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The President's Stuck in the Bathtub: Poems About the Presidents
Playful political poems about the penchants and peccadilloes of the presidents!Sure, William Taft got stuck in his tub, but did you know that John Quincy Adams used to skinny-dip in the Potomac? Herbert Hoover spoke Chinese with his wife, and Gerald Ford had his name changed from Leslie Lynch King. It’s true! In The President’s Stuck in the Bathtub, the lives of the presidents are served up as fact-filled and fanciful poems that will make you laugh, cringe, and gasp with amazement at the colorful cast of men and women who have lived in the White House. With footnotes relating the facts behind the inspiration for each poem, and a section called “Presidential Notes and Quotes” in the back, this is one hilarious history lesson that kids will elect to read over and over again!
64 pages, Hardcover
First published February 8, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
March 1, 2018
I love the concept of this book--a poem about each of the Presidents. However, the quality of the poems was uneven, and it would have been very helpful if a note had been given on each page or at the back of the book as to what poetic form was being used. Some poems rhymed, some didn't. I think this might confuse some young readers. I do like the way the poems reveal little-known facts about each President or his presidency, which made it interesting. I especially liked the poem about Thomas Jefferson, because I didn't know about the inventions mentioned. I also didn't know that some of the Presidents, like Gerald Ford, had changed their names before becoming President. The poem about Harding's tendency to use alliteration in speeches made me want to find a recording of one. The story about Harry S. Truman thinking that the White House was haunted I actually read a few months ago in another children's book about ghosts in the White House. The author provides additional facts, including a quote, nickname, and something that the President was first in doing, at the back of the book. I'm not wild about the illustrations, but they'll do. This book should certainly spark the interest of young readers. Recommended.
April 11, 2017
This was definitely a WOW book for me because I am fascinated with Presidential History. When I think back on learning History in school, I had a hard time with it, not because it was not interesting, but because I was overwhelmed by the amount of facts that I needed to memorize for tests. Disliking History and Social studies was a trend for me in school until my 9th grade History teacher presented information to me in a completely new way. On the first day of class, she told us that, “History is like a big story book of all that has happened over time. When you try to study for tests, don’t try to memorize facts alone. Instead, treat each piece of history as a new part of a story, and replay that story in your mind. Every good story needs characters and a plot.” I really enjoyed this book of poems because it turns history of 44 people into a story format. Each page contains a poem about a President, the pages are in order of Presidential election, the illustrations are beautiful, and the language is accessible to upper-elementary students. The feature that sets this book apart from any other book about presidents is that the poems don’t detail the Presidents’ lives. Instead, it takes a fun fact or important accomplishment, and turns it into a poem with creative language. Each poem also contains the dates that the President served in office and a summary at the end of the poem of the factual information that the poem was based on. Overall, this book was very funny and informative, and I think my students one day would enjoy it as much as I did.
As I read through these poems, there were several ideas that came to my mind of how I could use it in my classroom one day. This book would be an excellent resource for my classroom library to get kids interested in History, as well as poems. The first way that I would use this poem is during an interdisciplinary unit on Poetry and History. In History, we would be learning all about Presidents, but specifically about how events in the Presidents’ lives shaped how they made decisions in office. During ELA, we would study poetry, biographies, and autobiographies about Presidents. Reading this book would be a great choice to read to the class because the poems contain factual information, so they are essentially mini-biography poems. For the first few days of this unit, I would engage my class in reading these poems, as well as teach them about the main features of poems and biographies. Once I feel that my students are comfortable with these features, I would tell them that they are going to create poems about their own lives, using one fun fact/accomplishment like the President poems did. After the completion of these projects, I would have each student share theirs with the class.
Another way that I could use this book is to teach about Poetry types. One thing that I noticed while reading this book is that different rhyming schemes are present. Also, the poems have different organizations and stanzas. I would start the lesson my choosing two poems that are completely different types to display at the front of the room. I would then ask the students to try to point out what they notice, and find differences between the two.
As I read through these poems, there were several ideas that came to my mind of how I could use it in my classroom one day. This book would be an excellent resource for my classroom library to get kids interested in History, as well as poems. The first way that I would use this poem is during an interdisciplinary unit on Poetry and History. In History, we would be learning all about Presidents, but specifically about how events in the Presidents’ lives shaped how they made decisions in office. During ELA, we would study poetry, biographies, and autobiographies about Presidents. Reading this book would be a great choice to read to the class because the poems contain factual information, so they are essentially mini-biography poems. For the first few days of this unit, I would engage my class in reading these poems, as well as teach them about the main features of poems and biographies. Once I feel that my students are comfortable with these features, I would tell them that they are going to create poems about their own lives, using one fun fact/accomplishment like the President poems did. After the completion of these projects, I would have each student share theirs with the class.
Another way that I could use this book is to teach about Poetry types. One thing that I noticed while reading this book is that different rhyming schemes are present. Also, the poems have different organizations and stanzas. I would start the lesson my choosing two poems that are completely different types to display at the front of the room. I would then ask the students to try to point out what they notice, and find differences between the two.
