Search results matching tag 'presidents'

If You Were President, Would You . . .

UndergroundLibrarian@evpl — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 22:41:00 GMT

lower gas prices? give money to the poor? bring the soldiers back? make smoking illegal? require everyone to graduate from high school? help keep the earth clean? try to bring peace to the world?

OR would you . . .give out more ice cream? make more toys? outlaw gym class?

OR would you start by throwing a big party?

These are some the the responses we've received at Oaklyn Branch to our kids' form "If I were President I would . . ." We'll keep posting these on the bulletin board in the kids' area this month. If you're a kid, come fill out a form yourself, and we'll put it up. If you're not a kid, come see the good ideas our kids have, and be reassured that we have many very thoughtful young people around here.

And in the meantime, what would you do if you were President? I especially like the replies that said they'd throw a big party, because that's just about the first thing a new President does after he's elected.

Lincoln Shot: A President's LIfe Remembered

UndergroundLibrarian@evpl — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 20:43:00 GMT

This is a BIG book -- 18 inches tall and at least a foot wide, but there are only 40 pages. The cover looks like it's old and worn out, but it's really brand new. Inside, the pages look like old yellowed newspaper articles. We first read about Lincoln's assassination and then about John Wilkes Booth, the assassin. There are "newspaper articles" on the group of assassins who plotted to kill LIncoln, and what happened to them.

After that there is much information on Lincoln's entire life, and the progress of the Civil War. Page 35 has a sobering progression of photographs, showing how much Lincoln aged from 1860 to 1865. The last page contains the poem by Walt Whitman, O Captain! My Captain!, mourning Lincoln's death.

Lincoln Shot: A President's LIfe Remembered is an excellent source for finding out about Abraham Lincoln in a concise manner. And along the way, you will find historic drawings and photos, along with a few ads appropriate to the 1860's for such things as splint bottom hickory chairs and men's tall black hats,

Think Things Are Tough? Try Being in Gettysburg During the Civil War.

UndergroundLibrarian@evpl — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 19:26:00 GMT

LIzzie is very excited when her cousin Rosanna, a year older than her, moves to Gettysburg to live with Rosanna's sister. Lizzie's father and her twin brother have enlisted in the Union army, even though her twin, Luke, is only old enough to be a drummer. The two girls become best friends, and then Virginia-born Rosanna goes back to Richmond and her parents. It's almost impossible for the girls to keep in touch, since only smuggled messages can travel between the two sides during the Civil War. But news of Rosanna 's marriage to a man who joined the Confederate army does reach Gettysburg. When Rosanna learns that her husband has been injured in battle, she travels to the Confederate army to nurse him. Both girls get swept up in the affairs of the times, as Lizzie must quit school to manage her father's butcher shop, and Rosanna learns to treat all sorts of battle - related ailments of the men of the Confederate army.

In Two Girls of Gettysburg, Lisa Klein has included much that is historically accurate, including details of the Battle of Gettysburg and Lincoln's trip to deliver his now-famous speech. But what she also does very well is make the reader feel right there in the thick of things, experiencing the hopes and fears of any kid growing up at that time, along with the life-and-death situation of being in the midle of a battleground where people know and love participants on both sides.

Presidential High Points . . . and Low Points!

UndergroundLibrarian@evpl — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 21:36:00 GMT

Here's a book that's on our New Shelf at Oaklyn (and other branches, too) about our U.S. Presidents, called Smithsonian Presidents. Its layout is inviting, and includes lots of pictures and quotes. The cover promises "Presidential high points . . . and low points!" Here's a low point: President William Henry Harrison, one of Indiana's own, caught a cold on his inauguration day and died exactly one month later. Here's a high point: President Grover Cleveland was the first President to hold his wedding in the White House. Each President gets a scrapbook-like page with his picture and pictures of outstanding events or places during his administration, plus tidbits of information. Browsers and report writers alike will find this book of interest.

Websites are listed in the back for more information about each individual President or the White House or the job of the Secret Service or presidential libraries and museums. And there are other specific websites suggested throughout. Want to see the dress Jacqueline Kennedy wore to her husband's inauguration? Try http://historywired.si.edu/object.cfm?ID=311. Or Japanese-America internment camps and the artwork created by people living in the camps? Go to ttp://americanhistory.si.edu/perfectunion/experience/index.html. Check out this book and find lots more websites!

