Our Country's First Ladies

by Ann Bausum, Laura Bush (Foreword by)

The award-winning author of National Geographic's widely acclaimed Our Country's Presidents now brings young readers the perfect companion piece―Our Country's First Ladies. Step inside the White House and meet the women who have played the roles of partners, confidantes, hostesses, and activists in the midst of American history. Read of fascinating lives led by the wives (and sometimes daughters, nieces, and friends) of our country's leaders. Ann Bausum introduces us to a private side of each First Lady, and connects each personality with the public persona to produce a book of uniquely revealing portraits. Each profile is accompanied by a full-page portrait and a Fact Box detailing information such as education, special interests, and children. Timelines set each tenure in the context of the course of women's history, and a Facts-at-a-Glance section is a valuable resource for trivia lovers and report writers alike. The narrative comes alive through the multi-faceted natures of the First the legend of Dolley Madison's rescue of White House treasures in the war of 1812 crackles with drama; the description of Julia Grant's 29-course White House dinner will give you indigestion; the account of Eleanor Roosevelt's tireless public service and activism is awe-inspiring. Hers is one of many stories of First Ladies who embraced causes to make a Lady Bird Johnson campaigned for the beautification of American cities and highways; Hillary Clinton championed the rights of children; while the librarian Laura Bush has been a tireless advocate of literacy. True to her passion, Mrs. Bush provides a special foreword for this attractive and informative volume. The book features lavish illustrations courtesy of the White House Historical Association, making it a beautiful reference and gift volume. The book's informative text has been completely vetted by American history expert Professor Robert Johnston.National Geographic supports K-12 educators with ELA Common Core Resources.Visit www.natgeoed.org/commoncore for more information.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Historical

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 9, 2007

About the author

Ann Bausum writes about history for readers of all ages from her home in southern Wisconsin. Her works often focus on under-told stories from the past, and she frequently explores issues of social justice.

Her newest title, The March Against Fear (National Geographic: 2017), is her third work to examine the civil rights movement in the American South. In the case of these and other books, Bausum strives to bring the nation’s social justice history to life in ways that empower and inspire readers young and old alike. Her previous title, Stonewall (Viking: 2015), is among the first nonfiction books to introduce teens to gay rights history. Previous works have explored voting rights, immigration, and free speech, among other topics.

The almost-forgotten story of Stubby lured Bausum away from social justice history temporarily. She wrote twin titles about the stray dog smuggled to Europe during World War I who returned to a hero’s welcome. Both books were published in 2014 by National Geographic: Sergeant Stubby (for adult readers) and Stubby the War Dog (for children).

In the spring of 2017, the Children’s Book Guild of Washington, D.C., will honor the body of Bausum’s work by presenting her with its venerable Nonfiction Award. This award recognizes the consistent commendation earned by her individual titles through the years. Bausum’s books have appeared consistently on lists of recommended and notable titles and have earned numerous literary awards including a Sibert Honor Award, the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, the Carter G. Woodson Award (on two occasions), and the SCBWI Golden Kite Award. In 2015, she was named the year’s Notable Wisconsin Children’s Author by the Wisconsin Library Association.

You may follow Bausum on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/AnnBausum) and Twitter (@AnnBausum) or visit her online at www.AnnBausum.com

Reviews

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked learning about the different ladies. The roles, development of the position, and boundaries each of them set was amazing.

[Niki · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is hard to rate, because it is just an informational, textbook about the first ladies. I really enjoyed reading it, but would have enjoyed some additional information. I felt like we only got to scratch the surface of each of the First Ladies.

I was surprised by the fact that some presidents and first ladies had multiple marriages and no children. It was also interesting to see how different each woman took her role as First Lady. It is one very high profile responsibility that has no job description. Hillary Clinton went so far as to set up her own office in the West Wing. Some women were so averse to the spotlight that they had other women fill in for them in their hosting responsibilities. Some women took a great interest in the White House building and beautification of it. Some women used their platform to promote social issues.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is just an entirely appropriate book for both male and female students to read. it will help break stereotypes, or at least give another perspective to consider, against the discrimination of gender. This book is not intended for the younger side of the elementary years. The content needs a bit of foundation before comprehension can be attained.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learned a lot about these women and was fascinated by their stories. Did not know before that many of these women did not actually serve as first ladies but had a daughter or a niece fill their role; some died, some were too ill. Definitely different times from the first lady to the current. It was a fun book to read and follow the advancement of our country and our world.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book and the reasoning being is that. You can look back in life and see all the first lady ans what they have done for us though out the years. This book i thought was very long but it was a very good book to read because i have learned so much about it.

[Elizabeth Wyatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great read. It's concise and has great pictures. I was fascinated by what I didn't know about our First Ladies!

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent reference for learning about the first ladies of the U.S.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

For someone who loves to learn about the First Ladies, like me, you will love this book. It has great picture an great biographies.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating look at each of our country's First Ladies. I enjoyed comparing and contrasting their interests and how they welcomed the responsibilities of being wife to the President.

[Anthony Kline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is good for males and females. It really opened my eyes to many different things about the first ladies and broke many stereotypes that can be involved with females.