Our White House

Election years always bring out new children’s books on voting, the election process, and presidents. However, I’ve yet to see anything that rivals the scope and beauty of Our White House.

Imagine a book in which authors such as Richard Peck, Meg Cabot, Walter Dean Myers, Jane Yolen, and Peter Sis combine with the best in children’s illustration to create a magnificent collection of poetry, essays, short stories, biographical sketches, and personal accounts. Some presidents receive more attention than others (Lincoln and Kennedy), and selections about Presidents Reagan, George H.W, Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush are mainly drawn from the presidents’ own writings (such as George H.W. Bush’s Christmas letter to his children), although Socks the Cat (part of the Clinton family) is represented by a poem written from his perspective.

Our White House, which was eight years in the making, was created by the National Children’s Book and Literary Alliance. Although this might not be a book that many children would pick out on their own (the book is quite hefty), this would be a fabulous addition for a family read aloud at bedtime (or anytime)! It is a gorgeous book and absolutely worthy of the generous praise that followed its publication.