Have You Heard About Lady Bird?: Poems About Our First Ladies

by Marilyn Singer, Nancy Carpenter (Illustrator)

The role of First Lady has been defined differently by each woman who's held it, but all of them left an impact on our nation as partner of the commander in chief. Incisive poetry by Marilyn Singer and energetic art by Nancy Carpenter provide a fascinating glimpse into the lives of women-from Martha Washington to Eleanor Roosevelt to Lady Bird Johnson-who variously embraced the position and shied away from it, craved the spotlight and fiercely guarded their privacy, took controversial stands and championed for the status quo. Detailed back matter includes short biographies, quotations, and more.

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Childrens, History, Biography

56 pages, Hardcover

Published October 16, 2018

About the author

Marilyn Singer was born in the Bronx (New York City) on October 3, 1948 and lived most of her early life in N. Massapequa (Long Island), NY. She attended Queens College, City University of New York, and for her junior year, Reading University, England. She holds a B.A. in English from Queens and an M.A. in Communications from New York University.

In 1974, after teaching English in New York City high schools for several years, she began to write - initially film notes, catalogues, teacher's guides and film strips. Then, one day, when she was sitting in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, she penned a story featuring talking insect characters she'd made up when she was eight. Encouraged by the responses she got, she wrote more stories and in 1976 her first book, The Dog Who Insisted He Wasn't, was published by E.P.Dutton & Co.

Since then, Marilyn has published over seventy books for children and young adults. Her genres are many and varied, including realistic novels, fantasies, non-fiction, fairy tales, picture books, mysteries and poetry. She likes writing many different kinds of books because it's challenging and it keeps her from getting bored. She has won several Children's Choice and Parents' Choice Awards, as well as the following: the Creature Carnival, Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Honor Book, 2005; I Believe in Water: Twelve Brushes with Religion, New York Public Library's "Best Books for the Teen Age," 2001; Stay True: Short Stories for Strong Girls, Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, 2000 (YALSA); On the Same Day in March, Booklist's Top Ten Science Books of 2000; NCSS-CBC Notable Book, 2000; Deal with a Ghost, finalist, YA category, Edgar Award, 1998; It Can't Hurt Forever, Maud Hart Lovelace Award, 1983; The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth, ALA Best Book for Young Adults, 1983; Turtle in July, NCTE Notable, N.Y.Times Best Illustrated and Time Magazine Best Children's Books of 1989; Turtle in July was also a Reading Rainbow review book.

Marilyn currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her husband Steve; their standard poodle Oggi, a cousin of their beloved and recently departed poodle Easy, seen in the home page photo; a cat named August ; two collared doves named Jubilee and Holiday; and a starling named Darling. Her interests include dog training, reading, hiking, bird-watching, gardening, meditation, playing computer adventure games and going to the movies and the theatre. She's also a major Star Trek fan.

Reviews

[Holly Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew as soon as I saw this tour announcement that I wanted to read this book, for several reasons: I still love reading picture books with my 10-year-old kiddo, when he’s up for it; I volunteer in his elementary school library and help the librarian identify new books for acquisition; and I love learning about our first ladies. I hadn’t heard of Ms. Singer’s first book in this vein, Rutherford B., Who Was He?: Poems About Our Presidents, but I will be checking it out after my kiddo and I enjoyed this one so much! We had fun reading every one of these poems and learning more about the women who have played roles in our nation’s history, often without much acknowledgement; I discovered there were far too many first ladies whose names I didn’t even know. My son would have me read the first lady’s name and he would try to guess the full name of the president, and I’m proud to say he did a very good job (I guess they learn these things in school after all!).

Each of these poems is different from the next, which was great: some are longer, some shorter; the rhyme schemes were almost all different; some were lighthearted, others more somber. However, with each one either we both learned something we didn’t previously know or I was able to explain the poem’s meaning to my son after reading it based on what I did already know. (I even learned things about Hillary Clinton that I either didn’t know or had forgotten!) We also found the short biographies in the back helpful, especially when we read about one of the lesser-known first ladies or read a poem that showed a “first lady” who actually passed before the president took office. How did I not realize (or perhaps recall) that there were so many widower presidents in our nation’s history? I also did not realize/remember that we’d ever had a bachelor president in our history, but we did: James Buchanan never married, so his niece and ward played the role of his “first lady.” There is such a wealth of information packed into this book, it’s a perfect addition to an elementary school library, or to any library’s children’s poetry and history collections.

I also want to say a word about the delightful illustrations from Ms. Carpenter. They are colorful sketches that match the tone of each poem, whether that be more lighthearted (Dolley Madison scampering away from a burning White Hose with George Washington’s famous portrait in hand) or somber (Lucretia Garfield at her wounded and dying husband’s bedside). The illustration of Ms. Garfield is in fact one of my favorites; the expression on her face just says so much, and speaks to my soul somehow. I also love the illustration of Betty Ford, who I knew nothing about beyond the addiction centers in her name; I did not realize she was a modern dancer, nor that she was a proponent of the ERA and women’s rights, and I love the way she’s depicted as a free spirit. Other favorite illustrations go along with my favorite poems about my favorite first ladies: Eleanor Roosevelt, strong and smart and outspoken; Hillary Clinton, a first lady of many firsts; and Michelle Obama, whose legacy as a descendant of slaves is depicted so perfectly.

