PUBLISHER: Reader's Digest
Do you know who the youngest President was? How about the oldest, at age 69?
Do you know which President never married?
Any idea who loved books so much that their 6,000 volume collection became the first Library of Congress?
Do you know who was the first and only president to command the military on the field while he was president?
What about which President the Teddy Bear is named for?
Do you know which president had a pet alligator?
You can learn all these facts and more in this thorough volume all about the U.S. Presidents and their lives.
Each President is mentioned in order, starting with their full name, when and where they were born, their political party, their vice president, and their family members (including their pets!). There is also a picture of the president and a quote underneath it.
The rest of the chapter includes information on their time in office, fun facts, and sometimes information on the First Ladies.
There are also information boxes that include notes such as how the White House was built, which presidents feature on U.S. currency, and monuments to the presidents.
My only problem with this book, and it is a big problem, is that it assumes the reader already knows a lot, like, for example, what electoral votes are or what it means to be impeached. If the three branches of the government need to be explained right away than I am pretty sure electoral votes and impeachment do, too. Electoral votes are first mentioned in George Washington's chapter, but are not explained until George W. Bush. It makes no sense. You've read the entire book before any explanation is given for something that they talk about at the beginning of the book. Have a dictionary handy if you read this one.
BOOK BRIEFS:
AGES: 9 and up
HIS = Historical/History
I = Insightful
INFO= Informative
L = Long Book (139 pages)
LC = Language Concepts
R = Reference
V = Vocabulary Enhancement
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