lessons on our government for kids.  You can even write Splash at his email address (though I wish he wasn't so high-tech...can't he have a "snail mail" address?!), which is splash@tedkennedy.com .

WOOF!

So You Want to be President? by Judith St. George

So You Want to be President? by Judith St. George, illustrated by David Small

Rating: 4.5 stars

Here's a book to introduce the Presidents to your kids.  Not exactly the Presidency...it doesn't shed light on executive orders or what Commander in Chief means.  For me, the story line is a little disorganized and messy--each page is a different aspect of a President's life, from what he eats to what pets he had, from the jobs he held prior to being President to what states most Presidents are from.  There's a lot going on for kids who don't have a firm foundation of these guys.

But the illustrations!  David Small is one of the best in the business; he makes me think that books should be cataloged in the library by illustrators (yes, I know this is crazy and impossible, but a girl can dream, can't she?).  The Caldecott he won for this book is much-deserved in my opinion.  He's created quirky characters doing funny, memorable things, turning what could be seen as stuffy history into fascinating, fun stuff.

Here are some pictures that are going to stay in Lorelei's mind for a long, long time:

Nixon installed a bowling alley in the basement of the White House.

Teddy Roosevelt's kids brought up a pony to cheer up a sick sibling.

Warren Harding winning the Presidential Beauty Contest.

300 lb Taft and his four-person tub!

I know that there's not a ton of historical information here that is going to be handy on a future Social Studies test.  BUT!  There are funny pictures galore, and the book and its fantastic illustrations make learning about Presidents chuckle-worthy.  Can't beat that!

Woodrow for President by Cheryl Shaw Barnes and Peter W. Barnes

Woodrow for President by Cheryl Shaw Barnes and Peter W. Barnes

Rating: 4.5 stars

In the background as I type is the third election commercial in a row.  Ugh.  While I'm tired of hearing these ads and commercials, getting kids interested in citizenship is so important--I hope you are able to choke down your distaste for certain parts of the election (at least in front of them) in order to sow a seed or two of pride in their country.  It's hard, but worth it.

The Barnes couple is local--for me, anyway, in Northern Virginia.  They have found a way to put aside the unsavory side of politics and teach the basics of government to young children through a good-sized collection of books.  I recently reviewed three of their books for a local magazine (click here to read them); I gave those books--about Congress, the Presidency, and the Supreme Court--two thumbs' up.  In all of them, they do an exceptional job of taking a complex subject and breaking it down into an understandable explanation for kids.  In Woodrow for President, the Barnes duo manage to include anything and everything about the campaign EXCEPT the aforementioned ads and commercials to which we're all listening.

Seriously, the book starts at the birth of Woodrow the mouse!

That is the only downside of the book--it really is dense for a children's book.  The rhymes make the book more inviting for kids, and the pictures provide enough to check out while their favorite adult reads.   There are so many facts in this book that you've got to take the time to read it slowly, answering questions as they come.

But the fact that it starts with Woodrow's birth makes this book different from the other election books we've read.  I really appreciate how the authors make a point of telling about the young life of the mouse who will one day become President.  In the first bunch of pages, kids see and hear Woodrow be a good citizen by working hard, studying well, registering to vote, and starting a family and nice little life.  And then my favorite lines of the book, when he decides to go into politics:

For you see, Woodrow felt he'd been blessed from the start--
Given such a good life, that he felt in his heart
That someone like him should give back, with good grace--
To help make his town--and the world--a good place.

I love that.  LOVE it!  The idea of "giving back" is something I'd like to inject not only in my own kids but also their classmates and every other kid I've ever run across.  It's what inspired me to go to Calcutta (before it became Kolkata) and Thailand to help others.  Because isn't that what it's all about?  Helping others!  Giving back!  Contributing to something larger than you!

I'll stop off my soapbox, though...it's so hard when I could talk about that for a looooong time....!

This is my favorite election book, though it really is for 5- or 6-year olds or even older readers.  There's so much information jam-packed into the pages that you really need to take the time to stop reading and talk about what you've just read with your children or students before going on.  (If Grammy was in charge of this one, it'd take two hours to read.  Loquacious is her middle name.)

If I Ran for President by Catherine Stier

If I Ran for President by Catherine Stier, illustrated by Lynne Avril

Rating: 3 stars

This morning I had the lovely and fun opportunity to catch up with my dear old dad.  (He's actually not that old, and has been wise for several decades.)  Just the two of us--our spouses stayed home, no grandkid interrupted us, I didn't have to share him with any Army pal.  It wasn't a total break from adulthood as our topics of conversation ranged from parenting to partnering, life after my stay-at-home stint to life after general-ship.  I can't tell you how lucky I feel for having the dad I have; my eyes are filled with tears and my heart is full of sadness for those who are, for whatever reason, without a dad.

