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How Not to Run for President
"Humorous dialogue, smart pacing and some dirty politics make for an engaging read.
With an election around the corner, this isn’t a bad way for young readers to view the political arena."— Kirkus Reviews
When the middle school band is called to play for a presidential campaign rally, Aidan is right there with his clarinet, just in time to save the candidate’s life. Interviewed by the media, he speaks up in favor of the need to save jobs—like his mom’s, for instance. Even though he’s in the middle of Little League season, for pete’s sake, the candidate convinces him to join her tour of the midwest.
Problem 1: The candidate’s daughter HATES Aidan. Problem 2: What do you do when your whole life has been turned upside down and you can’t get away from the media? Problem 3: What’s a red-blooded American boy to do when he’s asked to play the clarinet on national TV and the local bully back home is giving interviews saying Aidan’s the nerd of the century?
With an election around the corner, this isn’t a bad way for young readers to view the political arena."— Kirkus Reviews
When the middle school band is called to play for a presidential campaign rally, Aidan is right there with his clarinet, just in time to save the candidate’s life. Interviewed by the media, he speaks up in favor of the need to save jobs—like his mom’s, for instance. Even though he’s in the middle of Little League season, for pete’s sake, the candidate convinces him to join her tour of the midwest.
Problem 1: The candidate’s daughter HATES Aidan. Problem 2: What do you do when your whole life has been turned upside down and you can’t get away from the media? Problem 3: What’s a red-blooded American boy to do when he’s asked to play the clarinet on national TV and the local bully back home is giving interviews saying Aidan’s the nerd of the century?
240 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
6 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
Catherine Clark
71 books390 followersI love reading books for children, young adults, new adults and all the old people after that.
I love writing for pretty much the same audiences.
I love writing for pretty much the same audiences.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 18, 2016
It was a great all round book. Sad that it won't be in a series.....
June 11, 2012
In this tween novel, Aidan accidently saves a presidential candidate from falling and is soon a media “darling.” There is humor in this timely story, including an insightful skewering of cable news channels and their penchant for lies and distortion. The female presidential candidate is a nice role model, and she has a daughter about Aidan’s age, making this a book both boys and girls will enjoy. Here are some activities to use with this book during a discussion:
• Since the two young characters in the book share snacks, serve treats for refreshments.
• Aidan, the main character, plays the clarinet. See if any of the book discussion group members play an instrument, and ask if they could bring their instruments and play for the group.
• The main characters also play baseball, which could be incorporated into the book club as an activity – play catch.
• Aidan gains fame when his act of saving the candidate ends up on Youtube. Pre-select some presidential gaffs and triumphs seen on Youtube and share them with the group.
For more programming ideas related to this book, check out the website: http://www.hownottorunforpresident.com/ . It has a reading guide for the book, http://www.hownottorunforpresident.co... , filled with discussion questions, a quiz on leaders and musical instruments, and other activities.
• Since the two young characters in the book share snacks, serve treats for refreshments.
• Aidan, the main character, plays the clarinet. See if any of the book discussion group members play an instrument, and ask if they could bring their instruments and play for the group.
• The main characters also play baseball, which could be incorporated into the book club as an activity – play catch.
• Aidan gains fame when his act of saving the candidate ends up on Youtube. Pre-select some presidential gaffs and triumphs seen on Youtube and share them with the group.
For more programming ideas related to this book, check out the website: http://www.hownottorunforpresident.com/ . It has a reading guide for the book, http://www.hownottorunforpresident.co... , filled with discussion questions, a quiz on leaders and musical instruments, and other activities.
June 11, 2013
The story--a presidential candidate, her daughter,Emma, and her entourage visit 12-year old Aiden's small Ohio town where Aiden pushes the candidate away to keep her from being beaned by a falling campaign sign. That gets publicized via cell phone cameras and YouTube and the campaign decides Aiden can be an asset. With about an hour's notice, he's on the campaign bus learning what it means to be a political asset. Emma, who doesn't want to live in the White House surrounded by the Secret Service, sabotages Aiden's efforts to help. And finally the political opposition, seeing Aiden as a threat, tells lies on the TV about him, his family, and his dog. What to do?
I like the book. It's a good introduction to both stereotyping (can a woman really be a good leader?) and to dirty politics (both the impersonal use of a "political asset" and the opposition's use of "truth" by implication even if the implied truth is an outright lie). The ending may be a bit too easy, but for kids, it shows that kids can make a difference.
4th grade or so and up. Boys and girls.
I like the book. It's a good introduction to both stereotyping (can a woman really be a good leader?) and to dirty politics (both the impersonal use of a "political asset" and the opposition's use of "truth" by implication even if the implied truth is an outright lie). The ending may be a bit too easy, but for kids, it shows that kids can make a difference.
4th grade or so and up. Boys and girls.
May 22, 2017
This book was entertaining and funny, especially at the end, but it wasn't very fun to read for me in the beginning.
For one, I felt that this book was a little preachy. Clark mentioned multiple times things that the country needs and other things that don't really interest a kid like me.
Secondly, in the beginning of the story, the main character, Aidan Schroeckenbauer, slightly gets on my nerves, maybe because he's a little ignorant. There's nothing wrong with it, but that kind of thing bugs me.
But, despite this, I do enjoy a funny story, which it was.
For one, I felt that this book was a little preachy. Clark mentioned multiple times things that the country needs and other things that don't really interest a kid like me.
Secondly, in the beginning of the story, the main character, Aidan Schroeckenbauer, slightly gets on my nerves, maybe because he's a little ignorant. There's nothing wrong with it, but that kind of thing bugs me.
But, despite this, I do enjoy a funny story, which it was.