April 18, 2016
Did you know that Bill Clinton once almost put an audience to sleep because his speech was so boring? The President's Stuck in the Bathtub is a wonderfully humorous collection poems, each about one of the Presidents of the United States. From these poems audiences learn a wide range of facts about American presidents. There are a wide range of facts from the informative to the lighthearted.
This book would be a great addition to an upper elementary classroom read aloud. Each poem could be read before learning about a new president or just as a great addition to a lesson on American history. The collections of poems are a great avenue to engage students. I believe that by incorporating this book into the classroom, can help to spark an interest in poetry for many students.
I chose this as my WOW book because I liked how this book took a genre that many can see as boring and turn it into an entertaining and engaging read. Personally I am not a fan of poetry. It is not my first choice of genre. However, once I started reading this poems I was turning the page eager for the next laugh that was to await me on the other pages.
This book would be a great addition to an upper elementary classroom read aloud. Each poem could be read before learning about a new president or just as a great addition to a lesson on American history. The collections of poems are a great avenue to engage students. I believe that by incorporating this book into the classroom, can help to spark an interest in poetry for many students.
I chose this as my WOW book because I liked how this book took a genre that many can see as boring and turn it into an entertaining and engaging read. Personally I am not a fan of poetry. It is not my first choice of genre. However, once I started reading this poems I was turning the page eager for the next laugh that was to await me on the other pages.
March 14, 2013
I LOVED this book! It is a poetic anthology of all of our presidents. Susan Katz playfully provides tidbits of political and/or personal information about all of the men of the White House. I enjoy this book because it is an excellent way to expose students to the presidents in a light-hearted manner. As a social studies teacher, I feel that we focus so much on the formal accomplishments of presidents that we tend to forget that they were real people. By jokingly bringing up the backgrounds and silly stories behind some of these men, we are reminded that although presidents are impressive people, they are still just people.
Robert Neubecker matches the playful poems with telling, whimsical and often hilarious artwork that will most certainly get you giggling. This is a great book for ALL ages. I think this would be a great book for President's Day for young men. At the same time, I teach AP Government to seniors in high school. I would happily use some of these poems while covering the executive branch.
Robert Neubecker matches the playful poems with telling, whimsical and often hilarious artwork that will most certainly get you giggling. This is a great book for ALL ages. I think this would be a great book for President's Day for young men. At the same time, I teach AP Government to seniors in high school. I would happily use some of these poems while covering the executive branch.
August 7, 2016
The President's Stuck in the Bathtub: Poems About the Presidents by Susan Katz (2012)
Genre: Poetry
Format: Book
Plot summary:A poetic celebration of lesser-known presidential events and eccentricities.
Considerations or precautions for readers advisory (strong language, sex, death, religious overtones, violence, etc.): No special considerations
Review citation (if available): Betty Carter. The Horn Book Guide Fall 2012 v23 i2 p171(1)
Section source used to find the material: Horn Book guide
Recommended age: Grades K-3
Genre: Poetry
Format: Book
Plot summary:A poetic celebration of lesser-known presidential events and eccentricities.
Considerations or precautions for readers advisory (strong language, sex, death, religious overtones, violence, etc.): No special considerations
Review citation (if available): Betty Carter. The Horn Book Guide Fall 2012 v23 i2 p171(1)
Section source used to find the material: Horn Book guide
Recommended age: Grades K-3
December 30, 2011
43 poems reveal interesting tidbits about every President. Informative footnotes provide historical background for each poem. A fun way to liven up American History.
July 23, 2012
I enjoyed reading this children's book filled with Presidential factoids. I even learned a few new things about the Presidents!
October 8, 2012
Playfully illustrated entertaining poems about each president reveal amusing facts and each verse is accompanied by a brief informative note.
April 26, 2016
This book is super cute. It's a fun look at each president that focuses on lesser known facts and humorous stories.
May 4, 2012
Funny what kids pick up. When I was a tot of four I had a little electronic game that came with its own book. You'd turn the pages and press the button that corresponded to the correct trivia question. In this way I learned that Mozart wrote his first piece of music when he was five (I figured I had some leeway because of this), that Marie Antoinette had her head cut off, and that President Taft got stuck in his bathtub because he was so fat. That's the kind of presidential wisdom a kid's gonna carry with them the rest of their life. It's also how I learned that teaching kids about famous people at a young age actually will stick with them into adulthood if the medium is interesting enough. Poetry would not be my first method of instilling memories, but in The President's Stuck in the Bathtub!: Poems About the Presidents poet Susan Katz does a darn good job locating fun facts about even the dullest leaders. They may not have been equal in stature but at least in this book each one has his say, whether it's escaping a vicious rabbit or seeing the occasional ghost.