Dad and I decided to spend the morning "hiking" around the Capitol.  It was an excuse to hang out together while taking in the sights and have a blessedly long time to talk.  Included in the many things we have in common: hiking at ridiculously fast paces, running stupidly long distances, and reading a crazy number of books.  Dad puts me to shame on this last one, but I have three little ones, and his two are grown.  So...maybe I'll catch up in a few decades!

Kate for President!

As we rounded the curve into the FDR Memorial, we saw a little bookstore for book-loving tourists.  Our conversation had already turned to books several times; I was worried we might stay in this warm little store looking at books for the rest of the morning instead of huffing around the mall in the chilly morning.  The children's section was pretty good, and I couldn't help but buy a few election books for our trio.

And this one--check out the cover--how could I NOT buy a book with Ben's name on it...literally?!  While a fine book to teach older kids about the Presidential election, Catherine Stier doesn't do a great job of making the many facts involved digestible for tykes, or at least served in small bites between an age-appropriate, engaging story line.

My other problem with this book is sort of silly: Every third or fourth page, the young Presidential candidate changes.  It is as if Stier couldn't decide whether the kid candidate should be black or white, a girl or boy, so she doesn't decide and throws them all in.  Ben and Lorelei were both confused.  But they listened happily anyway, and checked out the illustrations of debates, campaign signs, Capitol building, and Air Force One.  There is a  LOT of information on these pages!

I admit that finding this book and the others was not the highlight of my day.  You probably already figured that...

Having a beer with my Dad.

Spending the morning walking all around the monuments with my dad, chatting and laughing with him, crying a little and philosophizing about things much, much bigger than ourselves...  I am a very lucky daughter.  It was fun, too, to tell Lorelei and Ben (and Kiefer too) that I was hanging out with my dad for the day--that even as an adult I valued our relationship so much I was investing time away from my own family to strengthen that bond.  I sure hope one day, 30 years from now, they'll want to walk around the mall with me, listening and talking and questioning and laughing about all the wonderful and tough things in life.

My fingers are crossed (please, please, please let this wish come true!)...

Madam President by Lane Smith

Madam President by Lane Smith

Rating: 3.5 stars

I'm a stay-at-home mom with three young kids, so...keeping current with the news is not my first priority.  I must (sheepishly) admit that there have been a few times when I've heard a big piece of news and had to pretend that I already knew about it.  For example, troops being pulled out of Iraq.  This is particularly embarrassing when your dad is a retired general and your brother-in-law is active duty.  I'm pretty ashamed about that one.

But even I know that next week is the Presidential Election!

See, I ain't no dummy.  Just a tiny bit ignorant as I'm wrapped up in the immediacy of the needs within my own little existence on this planet of ours.

Why, the President is the most important person in the whole wide world!
(And the most humble.)

My choice aside, it's been fun to listen to Lorelei have a small opinion on the matter.  "I'm voting for our President, of course!" she tells me every time I bring it up.  Of course I tried to find a few books on the subject so to provide Lorelei and Ben some background into the election.  I had high hopes for this one, but don't love it as much as I expected to.

The words in the book outline the President's job.  If you close your eyes and just listen, you'll get an accurate description, complete with kissing babies and taking photo-ops, creating a good Cabinet and brokering treaties.  If you open your eyes, you see that each picture illustrates the grade school-version of that job.  Well, kissing babies is still kissing babies...  But brokering treaties involves fighting classmates, and attending a state funeral involves the death of a frog, nothing more.

A President needs protection at all times.

I do appreciate Lane Smith (click here for reviews of his books on my blog).  And I think I'll appreciate this book in another year or two, but right now the jokes are a little too old for Lorelei.  The little girl who is Madam President has her nose in the air in the vast majority of pictures, and I just don't like that image.

This is a good book for elementary students, I think...  I'll keep it in mind in four years, as long as I'm aware of the election that will take place then.

John, Paul, George and Ben by Lane Smith

John, Paul, George and Ben by Lane Smith

Rating: 5 EXTRA LARGE stars

Here's a book that's been on our shelf for a long time, even longer than my absence from this blog (sorry, was a bit preoccupied with life).

Many of Lane Smith's books are politically-related, including his latest, Abe Lincoln's Dream...has anyone read it?  I've not yet.  His most famous, for which he oh-so-justly earned a Caldecott, was Grandpa Green (my review here).  I'm a fan, because Lane Smith is one funny dude*, whose illustrations match his witty words.  I appreciate funny dudes, and I appreciate the quirkiness--both written and illustrated--of this book.

