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U.S. Presidents: The Oval Office All-Stars    by Dan Green & Simon Basher Amazon.com order for
U.S. Presidents
by Dan Green
Order:  USA  Can
Kingfisher, 2013 (2013)
Hardcover, Softcover
* * *   Reviewed by Bob Walch

Here's an excellent way to introduce a youngster to America's presidents. After a brief introduction and a page on the White House, the rest of the book is divided into 18th-19th century presidents and 20th-21st century office holders.

At the back of the book you'll also find a presidential portrait gallery featuring black and white photos of each president along with important information such as birth/death dates, party affiliation, who was vice-president during his term and the First Lady's name.

Each individual entry includes a full-page cartoon image of the president plus a page of interesting facts and trivia. For example, you'll discover that Benjamin Harrison was nicknamed Little Ben because he was rather short.

There is also a paragraph written in first person where the president shares a little about himself. Franklin Pierce admits that his decision to let the citizens of Kansas decide if they were to be a slave state or not was a bad idea.

Each page also features a number of facts about each president. Rutherford B. Hayes was the first president to install a telephone in the White House; William McKinley was the first to hold regular press briefings; and Woodrow Wilson was the last president to marry during his time in office.

There are also enough little known facts here that adults will find this an entertaining read. You probably didn't know that Bill Clinton was the last president to have shaken JFK's hand, Richard Nixon was the first presidential candidate to campaign in all fifty states, and Herbert Hoover was fluent in Mandarin Chinese.

There is enough in this book to give a youngster a little bit of knowledge about the presidents without becoming boring. Hopefully, this will also whet the child's appetite so that he or she will want to do a more, in-depth exploration of the presidency in the future.

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