Basically, this book is a must-have for any lover of poetry, history, and our nation’s presidents and first ladies. If you already have Ms. Singer’s collection on presidents, this is the perfect companion. I will be donating my copy to my son’s elementary school library (though I admit to being a little sad to hand it off!), and I can’t wait to recommend it to the students. I hope you will pick this one up and read it with the children in your life -- or, heck, just read it to yourself and learn some new things, just like I did!

Rating: 5 stars!

**Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher as part of this blog tour. This review is voluntary on my part and reflects my honest rating and review. I will be donating my copy to my son’s elementary school library so it can be enjoyed by the students there.

[Meredith Spidel · Rating 5 out of 5]

So encouraging to read a voice--geared towards our kiddos!--that honors and celebrates the women heroes in our nation's history. Love this book and what it passes on to our children.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have You Heard About Lady Bird? Poems About Our First Ladies by Marilyn Singer, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. PICTURE BOOK. Disney, 2018. $18. 9781484726600

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

This is a collection of poems, one for each first lady in American history. The poems are mostly informational, a few whimsical, and each has an accompanying illustration. At the end of the book is a collection of biographical paragraphs on each lady.

The thing I dislike about this book is that each biography focuses on just one aspect of the woman’s life and often times these were a negative thing. I was eager to read the bios hoping they would add a fuller picture of the first lady, but they rarely did.

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...

[Ms. B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let's not forget the women who supported our presidents. Some enjoyed it, some did not. Some were quiet; some were not. Some were loved; some were ridiculed. Do you have a favorite? If not, read these poems to make your pick.

[Emily Snow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that this was a good poetry book that teaches students about the First Ladies. However, when I looked at the illustrations, they looked very creepy. I think this would be a good President's Day read aloud for middle elementary grades.

[Callie6w]

This book focuses on all of the First Ladies and that it went in order from the very first lady Martha Washington to our current first lady Melania Trump. Also, like that on the back of the book there is a time line of the first ladies.

[Dawn Fielder · Rating 5 out of 5]

perfect for elementary kids. this is written in verse. the poems are charming.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m still wondering why Lady Bird was chosen as the headliner? Yes, it rhymes with heard, but...

[Jen · Rating 1 out of 5]

To me, these lives felt more marginalized within the pages.

[Elaine Fultz, Teacher Librarian, MLS · Rating 3 out of 5]

The poems are clever and extremely informative. Back matter adds additional details and quotes from each Lady.

[Elizabeth Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book may be made for kids, but I definitely learned so much!

[Missy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had my doubts, first about the title; I wasn't really that interested in a book about Lady Bird Johnson. When I realized that the book featured all first ladies, I was a bit more intrigued. As I started reading I was quickly reeled into these brief, mostly rhyming and often wry, poems about America's "Lady Presidentess(es)." I was most intrigued by those focusing on less well known women.

For example, Elizabeth Monroe saved Lafayette and his wife from the guillotine.

The French, with fondness, dubbed her then
their 'beautiful American.'
But as First Lady of our land,
she sometimes seemed a bit too grand.
She lacked the democratic touch.
Yankees didn't like her much.

I was also interested to learn that Abigail Powers Fillmore installed the first bookcases in the White House and that most of the first ladies would have preferred spouses with less ambition.

I found the verses less delightful as we moved into contemporary times. Perhaps this was because I have greater familiarity with those First Ladies; I wasn't delighted by interesting little tidbits of information.

Another larger challenge was the avoidance of much of the problematic history of our presidents and our country. Right of the bat, we learn that Martha Washington was

raised to be a planter’s wife,
taught how one behaves
as mistress of the household
and the household slaves.

It was jarring to have the single off-hand remark about what is the greatest stain on our country.

The poem about Martha Jefferson missed a significant portion of our third president’s history. The brief poem alludes to Martha’s death, and concludes:

Her role was taken by her next of kin.
Do not remarry when I’m gone, ailing Martha bid.
Thomas vowed he never would – and he never did.

My mind immediately turned to the enslaved women – most prominently Sally Hemmings – that Jefferson forced to take care of his most personal needs. While I recognize that this may not be appropriate content for a children’s book of poetry about first ladies, I was troubled by what I knew was an omission.

Interestingly, the mention of a president’s bad deeds was in the poem about Pat Nixon.

Dealing with scandal and then his resignation,
exiting the White House in deep humiliation.

After reading Pat Nixon’s poem, I wondered how they would handle Hillary (or should I say Bill) Clinton’s story. Not a peep. Not a word about the fact that there was a president between 1993-2001. That being said, I do have to admit my bias and note that I was delighted to read the last two lines:

And though she lost the race, history will note:
First woman to win the popular vote.

And yes, Melania is included. I will say no more.