Kid Presidents

September 15, 2014
“Every president in United States history started out like you and me,” writes Stabler (a pseudonym for author Robert Schnakenberg), before going on to prove it. The stories he’s assembled show how the young lives of the men who became president encompassed nearly everything that kids go through today, including blended families (Lincoln), helicopter parenting (F.D.R.), crushes (Nixon), bullies (Eisenhower, Kennedy), being the new kid (Obama), and odd obsessions that drive parents crazy (“Herbert Hoover once ate nothing but pears for two whole days”). The text is straightforward, upbeat, and resolutely apolitical, organized into easy-to-digest sections that alternate between stories of individual presidents and roundups on themes like chores, jobs, and what teachers thought of the presidents as students. “When you grow up, you’re either going to be governor or get in a lot of trouble,” said Bill Clinton’s sixth-grade teacher (though no citation for this or any other quotation is provided). Horner’s spot cartoons ensure readers won’t mistake this for a history textbook and contribute some funny metafictional moments: “We need strawberries!” says Theodore Roosevelt’s mother in one drawing. “Stop waving to the readers and go!” Ages 8–12. (Oct.)■

August 1, 2014
Stories from their child and teen years reveal that U.S. presidents were kids like any others-with hobbies and families and escapades both amusing and alarming. Robert Schnakenberg, author of Secret Lives of Great Authors (illustrated by Mario Zucca, 2008) and similar titles for adults, uses a pseudonym for this entertaining collection of presidential trivia. Embellishing the story of Washington and the cherry tree with a fire-breathing dinosaur, he points out that that oft-told anecdote is fantasy. Instead, he offers 16 "true tales" organized into three sections, along with additional factoids about games and pranks, early jobs and mishaps, as well as teachers' comments about our nation's leaders. He rounds out his collection with a final surprising fact about each of the 44 presidents (Cleveland gets two for his two nonconsecutive terms). With examples that include Grant's early horsemanship, Obama's travails as a new boy in Jakarta, Indonesia, and the nearsighted Reagan's butterfly collection, the author presents engaging vignettes of these men as boys. Horner's full-color cartoons add to the humor. For young readers wanting to know more about individual presidents, the author provides suggested titles. Troublingly, though, there is no indication of the author's sources, either in the book or on the publisher's website. These tales are pleasingly told, but readers cannot know where the facts end and embellishment begins. Young readers deserve to know that, too. Lively but not reliable. (index) (Collective biography. 9-13)

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September 1, 2014

Gr 4-6-With cartoonish illustrations that will attract fans of Jeff Kinney's "The Diary of a Wimpy Kid" and Rachel Renee Russel's "The Dork Diaries," this informative offering leaves no presidential childhood rock unturned. Children will enjoy the parallels of these presidential lives and their own, from Franklin Roosevelt's helicopter mother to Hebert Hoover's friendships with Native Americans to Barack Obama's tumultuous years in Indonesia. Disorganized kids will be happy to read that John F. Kennedy was given a scathing report card that once stated that he "can seldom locate his possessions." Kids will especially enjoy the section on pranks pulled by previous presidents. Oddly, this book is not organized chronologically, nor is each segment broken down into any rational sequence. Overall, the style is funny and lighthearted. Being a kid isn't always easy, even for those on the path for greatness, like many of these men. The further reading at the end of book provides a nice resource for those who want to learn more about their favorite resident of the Oval Office. Give this fun and accessible title to "Who Was..." series (Penguin) fans or reluctant readers who enjoys history.-Keith Klang, Port Washington Public Library, NY

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2014
Grades 4-7 Everyone has heard the fable of a young George Washington chopping down his father's prized cherry tree, but Stabler's thesis is that the true, unembellished stories of our presidents' childhoods are far more interesting and awe-inspiring than any inflated legend. Young readers will find many of the anecdotes included in this fun read relatable, focusing as they do on sibling rivalries, school antics, and weird hobbies. Even students of history may be surprised to learn that Theodore Roosevelt had serious asthma, George W. Bush was a head cheerleader in high school, and Herbert Hoover attended school on the Osage Indian Agency in Oklahoma for seven months. Sixteen presidents are chronicled, with the biographies arranged into broadly thematic chapters concerning topics like amazing voyages and family challenges. Caricatures by Horner are whimsical and funny, a good match for a book that demonstrates that every president started life as a goofy, regular kid.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2015
This lighthearted romp focuses on amusing or unusual stories from United States presidents' childhoods. Anecdotes of facing down bullies, overcoming personal hardships, and learning from mistakes abound. Young history buffs and reluctant readers alike will relate to the humorous, comic-style color illustrations and the breezy, anecdotal narrative format. An appendix of brief, quirky facts about each president concludes the volume. Reading list. Ind.

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)