Millie's Book: As Dictated to Barbara Bush

by Barbara Bush

White House dog Millie Bush recounts her adventures as First Canine in a tour of her famous residence alongside her equally famous owners

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Dogs, Animals, Presidents, Childrens, History

141 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Barbara Bush, First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993 as the wife of George Herbert Walker Bush, president, actively promoted literacy.

She mothered George Walker Bush and Jeb Bush, governor of Florida. From 1981, she served as the second to her husband, vice to Ronald Wilson Reagan. Barbara Pierce Bush made the 41st.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara...

Reviews

[Book2Dragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful book. So refreshing to be given a tour of the White House without any political angst. I always loved Barbara (Bar as Millie calls her) and reading this I now know why.

This is from the dog's point of view ("dictated to Barbara Bush"), and accompanied by colorful photos. I appreciate the identification of people in the photos at the end. How many are either out of either public life or life itself now. So there's history thrown in as well. If you were alive then you may remember some of them.

Millie is proud of her children as any Mom would be, and glad to tell her story. I think children would love this book, and adults enjoy it as well.

[Sharon Huether · Rating 4 out of 5]

First Dog “Millie. Bush” is dictating her story to Barbara Bush.
Millie takes a tour of the White House and all of it’s gardens and different rooms she goes into.
Her first family of six and seeing them go to their forever homes.
Millie is popular with all who visit the White House.
She is in many pictures with very important people.

[Andrea Engle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This lovely collection of color photographs features Mildred Kerr Bush, a.k.a. Millie, the presidential dog, as she gently explores life in the Bush White House … proceeds from the sale of this book benefit the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy … similar to Virginia Woolf’s “Flush,” a tale from the paw of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s dog …

by Virginia Woolf

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Received this as a gift many years ago from our late aunt who was a dog lover. It is cute and tells a story from the dog's point of view. (as dictated to Barbara Bush) Millie was George and Barbara Bush's Springer Spaniel who had a mind of her own and often upset things in the White House. She was quite popular with the White House press corp and many a presidential news conference would have a question about Millie. For dog lovers..

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute. Loved the photos.

[Leslie Gudermuth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Millie’s Book is a sweet little book written by First Lady Barbara Bush for the purpose of donating all proceeds to the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.
I have to confess that I have owned this book for many years and finally realized that I had never actually read it! Also, I confess that for several reasons, including Thanksgiving and the busy days leading up to Christmas, I had gotten behind with my reading goal for this year, so I was looking for a short little book to help finish out the year. This short, little book was perfect! Only 136 pages of very sweet and informative information about Millie, the dog that President and First Lady Barbara Bush owned while occupying the White House, including a number of facts about the rooms of the White House, both official and family.
Being mainly about the Bush’s dog Millie, and being a dog lover myself, I thoroughly enjoyed this little book and I think it would be a perfect book for families with children who generally love dogs and puppies. I even found myself chuckling at the “ dog humor” employed by Mrs. Bush in her writing.
I can recommend this book for children, families, and all the young people who were not born when George Bush was President and Barbara Bush was First Lady. Also, of course, there are many other more serious books written about the Bushes for those who would like to know more about them.
Yes, I gave 4 stars to this little book being fully aware of what kind of book it is: a sweet, humorous little “tale” ( pun intended!) of a dog story written to raise funds for Barbara Bush’s cause for literacy. Unless you were around back in the 1980’s-90’s, you probably aren’t aware of how popular Millie, the “First Dog” actually was!!!

[Ash Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

VERY cute! My only real complaint about this book is that it wasn’t longer. Don’t let the 141 pages fool you. The print is very large and there are lots and lots of pictures, which is awesome. But it is definitely a one time sit through-read.

Millie is the narrator through the whole book, she just narrates through Barbara Bush. Which is adorable, and at times, funny too. The book isn’t politically-sided one way or another at all, which I also enjoyed.

Millie gives a brief tour of the White House, (granted, the White House of 30 years ago), and I did learn a few things from it.

Kennebunkport and Camp David were kind of rushed into the end there, (with no pictures at all of Camp David, of course), and I kind of wish a bit more time could have been spent on Millie’s travels there, especially considering how vitally important Kennebunkport has always been to the Bush family and their bonding times together.

Overall, I did think the book was sweet, I just wish that it could have been longer. I would have even enjoyed a sequel about Millie’s life after the White House. I’m such a sucker for any good dog book!

