Children's Corner: John, Paul, George, & Ben

Traditionally in our house this time of year I haul out my 1776 DVD and we have a viewing.  Unfortunately, though my daughter loves musicals, there is a little too much talking in 1776 to hold her attention ("John you're a bore; we've heard this before.") yet.  Needless to say, when I found this at a Scholastic sale I was overjoyed to find a way to share a little history with my kidlet ~and even better it was from Lane Smith, who we love!

Lane Smith takes all the traditional yarns surrounding the founding fathers and weaves them into entertaining mini biographies (though I do wish he'd picked John Adams over John Hancock ...and what about Richard Henry Lee?!?).  And though he may stretch the tall tales a little taller, he has a true/false section at the back of the book to explain where he has 'taken liberties'.  My daughter may not be getting a ton out of it right now, but they are still amusing little stories and she can grow into the rest of the history lesson.  This is definitely one that grows with the child.

Jenn's Review: Madam President

Summary: A little girl imagines what her day would be like if she were Madam President. There would be executive orders to give, babies to kiss, tuna casseroles to veto (or VETO!)...and so much more! Not to mention that recess would definitely require more security.

With deadpan wit and hilarious illustrations, best-selling picture book creator Lane Smith introduces readers to an unforgettable new character.

Review: This is another favorite in our house, although my three year old daughter did learn how to veto her nap... so maybe I should be cursing this one.  (Literally, she says "Veto.")  There isn't a huge amount of story to this, but it is fun to watch Katy as she goes through her day as President.  She uses an Executive Order to get more waffles, has secret service follow her around the playground, and holds press conferences.  Her cabinet members are the toys in her cabinet (Mr. Potato Head is the Secretary of Agriculture, of course) and the mess in her room is a National Disaster.

The pictures are beautiful and there is lots to discuss in each one -plus there are lots historically accurate posters and books in the background of many of them.  It's a great way to introduce governmental terms to children, though you might want to skip the veto page, now that I think about it...  I also love that it may plant a seed of inspiration for little girls, that was much harder to find when I was growing up.