Time to Vote!

kiya@evpl — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 00:29:00 GMT

Several fiction books about Elections and the Presidency:

Vote for Larry by Janet Tashjian

Josh Swensen made national news as Larry, an anti-consumerist blogger, in The Gospel According to Larry. He's back, and running for President in Vote for Larry. He knows he's too young to serve, but wants to use his near-celebrity status to raise issues important to young people that aren't being addressed by the major party candidates. Very thought-provoking, and a good follow up to the first book. Rumors are that a third book, Larry and the Meaning of Life, has just been published. Maybe you'll see it on our shelves soon!

First Boy by Gary Schmidt

Cooper Jewett lives with his grandfather on their dairy farm in New Hampshire. He's a pretty ordinary high school freshman, but one day notices that men in suits driving black sedans start showing up around his hometown, and they seem to be watching him. What he doesn't know is why, and how much trouble he might be in, and how on earth he might get out of it. This was pretty interesting - even when I thought I had things figured out, there was a twist or two at the end waiting to surprise me.

Ellen Emerson White's series about The President's Daughter

I've only read the last book in the series, which was published recently. The first three books have been ordered, though, and will be here soon. Meg, who is sixteen in the first book, has just moved to Washington DC after her mother was elected President. Suddenly, Meg and her family have many adjustments to make. Meg has a wicked sense of humor, a complicated life, and a love for the Boston Red Sox. The other titles in the series are: White House Autumn, Long Live the Queen, and Long May She Reign.

Wide Awake by David Levithan

Set in the future, the candidate running for President in this book will be the first gay, Jewish president if he is elected. It's fun to figure out what must have happened between NOW and the time this book takes place by putting together all the clues and bits of information dropped as Levithan tells his story.

What books and novels about politics and elections have you read and enjoyed?

Links of Interest:

What if your MOTHER were running for President?

kiya@evpl — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 00:15:00 GMT

Vanessa kind of likes living in the Governor's Mansion with her mother, the governor of Florida. The food is really good, and you never know when you'll run into somebody famous, like Governer Schwarzenegger! But Vanessa is not happy that her mom is running for President - she's off campaigning A LOT, and can't always come to Vanessa's school events. Worst of all, Vanessa is afraid that somebody might try to hurt her mom. Then, some creepy notes start showing up in Vanessa's locker! The book is suspenseful, but it is also funny. My daughter and I laughed out loud at some of the embarrassing things that happen to Vanessa.

Pick up a copy of as if being 12¾ isn't bad enough, my mother is running for president! by Donna Gephardt. You'll be glad you did.

Have you read other books about elections or children of politicians that you liked?

Link to Donna Gephart's website

some other stories of politics and elections at EVPL

Who Was the Unhappiest President?

UndergroundLibrarian@evpl — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:30:00 GMT

All U. S. Presidents have had their troubles, but Steve Sheinkin (yep, the same guy who wrote King George; What Was His Problem?) writes about two who were President at the same time. When was that? During the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis had plenty of problems, and Sheinkin tells us about them in Two Miserable Presidents. It's a really understandable accounting of the Civil War, full of stories of individual people, some important and some not so important, but all of them are worth reading.

I knew there were women who disguised themselves as men and entered the army, but I hadn't heard of Loreta Janeta Velazquez, who joined the Confederate army as Harry T. Buford. All went well until her fake mustache got soaked in a big drink of buttermilk and started to come off. She spent the rest of the meal with "my hand up to my mouth all the time . . . doing my best to hold the mustache on." (p.70) As the war went on, both Presidents were getting lots of criticism from the press. One Southern newspaper wrote that "Jefferson Davis now treats all men as if they were idiotic insects." (p.85) And people in the North were so unhappy about the war going on and on that Lincoln feared he would not be reelected in 1864.

Quoting from inside the jacket cover, "Filled with surprising quotes, startling stories, and all the strange events that didn't make it into your textbook, this is history like you've never read it before: fast, frightening, and entirely true."

Election Year Fun

UndergroundLibrarian@evpl — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:27:00 GMT

Sam's mother is the President of the United States. His father is the First Guy. Sam has a pet cat named Warren and they know a friendly rat named Leonard. It's great to live in the White House for a while, but Sam has too many limits. That's when it's time to make a an escape plan! You can read all about it in The Great White House Breakout. We have 6 copies of this new picture book in our library system.l