[Kevin Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Millie Bush was the beloved Dog of First Lady Barbara Bush and President George H.W. Bush. This book was told from a Dog’s perspective so it was a little silly. However as silly as the premise of the book was I thought it was a cute and fun read as it in some respects brought to light the life of a beloved presidential pet and showed an interesting look into the Bushes as people through countless photographs.

[Wickie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book to read, especially retrospectively, after having seen two presidents from the Bush dynasty.
Sometimes maybe a little weird to read for women of today. The author often talks about wifes of important people as e.g. "Misses Ronald Reagan". As if Nancy Reagen would not have a first name of her own! Totally bewildering!

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

And, if only all dogs could live so very well off --- a truly wonderful story of a dog well loved by people who care about all living things! Millie goes through a whole day of running all over the White House and treating her masters well!

[Whitney · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's cute but not overly memorable. Good for kids or dog lovers.

[Suzann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartwarming book for families to share together with just the right proportion of text and pictures.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Millie, "first dog" recounts life with President George & Barbara Bush; "as told to Barbara!"

Great family read aloud - by the woman who championed the Foundation for Family Literacy.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Precious!!!

[Josiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a heartwarming and delightful book! I just love books about the Bushes and this one didn’t disappoint!

[Crystal FloridaGrams Of3 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little book letting you see into President George Bush's administration through the eyes of his and Barbara Bush dog Millie. Loaded with pictures throughout the book.

[Kelly]

I love Barbara Bush
And I love dogs....

How could I not just love this book?!?!?!

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a cute book. Light reading about dogs, running a country & what it looks like to be a family. All proceeds went to charity. What a wonderful book.

[Laurie Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute book with photography, "written" by the family dog. We read this in our homeschool Dialectic history studies.

[Dena Hays · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent
12/12/1990

[Ilena Holder · Rating 5 out of 5]

a unique book! if you enjoy anything about the White House (furnishings,history) you will find this a fast and fun read.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a sweet book written from the POV of Barbara Bush’s dog, Millie. The book is funny and adorable as the author guides the reader through the anecdotes and rooms of the White House.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interestingly written from the White House dog's perspective by Barbara Bush. There are lots of pictures of White House rooms and activities. Not sure the track of writing it by the dog worked well for me, but an interesting slice of life.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book at the Rockford Illinois Public Library, book sale. I was there at the end of the sale, and I stuffed all the books I could into a grocery bag for $1.00. The book was dicated by Barbara Bush, with the voice of her dog Millie. I learned more about the White House, the Bush family, and people who visited the White House. The last pictures in the book, are with Millie, and visitors to the White House. I wish they had printed the names of the people under their pictures. I did find the names in the back of the book, with the page numbers of people in the pictures.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

My grandmother used to read this book to me all the time when I was little. At that age, I was just fascinated with all the cool pictures of the cute doggie. While I am still fascinated by that cute little pooch, I can now appreciate the literature even more. It's a dog biography of epic proportions. Barbara Bush attempts to write from Millie's point of view on life in the White House and it truly gives an interesting perspective.

[Just a Girl Fighting Censorship · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is much longer that one would expect a book 'written' by a dog to be. I admit I didn't read this, it was more of a skim. It is worth taking a look at merely for the several photographs it offers. Millie the dog hanging out in various rooms of the White House, wrestling with H.W. Bush on the lawn, and even being pet by the Queen Elizabeth II.

Fun, a bit wordy, worth checking out from the library for a page through.

[Clara Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very entertaining little book. It was a reminder of historical events that occured in the 1980's and 1990's. There were a lot of pictures of celebtities of that era. Mrs. Bush did a wonderful job of recording history thru the eyes of a dog. This is a good story to read to a small child.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice book especially if you are a dog lover. Millie takes you through the White House seeing the sights and meeting and greeting dignitaries. Its a behind-the-scenes closed door look at the White House and her human family. Lots of photographs and candid shots of Millie and the President (Bush, Sr), Barbara and the grandkids.

[Gwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this at a book sale because I always admired Barbara Bush and it is chock full of photos of the White House. It is fascinating. I remember in grade school I wrote a story (class assignment) from a dog's point of view. I got an "A", that is what I would give this book. A nice light, quick read with a look inside the White House. A very fascinating place.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this. I'm a big fan of [the elder] Mrs. B, and a dog-lover, so I had to read this. Great pictures. There's an amazing shot of Prez Geo HW on the lawn of the White House with puppies crawling all over him. Unforgettable!