They've been dull and scintillating. Clever and thick. Remarkably tall and surprisingly short. And what's with all the parrots as pets? With great dexterity and even greater patience Susan Katz culls, entices, and sometimes even forces interesting facts out of each and every one of our presidents. That done, she turns those traits or events into poems, being sure to include fun additional facts at the bottom of each page. The result is that kids get to meet "Elevator Operator" John F. Kennedy, the "Funny-Looking" James Buchanan, and even "Vegetating" George H.W. Bush. Accompanied by work by illustrator Robert Neubecker, the book is a ribald look at our nation's leaders. Backmatter includes dates, quotes, nicknames, and "firsts" for each man.
As it says on the bookflap, "Susan Katz discovered while working on this book that not all American presidents were very funny people, and she found herself doing more research for this one project than for all her other books put together." I'm not surprised to hear it since the sheer number of new facts here are astounding. She even seems to have made a conscious effort to avoid the obvious ones (George Washington's teeth, Lincoln's jokes, etc.). Of course, you can't help but wonder if Ms. Katz made too much work for herself when she included a note on what each president was the "first" to do, and didn't go with the obvious answers. George Washington? "First president pictured on a postage stamp." Abraham Lincoln? "First president born outside the boundaries of the thirteen original states (in Kentucky)." No mean feat.
In one of the reviews I read the reviewer complained that Katz brings up facts about the presidents that aren't particularly interesting (Millard Fillmore was boring, James Madison was short, John Adams rotund, etc.). Seems to me that isn't very fair consider how much fun their poems (and the accompanying illustrations) are in the end. Besides, I consider Millard Fillmore the letter X of the presidential world. You know how every time you get an alphabet book you flip to the letter X to figure out how the authors chose to handle that difficult letter? Well the same goes for Fillmore. Even William Henry Harrison's more interesting (as The Simpsons put it, "I died in thirty days!").
The poetry itself mostly worked. There are, however, a few times that it really rankled. I'm not a particularly creative person when it comes to scans and rhymes. I like poems to make sense to me as they ABABAB or AABBCCD. In this book you really have to go on a case-by-case basis with some of these poems. "Yankee Doodle Dandy" about William McKinley, for example, threw me for a serious loop. The rhyme scheme, such as it is, appears to be ABCCD EDFFG. When I write it out like that it makes a lot more sense. On the page, however, I was stumped by how to read it aloud, particularly when the last word of "dandy" didn't seem to rhyme with anything. Poems like these are rarities in a sea of verse that works. I just wished that they all flowed as nicely as poems like "The White House Gang" (about Teddy Roosevelt being a part of his son's rough and tumble crew) or "A Presidential Memo" about Nixon.
Robert Neubecker was an interesting fella to tap for this book. I know he's done a lot of different books over the years but my primary association with him is still Wow City and its spin-offs. Neubecker's job here is hardly easy anyway. First there's the issue of making the presidents recognizable (done well enough, though caricaturist he will never hope to be). Then there's the issue of throwing more than one race into the images. Whenever we talk about the presidents we have to wait an awfully long time before we can get to Barack. Neubecker slips in different ethnicities when he reasonably can. The fellow aghast at John Quincy Adams' skinny dipping. Folks in the angry mob of Whigs (not so sure about that one circa 1841, but all right). The trumpeter playing "Hail to the Chief" to Chester A. Arthur. You don't necessarily believe that they were there all the time (and we could debate if it's historically misleading to say that they were), but at least Neubecker's making an effort. That's something.
As for the art itself, Neubecker has a good eye for what the most interesting thing to highlight in a given poem might be. Often he has to get a little creative. Grover Cleveland was the only president to serve two nonconsecutive terms? Have him shaking hands with himself. President Eisenhower was only one of seven brothers all known as "Ike"? Show a picture of seven identical boys, all different ages, all with the same face. Sometimes the images don't make reference to the poems but to the small notes that come afterwards. For example, the image that accompanies the Rutherford B. Hayes poem "The President's on the Phone" shows Rutherford reacting to a high C described in the note as sung by one of his friends and that shattered the telephone's sounding board. Hey, man. Making this kind of stuff interesting about dudes who are seriously dull is no easy matter.
The closest approximation this book has to any other in your average everyday children's room is that classic Caldecott winner So You Want to be President by Judith St. George. Like this book, that one identified various presidents and highlighted some quirks. Katz eschews the known stories as well as the scandals and controversies that dogged many of the men in here. In the process, she grants some of these fellows a posthumous present: something to remember them by. Not the big things, but the little ones. The details and funny matters that made them human beings. Because as far as I can tell, the best way to get a kid interested in something is to point out something weird about it. After that, it may not be smooth sailing, but at least they'll have something to remember President Taft for (besides the Judiciary Act of 1925, of course).
For ages 6-10.
They've been dull and scintillating. Clever and thick. Remarkably tall and surprisingly short. And what's with all the parrots as pets? With great dexterity and even greater patience Susan Katz culls, entices, and sometimes even forces interesting facts out of each and every one of our presidents. That done, she turns those traits or events into poems, being sure to include fun additional facts at the bottom of each page. The result is that kids get to meet "Elevator Operator" John F. Kennedy, the "Funny-Looking" James Buchanan, and even "Vegetating" George H.W. Bush. Accompanied by work by illustrator Robert Neubecker, the book is a ribald look at our nation's leaders. Backmatter includes dates, quotes, nicknames, and "firsts" for each man.