The tale is one that we all know: That some important guys put their important heads together and did some important stuff in order to get our important nation off to a good start.  Smith tells the (mostly true) individual stories and then collective, revolutionary tale of John Adams, Paul Revere, George Washington, Ben Franklin, and also Thomas Jefferson (who was always off doing his own thing, so he doesn't get his name in the title).  He spends a few pages on each one, illustrating with words and pictures each particular character.

They are all funny, but Paul is my favorite.  Smith explains: "Before fun was invited, people joined bell-ringing clubs."  Because of this, Paul was hard of hearing and so, in order to hear himself, yelled an awful lot.  Check out the image of Paul, whose loudness wasn't appreciated at his shop:

Look at the look on that lady's face!  That is FUNNY!

"It took many years and a midnight ride for people to finally appreciate his special talent," writes Smith, as the illustration has Paul riding his bay steed through the cobblestone streets to warn of the Redcoats.

Ben Franklin is also pretty funny, but mostly because Lorelei had a habit of repeating two of the sayings that Smith includes in the small collection of Ben Franklin-isms.  "Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead" and "Fish and visitors stink after three days."  Can you see a preschool-goin', blonde-haired, blue-eyed three year old walking around saying these two things?  Yup, that's our Lorelei.

Anyway, I am so glad that we have had this book for so long.  It is funny and engaging and--lo and behold--completely educational.  In the back Smith includes real images of the five important dudes, and Lorelei and Ben have been able to pick them out in photographs and paintings for years.  They know an impressive handful of basic facts (for example, George Washington was the first president, and he lived in New York, not the White House in Washington, DC) and have yet to start elementary school.

I think it's so important to teach kids about our country, starting with the basics, like this book so funnily does.  This book is one example of many that can get your kids started on the right track to be an informed, appreciative patriot.

( * Lorelei also walked around saying "dude" instead of "guy" or "man" for years...oops.  I learned from that chuckle-worthy mistake, and her brothers started off with less surfer-like language.

George Washington and the General's Dog by Frank Murphy

George Washington and the General's Dog by Frank Murphy, illustrated by Richard Walz

Rating: 5 stars

Today Lorelei, Ben, Kiefer and I met my family at Mount Vernon, George Washinton's estate.  I've lived in Northern Virginia for ten years (the Army brat in me is shocked at being anywhere for this long) but this was my first trip there.

During the longish drive there, I quizzed the kids on what they knew about George Washington.  Here's what Ben (nearly 4) and Lorelei (5) knew:

• He was our first President.
• He chose not to be a king.
• He was the only President not to live in the White House.
• He lived in New York City.
• He admitted to chopping down a cherry tree.
• He was a soldier, a general, like Grand-Daddy.
• He loved animals, but especially loved dogs.
• His favorite dog was named Sweetlips.

I was proud of myself and impressed at their memory.  Once again, I'm amazed at how reading is entertainment and education all wrapped up together.  There are so many times when I'm floored by how much Lorelei has soaked up from books, especially the Magic School Bus series.  She is one smart cookie.

This book is a must-read for EVERYONE!  It is such a good tale about one of the most important characters in our country's history.  But it's also a good story of an act of kindness.  There is so much to know about Washington that I feel utterly unqualified to say much, but I will say that he reminds me that individuals matter.  One single man (or woman) can make such a difference in the course of history, in the lives of so many.  I want my kids to know more about him; this book is a perfect introduction.

The story starts off simply enough, and grabs any kid who likes any animal: Washington was an animal-lover, but dogs were his favorite.  (Would I like him as much if he was a cat-lover?  Probably not!)  He had a pack of dogs that amused him and annoyed Martha.  When he went away to fight in the Revolutionary War, he brought along his favorite dog, Sweetlips.  After the Battle of Germantown in 1777, a terrier was found wandering the fields.  Some soldiers in Washington's camp found him and realized that the dog belonged to the enemy, General Howe.  Washington's soldiers suggested he keep the dog as some sort of trophy for winning the battle, but Washington wouldn't hear of it.  A man and his dog must be kept together.

So, under a white flag of truce, Washington's aide returned the dog to Howe.

There are so many lessons in here that I don't know where to start.  I was really moved by the story the first time I read it, proud of our first President for such a simple and decent act.  My kids have such a hard time with losing and are so proud of themselves for winning--though the word "gloat" isn't in their vocabularies, they do it rather well.  But here's a tale of a winner who doesn't gloat, who recognizes the basic needs of his enemy and does the right thing.

I just love the story.  As soon as I read it I bought it and mailed it to my sister for her brood to have--my sister has framed pictures of George and Martha "as every American should have!"--so I knew she had to have it on her shelf.  Today, walking around the beautiful fields of Mount Vernon, appreciating the view on a gorgeous first day of fall, as our seven (seven!) collective kids ran around us, she and I talked about this book and how great an introduction it is to such an important figure.

We'll be back to Mount Vernon to add to the small but solid understanding Lorelei and Ben (and, soon enough, Kiefer!) have about one very important man.

George Washington's Cows by David Small

George Washington's Cows by David Small

Rating: 3.5 stars

This book really wouldn't appeal to many, but I can't help but throw it out there.  For those of us who live within a drive of Mount Vernon, it might be fun to check out this book before or during the trip...just to see if, in fact, there are cows and pigs and sheep such as Small describes.

When you and your family pull up to his estate, will your kids see cows who are "fed on a diet of jam and cream scones, / Frequently sprayed with expensive colognes" and pigs who are "Eager to serve the honored guests, / Leaping to meet each need expressed?"  You never know.  Will they see sheep who "sorted the stars with a needle / And measured the sea with a stick?"  Hmmm...

(Spoiler alert: I've been there.  They won't.)

Anyway, the amusing rhyme goes on, and your kids will probably think that the animals in the well-drawn, very realistic pictures are pretty hilarious (the sheep in old-school scientist garb, looking studiously and seriously at their measurements and calculations, are my favorite).

But in the end, only the adult will laugh.  Kids just won't get the joke.  Because George, head in hand, with tears in his eyes, says:

"My cows wear dresses, my pigs wear wigs,
And my sheep are more learned than me.
In all my days on the farm I've seen
Nothing to equal such tricks." 

Then bundling into his wool underwear,
He ferried across the cold Delaware,
And muttered in tones of deepest despair:
Sell the farm, I'll try politics!

The First Pup: The Real Story of How Bo Got Into the White House by Bob Staake

The First Pup: The Real Story of How Bo Got Into the White House by Bob Staake

Rating: 4 stars

You know that Obama has a dog named Bo.  And you also probably know that they got him after hunting for just the right dog.  But looky here--a children's book to give you and your kids the whole story.

That story:  Obama gets elected, his family cheers, he tells everyone he's going to get a dog.  No one is more excited (about the dog part) than Sasha and Milia, who quickly turn the search into a research project.  They hunt high and low but, after many months, are still dogless.  Meanwhile, Senator Kennedy gets a Portuguese water dog from a breeder.  One of the puppies from the same litter gets returned to the breeder; the pup and first home weren't the right fit.  Quickly that same puppy finds his place in the real First Home and the First Family and Bo (named after Bo Diddley, sort of) live happily ever after.

The funniest part of this book are these lines: "The senator also knew that Malia was allergic to most dogs, but that Portuguese water dogs are hypoallergenic."  Ah, yes.  Poor Malia's allergies are now etched in a children's book!  It's definitely 2012.  My kids didn't miss a beat with the mention of allergies, thanks to peanut allergies and hay allergies and cashew allergies and egg allergies and gluten allergies and...

Bob Staake is definitely a fantastic artist, and a fine author.  His artwork and books (click here to see books of his I've reviewed) is best when cars are involved, I think.  His artwork is not my all-time favorite, personally, but my kids gravitate towards it, especially the pages that are jam-packed with interesting things to see, as if there is a look-and-find book within a story book.  But this book about Bo is a little different, a bit more mainstream, and I like it a lot.  His images of Obama--tall, smiling, proud--are spot-on.

It seems funny to have a "politics" label on my blog about children's book (even as I sit 30ish miles from the White House), but then I think: why are we reading books to our kids?  Sure, to increase vocabulary, to create a bond between kid and caregiver, to understand the rhythm of a story.  But also to expand their mind--to open their minds to possibilities that are beyond their day-to-day.  To start a conversation with them about something different, new, important.  A story about the dog at the White House is really an opportunity to talk about the President, about being a leader, about how our country is organized.

We read this book over dinner a few days ago.  Lorelei told me afterward: "You could be the first girl President, Mommy!"  I told her, "No, Lorelei, I'm sorta too old, and I've chosen a different path.  But you, YOU could be the first girl President.  You could do it."  She chewed on that while she chewed on her meatballs.  And hopefully she'll be thinking about it--and considering it--for a long time.  

So thanks, Bo and Bob, for a little tale about a big job, and for making my daughter (and sons) think about both.