SO YOU WANT TO BE PRESIDENT?

Bibliography

St. George, Judith. 2000. SO YOU WANT TO BE PRESIDENT? Ill. By David Small. New York: Philomel Books. ISBN 0399234071

Plot Summary

In this creative picture book, Judith St. George describes interesting and humorous facts about our past presidents of the United States in a light-hearted way.

Critical Analysis

This clever approach to sharing facts about past presidents keeps the reader completely engaged. St. George describes the age, hobbies, number of siblings, musical abilities, height and weight, pets, education, past jobs, and character traits of past presidents using humor. At the back of the book is a "Featured in Illustrations" page identifying all presidents illustrated throughout the book and a quick bio of each of the presidents.

David Small creates humorous and lively character sketches that closely resemble the presidents. Small’s captivating illustrations portray the presidents in action leaving the reader with memorable images.

Review Excerpts

2001-2002 Bluebonnet Nominee

2001 Caldecott Winner

Booklist: “Thoughtful composition and layout both contribute to the lively visual presentation of this most original look at the presidency. The light tone of the book makes it possible for readers to absorb a great deal of information, some of it silly, but underlying the treatment is a sense of the significance and dignity of the office and the faith that children still aspire to be president.”

School Library Journal: “Curious tidbits of personal information and national history combine with humorously drawn caricatures to give this tongue-in-cheek picture book a quirky appeal.”

Connections

This book would be a wonderful introduction to a study of past presidents.

Buller, Jon, Susan Schade, and Jill Weber. Smart About the Presidents ISBN 0448433729

Bausum, Ann. Our Country’s Presidents: Completely Revised and Expanded ISBN 0792293290