As it says on the bookflap, "Susan Katz discovered while working on this book that not all American presidents were very funny people, and she found herself doing more research for this one project than for all her other books put together." I'm not surprised to hear it since the sheer number of new facts here are astounding. She even seems to have made a conscious effort to avoid the obvious ones (George Washington's teeth, Lincoln's jokes, etc.). Of course, you can't help but wonder if Ms. Katz made too much work for herself when she included a note on what each president was the "first" to do, and didn't go with the obvious answers. George Washington? "First president pictured on a postage stamp." Abraham Lincoln? "First president born outside the boundaries of the thirteen original states (in Kentucky)." No mean feat.
In one of the reviews I read the reviewer complained that Katz brings up facts about the presidents that aren't particularly interesting (Millard Fillmore was boring, James Madison was short, John Adams rotund, etc.). Seems to me that isn't very fair consider how much fun their poems (and the accompanying illustrations) are in the end. Besides, I consider Millard Fillmore the letter X of the presidential world. You know how every time you get an alphabet book you flip to the letter X to figure out how the authors chose to handle that difficult letter? Well the same goes for Fillmore. Even William Henry Harrison's more interesting (as The Simpsons put it, "I died in thirty days!").
The poetry itself mostly worked. There are, however, a few times that it really rankled. I'm not a particularly creative person when it comes to scans and rhymes. I like poems to make sense to me as they ABABAB or AABBCCD. In this book you really have to go on a case-by-case basis with some of these poems. "Yankee Doodle Dandy" about William McKinley, for example, threw me for a serious loop. The rhyme scheme, such as it is, appears to be ABCCD EDFFG. When I write it out like that it makes a lot more sense. On the page, however, I was stumped by how to read it aloud, particularly when the last word of "dandy" didn't seem to rhyme with anything. Poems like these are rarities in a sea of verse that works. I just wished that they all flowed as nicely as poems like "The White House Gang" (about Teddy Roosevelt being a part of his son's rough and tumble crew) or "A Presidential Memo" about Nixon.
Robert Neubecker was an interesting fella to tap for this book. I know he's done a lot of different books over the years but my primary association with him is still Wow City and its spin-offs. Neubecker's job here is hardly easy anyway. First there's the issue of making the presidents recognizable (done well enough, though caricaturist he will never hope to be). Then there's the issue of throwing more than one race into the images. Whenever we talk about the presidents we have to wait an awfully long time before we can get to Barack. Neubecker slips in different ethnicities when he reasonably can. The fellow aghast at John Quincy Adams' skinny dipping. Folks in the angry mob of Whigs (not so sure about that one circa 1841, but all right). The trumpeter playing "Hail to the Chief" to Chester A. Arthur. You don't necessarily believe that they were there all the time (and we could debate if it's historically misleading to say that they were), but at least Neubecker's making an effort. That's something.
As for the art itself, Neubecker has a good eye for what the most interesting thing to highlight in a given poem might be. Often he has to get a little creative. Grover Cleveland was the only president to serve two nonconsecutive terms? Have him shaking hands with himself. President Eisenhower was only one of seven brothers all known as "Ike"? Show a picture of seven identical boys, all different ages, all with the same face. Sometimes the images don't make reference to the poems but to the small notes that come afterwards. For example, the image that accompanies the Rutherford B. Hayes poem "The President's on the Phone" shows Rutherford reacting to a high C described in the note as sung by one of his friends and that shattered the telephone's sounding board. Hey, man. Making this kind of stuff interesting about dudes who are seriously dull is no easy matter.
The closest approximation this book has to any other in your average everyday children's room is that classic Caldecott winner So You Want to be President by Judith St. George. Like this book, that one identified various presidents and highlighted some quirks. Katz eschews the known stories as well as the scandals and controversies that dogged many of the men in here. In the process, she grants some of these fellows a posthumous present: something to remember them by. Not the big things, but the little ones. The details and funny matters that made them human beings. Because as far as I can tell, the best way to get a kid interested in something is to point out something weird about it. After that, it may not be smooth sailing, but at least they'll have something to remember President Taft for (besides the Judiciary Act of 1925, of course).
For ages 6-10.
April 27, 2019
Hilarious collection of poems that are simultaneously informative and hilarious. True stories of our past presidents turned into satirical poems accompanied by funny pictures. What more could you ask of a book? Would love to include this as part of a history lesson on presidents or a poetry lesson.
March 18, 2012
The book I read is called The President's Stuck in the Bathtub, Poems About the Presidents by Susan Katz. This book is mostly about all the president including president Barack Obama. This book will be really interesting for everyone because it tells you true stuff in a story like poem. So, book lovers read this great poetry book that you will all love. Read it with your families, friends, pets or babies! If you love the presidents read this book The Presidents stuck in the Bathtub!
At first I thought that President George Washington only lived in one or two houses because he didn't live in the White House. However, what I figured out is that he lived in Washington's Mill, Barren Hill, Beltsville, Port Tobacco, Pomfret, Whippany, Parsippany, Murdering Town, Nice Town, Hobb's Hole, Hackensack, and etc. There is about 15 more places he slept in. If you think this is impossible check this great book. Also, I thought at first that William Henry Herson did his speech in a nice day. However, I was wrong. He did it on a very rainy day with no hat or an jacket or an umbrella! His speech was about 2 hours long, and 3,800 words. Another thing I never knew was that he only did presidency for one month! I also at first didn't think that Lyndon B Johnson had anything important about him. However, after I read this book I learned that all his family members had the initials LBJ!
One important fact that I learned from this poetry book is that James Madison wasn't tall or proud or medium. He was small, thin, and not heavy. He didn't have anything scary. He had owned a small pleasant parrot unlike lions, and tigers. This is an important fact because this proved to me that instead of being great, and mighty trying to make everyone like them like other presidents. James just moved along making people believe what they thought about him small, and skinny. Another important fact I learned is that Calvin Coolidge spoke the most shortest words in small talks but held 520 press conferences,and gave more speeches than any of his predecessors. This is an important fact because if I hadn't read this book I would have never learned about this.
After you read my response I hope you would read this wonderful poem about all the presidents. I would mostly recommend it to people who love the presidents, and want to know more about them just as mush as I do. I hope you enjoy this book if you read it.
At first I thought that President George Washington only lived in one or two houses because he didn't live in the White House. However, what I figured out is that he lived in Washington's Mill, Barren Hill, Beltsville, Port Tobacco, Pomfret, Whippany, Parsippany, Murdering Town, Nice Town, Hobb's Hole, Hackensack, and etc. There is about 15 more places he slept in. If you think this is impossible check this great book. Also, I thought at first that William Henry Herson did his speech in a nice day. However, I was wrong. He did it on a very rainy day with no hat or an jacket or an umbrella! His speech was about 2 hours long, and 3,800 words. Another thing I never knew was that he only did presidency for one month! I also at first didn't think that Lyndon B Johnson had anything important about him. However, after I read this book I learned that all his family members had the initials LBJ!
One important fact that I learned from this poetry book is that James Madison wasn't tall or proud or medium. He was small, thin, and not heavy. He didn't have anything scary. He had owned a small pleasant parrot unlike lions, and tigers. This is an important fact because this proved to me that instead of being great, and mighty trying to make everyone like them like other presidents. James just moved along making people believe what they thought about him small, and skinny. Another important fact I learned is that Calvin Coolidge spoke the most shortest words in small talks but held 520 press conferences,and gave more speeches than any of his predecessors. This is an important fact because if I hadn't read this book I would have never learned about this.
After you read my response I hope you would read this wonderful poem about all the presidents. I would mostly recommend it to people who love the presidents, and want to know more about them just as mush as I do. I hope you enjoy this book if you read it.
March 27, 2013
The President's Stuck in the Bathtub, written by Susan Katz and illustrated by Robert Neubecker, is nominated for the 2013-14 South Carolina Children's Book Award.
Although I'm not a fan of poetry, I did enjoy this book. I found the poems about each president to be very informative and, in several cases, funny. The poems themselves were a bit uneven, and it was hard to discern exactly what meter they were supposed to be read in, but the content was interesting. The notes explaining each poem's content were also extremely helpful.
The cartoon-like illustrations were often humorous and depicted each U.S. President in a less-than-serious light. Most people view these leaders as super-serious, straight-laced politicians, but we often forget that presidents are also people. The poems in this book kind of highlight that and may even give students something to relate or even aspire to.
I will say that I was a bit disappointed with the poem for my favorite president, Theodore Roosevelt. It was all about one of his sons and didn't even begin to touch on how awesome TR really was.
The notes on each president at the back of the book also provide readers with information. Each president is listed in order with his full name, birth and death (where applicable) dates, terms of office, nicknames, most notable quote, and a first for each man. Teddy Roosevelt, for example, was the first president to ride in an automobile, submerge in a submarine, and fly in an airplane. These little tidbits are kind of cool and could prove very useful in trivia contests!
This book of poems is a welcome addition to my library, and I foresee it becoming an integral part of Presidents' Day celebrations.
Although I'm not a fan of poetry, I did enjoy this book. I found the poems about each president to be very informative and, in several cases, funny. The poems themselves were a bit uneven, and it was hard to discern exactly what meter they were supposed to be read in, but the content was interesting. The notes explaining each poem's content were also extremely helpful.
The cartoon-like illustrations were often humorous and depicted each U.S. President in a less-than-serious light. Most people view these leaders as super-serious, straight-laced politicians, but we often forget that presidents are also people. The poems in this book kind of highlight that and may even give students something to relate or even aspire to.
I will say that I was a bit disappointed with the poem for my favorite president, Theodore Roosevelt. It was all about one of his sons and didn't even begin to touch on how awesome TR really was.
The notes on each president at the back of the book also provide readers with information. Each president is listed in order with his full name, birth and death (where applicable) dates, terms of office, nicknames, most notable quote, and a first for each man. Teddy Roosevelt, for example, was the first president to ride in an automobile, submerge in a submarine, and fly in an airplane. These little tidbits are kind of cool and could prove very useful in trivia contests!
This book of poems is a welcome addition to my library, and I foresee it becoming an integral part of Presidents' Day celebrations.
March 21, 2015
Intriguing and informational! This book of poetry sends the reader back in time to George Washington's first presidency, then launches them forward all way to President Obama's election. With rhyme schemes and funny facts, Susan Katz keeps the reader's attention as they learn about the presidents of the United States.
This book would be appropriate for read aloud in grades 2-4. The poems are playful and fitting for young audiences and provide a great basis for introduction into poetry. At the same time, the book offers factual information about each president following each poem. There is also a section of notes and quotes regarding each president in the back of the book. This section provides the reader with birth- and death dates, years of presidency, famous quotes, nicknames, and a fun fact about each president.
Rhyme schemes, poem structure, and other components of poetry can be examined and taught with the use of this book. It also could be incorporated into social studies lessons within U.S. history units. I would use this book to do a president study with my students - to familiarize them with each of the presidents and the things for which they were well-known. I might also use it as an introduction to a biographical writing project for third or fourth graders. They could chose a president on which to conduct research and write their own poem.
This book would be appropriate for read aloud in grades 2-4. The poems are playful and fitting for young audiences and provide a great basis for introduction into poetry. At the same time, the book offers factual information about each president following each poem. There is also a section of notes and quotes regarding each president in the back of the book. This section provides the reader with birth- and death dates, years of presidency, famous quotes, nicknames, and a fun fact about each president.
Rhyme schemes, poem structure, and other components of poetry can be examined and taught with the use of this book. It also could be incorporated into social studies lessons within U.S. history units. I would use this book to do a president study with my students - to familiarize them with each of the presidents and the things for which they were well-known. I might also use it as an introduction to a biographical writing project for third or fourth graders. They could chose a president on which to conduct research and write their own poem.
Read
November 29, 20161. This book of poems has one for each president, well known and not well known. The poems are facts about the presidents that most people wouldn't know. To go along with this there is also a short paragraph on the bottom of the page that elaborates on this fact.
2. This book of poems is very funny and well written. Kids would enjoy reading these because they are facts that aren't necessarily in the textbooks and it shows a different side of them that might get them to want to research and learn about them more. Each poem also has a silly illustration that greatly adds to the poem.
3. "Abe's Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln" by Doreen Rappaport tells the life story of Abraham Lincoln
"To Dare Mighty Things: The Life of Theodore Roosevelt" by Doreen Rappaport tells the life story of Theodore Roosevelt
4. "More than ornament for his head, this president used his hat for carrying papers - his letters, bills or legal documents."
Most kids know that Abe Lincoln wore a top hat but would not know this fact. This book could be used as an anchor text to have the students do research on one of the presidents. They would look through these poems, find a president that interests them and go from there.
2. This book of poems is very funny and well written. Kids would enjoy reading these because they are facts that aren't necessarily in the textbooks and it shows a different side of them that might get them to want to research and learn about them more. Each poem also has a silly illustration that greatly adds to the poem.
3. "Abe's Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln" by Doreen Rappaport tells the life story of Abraham Lincoln
"To Dare Mighty Things: The Life of Theodore Roosevelt" by Doreen Rappaport tells the life story of Theodore Roosevelt
4. "More than ornament for his head, this president used his hat for carrying papers - his letters, bills or legal documents."
Most kids know that Abe Lincoln wore a top hat but would not know this fact. This book could be used as an anchor text to have the students do research on one of the presidents. They would look through these poems, find a president that interests them and go from there.
May 6, 2018
This book is the genre of poetry, and for children of the ages 6 to 9 with a nomination for 2013-14 South Carolina Children's Book Award. A summary of the book is hilarious poems of President's. With, footnotes on each page to backup these funny poems. I rated this book because it really was a funny book. I actually learned a lot of different things about our past presidents. Obviously the different characters are different presidents throughout the years. And, their is no one certain plot, its just really funny poems throughout the book. The illustrations were great too! The cartoon like pictures and colors in the book really great. I also liked how the book was big, with big pages. It could hold a small child's attention a little more. Sometimes, when we talk about presidents to young children it can get boring so, i believe the book made it more fun to read and learn at the same time. I don't think the book would appeal to children too much younger then the suggested age. And, i could use this book in different ways in the classroom. For example, something to do with poems or Social studies maybe some kind of history project about our Presidents possibly.
January 4, 2012
What a great idea for a collection of poetry integrating social studies and language arts! The 43 poems are short, informative, often humorous and focus on each of the men who has led our country. The poems are accompanied by some little-known fact or quirk with which kids will love regaling others, such as Abe Lincoln's proclivity for storing notes in his stovepipe hat or Ulysses S. Grant's distaste for hunting or in the title poem, William H. Taft's need for a much larger bathtub than the White House provided. These footnotes often link one President to another as well. The India ink and digital color illustrations are vivid and often provide as much insight into the human side of the Presidents as does the text. Backmatter includes brief notes and a quotation from each President. This picture book provides a quick refresher course for adults who may have slept through their American history class as well as kindling an interest in history in the next generation.
July 24, 2012
Clarion Books
Susan Katz
Robert Neubecker
2012
64 pages
Poetry
I learned much from this collection of poems about all the presidents we ever had (Washington through Obama). Not only is there one poem from each president, but the content of the poem mirrors a true fact about that specific president which is written at the bottom of each page. I learned fun and interesting details about the presidents that I could visualize as the poem was being read. Washington never slept in the White House; John Quincy Adams liked to skinny dip. JFK was mistaken for an elevator operator; Gerald R. Ford had his name changed at the age of five. What a fun way to begin a history class at the secondary level.
Susan Katz
Robert Neubecker
2012
64 pages
Poetry
I learned much from this collection of poems about all the presidents we ever had (Washington through Obama). Not only is there one poem from each president, but the content of the poem mirrors a true fact about that specific president which is written at the bottom of each page. I learned fun and interesting details about the presidents that I could visualize as the poem was being read. Washington never slept in the White House; John Quincy Adams liked to skinny dip. JFK was mistaken for an elevator operator; Gerald R. Ford had his name changed at the age of five. What a fun way to begin a history class at the secondary level.
August 31, 2013
A great collection of poetry about our nation's presidents. Each poem teaches the reader a little known fact about that president.
My personal favorites were
"Hatbox," a concrete poem about Abraham Lincoln's habit of keeping important documents in his hat
"The long and the short of it" about William Henry Harrison's shortest presidential term in history along with the longest inaugural address in history.
"Spelling Be" about how Andrew Jackson was a horrible speller (lots of spelling errors in this poem)
"A Penny for Your Thoughts" about how Calvin Coolidge was never very good at small talk, but a great orator to hundreds.
All of these poems have the dates each served as President of the United States.
My personal favorites were
"Hatbox," a concrete poem about Abraham Lincoln's habit of keeping important documents in his hat
"The long and the short of it" about William Henry Harrison's shortest presidential term in history along with the longest inaugural address in history.
"Spelling Be" about how Andrew Jackson was a horrible speller (lots of spelling errors in this poem)
"A Penny for Your Thoughts" about how Calvin Coolidge was never very good at small talk, but a great orator to hundreds.
All of these poems have the dates each served as President of the United States.
July 11, 2013
This book offers a different and refreshing perspective on the U.S. presidents. Each president has a poem that highlights some small piece of their life. Often the focus is on a little-known fact -- Warren Harding often gave speeches using alliteration; Jimmy Carter was once attacked by a rabbit and the Secret Service had no idea how to react; Abraham Lincoln carried important papers and notes in his stovepipe hat! The Presidential Notes and Quotes at the end of the book are also very interesting.
Some of the poems are easier reads than others. I had trouble finding the rhythm of the some of the poems so they were awkward to read.
Overall, this stands out as an intriguing look about the presidents that really reminds us they are just ordinary people.
Some of the poems are easier reads than others. I had trouble finding the rhythm of the some of the poems so they were awkward to read.
Overall, this stands out as an intriguing look about the presidents that really reminds us they are just ordinary people.
January 25, 2016
This collection concentrated on the US Presidents from George Washington to Barack Obama. It is organized chronologically and has a table of contents that lists the title of the poem as well as the president that it is about, so it is easy to find the page a specific president is on. In the glossary in the back is an additional list of the presidents, again listed chronologically, with terms of office, a quote, a nickname, and a bit of trivia. There are illustrations, and they help children imagine the scene set forth in the poem (for instance, the poem for William Howard Taft is about how he was stuck in the bathtub and the illustration is of secret service agents trying to pry him out). They add humor as well.
April 4, 2016
The president's stuck the bathtub, this is is really difficult for children to understand because in this book it is full of political elements, like what is the responsibility to president, and some reality of fife that make president use their life to protect the country and also it includes irony, like some people are lake of bravery.
In this book, it divides many different parts for children to read, but in this book it is really difficult for children to understand because some vocabularies, and some sentences, and many mataphor that kids do not know. In this book, paragraph is really obvious and used some same letters. And this book do not have an integrated picture, it is really simple to describe what the president is doing
In this book, it divides many different parts for children to read, but in this book it is really difficult for children to understand because some vocabularies, and some sentences, and many mataphor that kids do not know. In this book, paragraph is really obvious and used some same letters. And this book do not have an integrated picture, it is really simple to describe what the president is doing
June 7, 2012
A fun and fast book to read about interesting facts of our Presidents! Each President is given a page, filled with a poem about their tidbit fact, illustrations of the scenario, and a short paragraph explaining the scenario.
I liked this one: (Pg.40)
A Penny for Your Thoughts
"President Coolidge was quiet.
Conversation with him
was a solo,
never a duet.
And then one evening at dinner,
the lady beside him said,
"You have to talk to me."
Coolidge chewed his bread.
Leaning closer, the lady insisted,
"I've made a bet
with some friends
that I could get
more than two words out of you."
The president didn't think twice.
His reply was highly concise:
"You lose."
I liked this one: (Pg.40)
A Penny for Your Thoughts
"President Coolidge was quiet.
Conversation with him
was a solo,
never a duet.
And then one evening at dinner,
the lady beside him said,
"You have to talk to me."
Coolidge chewed his bread.
Leaning closer, the lady insisted,
"I've made a bet
with some friends
that I could get
more than two words out of you."
The president didn't think twice.
His reply was highly concise:
"You lose."
February 20, 2015
This book is filled with different poems about each president of the United States. The poems all rhyme, and they are filled with different fun facts about the presidents. Some of the poems are even shaped in a way that reflects what the poem is about, like Abraham Lincoln's is shaped like a stovepipe hat. This is a poetry book that I would definitely love to buy and keep in my classroom. The poems are funny, but they are also informative. Each page also includes a fun illustration that reflects what the poem is about, and it also has a small paragraph that includes more information about that president. This book would be a great way to incorporate poetry into a lesson on the presidents.
April 29, 2015
This was a neat informational book on the presidents that masks itself through poetry. Each president has their own limerick, as well as a little blurb at the bottom that explains the poem with a little more detail. I would read this during an upper elementary unit on civics and government; the lexile level puts this book into upper middle school, but I think I could read this out loud to a class as young as second grade. This would be something that I read daily, go chronologically and follow up with an activity on each president. It would also tie into a poetry unit, if that was going on at the same time.
Read
June 3, 2016Title: The President 19s Stuck in the Bathtub: Poems About the Presidents.
Grade Level: First-Fifth Grade
Summary: This is a book full of different poems about the Presidents. It goes through the poems in order of presidency, and gives the reader a little bit of background information about each president all the way up to Obama.
Review: This was a very fun book to read. It teaches the reader about each president, but not in a boring way. The illustrations are funny, and make the poems more entertaining.
In Class Uses: 1. You can use this book to teach children the order of presidency
2. You can use this book to teach children about rhyme scheme.
Grade Level: First-Fifth Grade
Summary: This is a book full of different poems about the Presidents. It goes through the poems in order of presidency, and gives the reader a little bit of background information about each president all the way up to Obama.
Review: This was a very fun book to read. It teaches the reader about each president, but not in a boring way. The illustrations are funny, and make the poems more entertaining.
In Class Uses: 1. You can use this book to teach children the order of presidency
2. You can use this book to teach children about rhyme scheme.
September 4, 2012
A collection of generally amusing and fun presidential poetry. Each president has a page with a poem, illustration, a short fact. Most of the poems are fairly decent, though there is no note about the various poetry forms used. Students in grades 4 and 5 may be amused browsing through the books.
A reasonable, though not highly recommended, addition to elementary school library collections looking to beef up presidential materials for this year's election.
This book is shelved in the poetry section of my school library, not nonfiction.
A reasonable, though not highly recommended, addition to elementary school library collections looking to beef up presidential materials for this year's election.
This book is shelved in the poetry section of my school library, not nonfiction.
April 17, 2013
A fun way to learn a few interesting facts about the U.S. Presidents. Some of the poems were fun or clever in their composition/style. Some I didn't get, which isn't surprising since I'm usually so disjointed with poetry. But I liked to read the poems all the same, and then see the factual part at the bottom of the pages. I also enjoyed the brief facts at the end of the book. The illustrations were fine. Some I liked but overall not my favorite. However, I think kids will enjoy them.
This would be a fun Beehive book.
4/17/13 Yay! It made Beehive.
This would be a fun Beehive book.
4/17/13 Yay! It made Beehive.
October 25, 2012
RICBA nominee. Marking it a "pass" for the committee. Not the most intelligent book; the poetry is not very well-written. I forgive its lack of literary merit due to the fact that it makes a "boring" subject very funny and appealing for kids. It also spans a vast age group; grades from 3 to 8 would enjoy this book of fun, bizarre, and zany facts about each president. The humorous illustrations matched the text well. What a great title! It would definitely intrigue even the least historically inclined readers!
April 10, 2013
Here we have a collection of poems of unusual facts about the presidents of the United States of America. Told chronologically, with information about each president from George Washington to Barack Obama, each poem contained some little tidbit of information that was fun to learn about. Some of the poems were great and easy to catch the rhythm (or meter), others were more difficult and not as catchy. I think adults/teachers will like it more than children/students, so it will make a great read-a-loud, picking and choosing the best excerpts.
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