February 13, 2018
Read this out loud to my 6th graders. It was all right. There were some funny parts, but I feel like you had to know some things about American government to understand some of the jokes or what was all happening.
January 25, 2022
I have read this book so many times. This book has so much adventure and it never disappoints me! I love how it gives information about campaigns during the election year. I would definitely rate this a 10/10 and will definitely read this again.
July 27, 2017
A really funny, silly book.
November 19, 2017
A piece of cake.
January 16, 2015
This review is also available on my blog, Read TIll Dawn.
I saw this at the library while searching for books for our winter break roadtrip. It immediately reminded me of Dan Gutman's The Kid Who Ran For President, so I snapped it up for my middle-school-aged brother. I figured hey, he'll lug it around on the trip and I'll steal it from him when I want to read it. That didn't really work out, because I still wound up wrenching it into my backpack by the end of the trip - my brother read it in the first three hours of the trip, then completely abandoned it into my care. He didn't even touch it for the rest of the trip. I managed to get a shrug-nod out of him when I asked if he liked it; he's hard to read. I'm interpreting that as "I liked it, but it wasn't amazing, I liked the Dan Gutman series better."
As for me, I enjoyed the book. It's not going on my top-ten favorites list, but it was interesting and funny. It's appropriate for anyone old enough to read it, and teaches quite a bit about the campaign trail. That was actually one of my favorite things about the book: it taught me about politics without ever getting overbearing. The book focuses on everything from hot button issues (both defining the term and discussing actual issues that fall under that category), to the constant popularity contest of the political campaign, to what it would really be like to be the first daughter (hint: no freedom). I've seen political campaigns from the point of view of the "consumer" (albeit a non-voting consumer) but I'd never really thought about what it would be like to be involved in one.
The characters were well done, if not exactly original. They're pretty standard stock for this type of book. I've read a ridiculously large amount of books involving a rebellious politician's kid, a tough PR guy or agent (or both), and a clueless accidental hero/heroine somehow swept up in the political scene. Aidan's popularity with voters is mainly due to the fact that he is an all-American kid. This is exactly what he is, from his clarinet playing to his ignorance of anything to do with politics, but even though he's a stock character I still liked him: he seems like a really nice kid, and I was definitely rooting for him throughout the book.
Is this a good book? Yes. Is this an amazing, groundbreaking book that you need to run out and buy right now? No. If you're older and looking for a nice, short read about politics and the political campaign, then check this out from the library. If you know a middle schooler or advanced elementary schooler who is interested in anything to do with political campaigns, then by all means buy this book and give it to them for their birthday. If they're looking to learn something, they'll be happy. If they're just looking to read a fun story, then they'll still be happy – and they'll still be learning something!
I saw this at the library while searching for books for our winter break roadtrip. It immediately reminded me of Dan Gutman's The Kid Who Ran For President, so I snapped it up for my middle-school-aged brother. I figured hey, he'll lug it around on the trip and I'll steal it from him when I want to read it. That didn't really work out, because I still wound up wrenching it into my backpack by the end of the trip - my brother read it in the first three hours of the trip, then completely abandoned it into my care. He didn't even touch it for the rest of the trip. I managed to get a shrug-nod out of him when I asked if he liked it; he's hard to read. I'm interpreting that as "I liked it, but it wasn't amazing, I liked the Dan Gutman series better."
As for me, I enjoyed the book. It's not going on my top-ten favorites list, but it was interesting and funny. It's appropriate for anyone old enough to read it, and teaches quite a bit about the campaign trail. That was actually one of my favorite things about the book: it taught me about politics without ever getting overbearing. The book focuses on everything from hot button issues (both defining the term and discussing actual issues that fall under that category), to the constant popularity contest of the political campaign, to what it would really be like to be the first daughter (hint: no freedom). I've seen political campaigns from the point of view of the "consumer" (albeit a non-voting consumer) but I'd never really thought about what it would be like to be involved in one.
The characters were well done, if not exactly original. They're pretty standard stock for this type of book. I've read a ridiculously large amount of books involving a rebellious politician's kid, a tough PR guy or agent (or both), and a clueless accidental hero/heroine somehow swept up in the political scene. Aidan's popularity with voters is mainly due to the fact that he is an all-American kid. This is exactly what he is, from his clarinet playing to his ignorance of anything to do with politics, but even though he's a stock character I still liked him: he seems like a really nice kid, and I was definitely rooting for him throughout the book.
Is this a good book? Yes. Is this an amazing, groundbreaking book that you need to run out and buy right now? No. If you're older and looking for a nice, short read about politics and the political campaign, then check this out from the library. If you know a middle schooler or advanced elementary schooler who is interested in anything to do with political campaigns, then by all means buy this book and give it to them for their birthday. If they're looking to learn something, they'll be happy. If they're just looking to read a fun story, then they'll still be happy – and they'll still be learning something!
February 10, 2014
The third party female presidential candidate is doing very well in the polls. (Wow, this is fiction alright.) At a campaign stop in small town Ohio, she is nearly hit with a blow-away sign, but Aiden saves her, by knocking her down and out of the way. This gets the attention of the Secret Service and the media. Next thing you know Aiden has joined the campaign.
November 28, 2012
When Aiden is picked up by the Presidential candidate to help promote her midwest tour, this 12-year-old finds out that the political machine is not what he expected, and neither is the governor's daughter.
September 22, 2013
This is a great book! It provides insight into how the press and election work. Plus it has a funny twist on about every chapter! I find it funny how the book relates to me, with the clarinet, the friend Simon, and the age of the kids.
August 30, 2013
Very funny book. If you're into school stories and other chapter books I suggest this. Best read at age 10.
March 26, 2016
Fun and light. The story development wasn't very believable. I think that was supposed to not matter, but it did for me.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews