It Happened in the White House: Extraordinary Tales From America's Most Famous Home It Happened Inside the White House

by Kathleen Karr

Collects lesser-known stories of interest surrounding the White House, from the World War II proposal to protect the house by painting it with camouflage colors, to its many ghost sightings.

Genres: Childrens, Nonfiction, History, Presidents, American History

112 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2000

About the author

Kathleen Karr was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and grew up on a chicken farm in Dorothy, New Jersey. After escaping to college, she worked in the film industry, and also taught in high school and college. She seriously began writing fiction on a dare from her husband. After honing her skills in women’s fiction, her children asked her to write a book for them, (It Ain’t Always Easy, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1990), and she discovered she loved writing for young readers.

Reviews

[Talea · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a cute little children’s book filled with random trivia about the White House and past presidencies.

[Willow · Rating 3 out of 5]

G liked this one so much, it was his favorite part of school while we were reading it. Some of the anecdotes are funny, some odd, and some...well, potentially objectionable.

There is a whole chapter about White House ghosts, apparitions, spiritualism, and seances. I read it and decided to skip it during our read-aloud time, although we did discuss it and why we weren't going to read it.

[Chris Scherer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Karr, K. (2000). It happened in the White House:Extraordinary tales from America's most famous home. New York: Scholastic Inc.

Citation by: Chris Scherer

Type of Reference: Biographical Reference

Call Number: 975.3

Content/Scope: The book contains stories of occurrences in the White House over the years. It is broken into chapters based on a theme for the presidents, such as home improvements. It gives short references for many of the presidents from the beginning of the country and is easy to follow.

Accuracy/Authority/Bias: The author included a bibliography of references for her work. Each was a biographical reference that is verifiable.

Arrangement/Presentation: The book is arranged in chapters that contain a certain them for the presidents, such as pets or home improvements. The chapters contain sections in order of occurrence by the different presidents that fall into the category.

Relation to Similar Works: Many books contain information about the presidents. This is a compilation of materials about many.

Accessibility/Diversity: The book is easy to read but only offered in print and in English.

Cost: $5.99

Professional Review: Books in Print. (2008). Annotations. Karr, K. (2000). It happened in the White House:Extraordinary tales from America's most famous home. New York: Scholastic Inc.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a little one who is interested in everything to do with the presidents of the Untied States. He LOVES me to read this to him, because he likes hearing the funny stories! His favorite is how fat President Howard Taft was and about him getting stuck in the tubs in the White house.

[Maura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't remember where or when I read this, but I know it was geared towards young children, therefore the stories are not that terribly detailed and are written so as to amuse children. For me an average read - for a kid probably quite fascinating.

[Kathleen O'Mara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Delightful stories about the some of the people who lived in the White House. Review at eho.org