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Who Was Ronald Reagan?
From his childhood in rural Illinois to moviemaking days in Hollywood and on to a career in politics that took him all the way to the Oval Office, Ronald Reagan kept an abiding faith in America and in what our country stood for. The oldest president ever, he survived a near-fatal assassination attempt and lived to be 93. Who Was Ronald Reagan? covers his life and times in a balanced, entertaining way for children. More than 100 black-and-white illustrations fill out the portrait of our fortieth president.
112 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2004
96 people are currently reading
670 people want to read
About the author
Joyce Milton
79 books12 followersJoyce Milton is the author of several noted juvenile biographies, as well as the prize-winning novel, Save the Loonies.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
November 18, 2022
الكتاب فيه أجزاء من قبيل جنودنا الأبطال البواسل بيضحوا بحياتهم في لبنان والشرق الأوسط والإرهابيين الشريرين بيقتلوهم يا حرام. وماذا ساق جنودكم لهناك يا ترى؟
January 11, 2019
Are you ready for the most honest and serious review on a kids’ book ever? Ok, here we go.
One could be forgiven for giving this book four stars. It is informative and easy to read. It gets kids interested in politics.
Reading this, one would have the impression that Ronald Reagan was:
-a hero who saved lives as a lifeguard
-a strong and handsome football player and Hollywood actor
-a man who made flight training videos for bomber pilots
-a loving husband
-a man who gentlemanly appointed the first female Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor
-a man who gave up on cutting school lunches for children
-a man who fired air traffic controllers because they were asking for “a substantial raise”
-a man who nobly led an effort to defend AMERICA (Trumpian CAPS) from nuclear missile threats (SDI)
-a man who was a leader of the good guys (Capitalism) against the evil guys (Communists)
-a man who bravely fought Communist expansion in Central America
-a hero who tore down the Berlin Wall and ended the Cold War almost singlehandedly
-and more of the same...
Now, as adults, let’s look at some things not mentioned in this kids’ book.
“In 1981, as part of an attempt to curtail government waste, the Reagan Administration slashed Federal school lunch spending by $1.5 billion and attempted to make up for the reduced budget by shrinking lunch portions, reducing the number of poor children eligible for free or reduced-lunch, and famously declaring that ketchup was a vegetable in order to meet nutrition standards.”—Emelyn Rude—TIME
Paraphrasing from the late Prof. Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States:
-Reagan and HW Bush appointed enough right-wing judges to transform the Supreme Court
-William Rehnquist was made Chief Justice and his court “weakened Roe v. Wade, brought back the death penalty, reduced the rights of detainees against police powers, prevented doctors in federally supported family planning clinics from giving women information on abortions, and said that poor people could be forced to pay for public education (education was not a “fundamental right”).”
-Reagan proposed a “voluntary” approach for business to decide whether or not to comply to environmental standards.
-He appointed as head of OSHA a businessman who was against its aims.
-Reagan made a 90% cut in research into renewable energy possibilities.
-The popular Sandanista movement was a coalition of Marxists and left-wing priests. That is not the same as “communism”. They wanted to “give more land to the peasants” and “spread education and healthcare among the poor.” However, the Reagan administration saw this as a “Communist” threat, and a challenge to US control over governments in Central America.
-Edgar Chamorro who was a former colonel with the contras said, “I had hoped that it would be an organization of Nicaraguans...[It] turned out to be an instrument of the U.S. government...”
-About the Grenada invasion, “Both Cuba and Grenada...sent urgent messages promising that American students were safe and urging the invasion not to occur...No official has produced firm evidence that the Americans were being mistreated or that they would not be able to leave if they wanted.”
-“over 16 million Americans lost medical insurance” and “the infant death rate began to rise in 1981.”
And many many more examples of how Reagan was NOT the heroic man characterized in this book. Not to mention that he didn’t even fight against Nazi Germany or Imperial Japan.
Don’t expect to get a good understanding of Reagan’s presidency from this book.
Don’t think that the truth is too difficult to communicate to children.
That kind of thinking is exactly why we are repeating Reagan’s mistakes now. Kids are remarkably smart when given a chance, especially the kinds that would pick up this book in the first place.
Everything I mentioned can be simplified for any age.
Finally, to tell the truth about someone doesn’t mean to tarnish their image. The person who is a subject of a biography creates their own image and it is a writer’s responsibility not to sugarcoat the truth out of a desire to show respect or politeness.
Not only is it morally wrong to conceal from children the truth about history, but it is destructive to future society as well...as we are experiencing now in 2019.
If only we had better educated the kids of the 90’s about Reagan. We have the chance to do so now.
I’ll give it two stars only because I did learn about his personal and young life and it was better than “Mein Kampf.” Overall, it’s a piece of pro-Reagan propaganda for children to remember him as a hero.
One could be forgiven for giving this book four stars. It is informative and easy to read. It gets kids interested in politics.
Reading this, one would have the impression that Ronald Reagan was:
-a hero who saved lives as a lifeguard
-a strong and handsome football player and Hollywood actor
-a man who made flight training videos for bomber pilots
-a loving husband
-a man who gentlemanly appointed the first female Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor
-a man who gave up on cutting school lunches for children
-a man who fired air traffic controllers because they were asking for “a substantial raise”
-a man who nobly led an effort to defend AMERICA (Trumpian CAPS) from nuclear missile threats (SDI)
-a man who was a leader of the good guys (Capitalism) against the evil guys (Communists)
-a man who bravely fought Communist expansion in Central America
-a hero who tore down the Berlin Wall and ended the Cold War almost singlehandedly
-and more of the same...
Now, as adults, let’s look at some things not mentioned in this kids’ book.
“In 1981, as part of an attempt to curtail government waste, the Reagan Administration slashed Federal school lunch spending by $1.5 billion and attempted to make up for the reduced budget by shrinking lunch portions, reducing the number of poor children eligible for free or reduced-lunch, and famously declaring that ketchup was a vegetable in order to meet nutrition standards.”—Emelyn Rude—TIME
Paraphrasing from the late Prof. Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States:
-Reagan and HW Bush appointed enough right-wing judges to transform the Supreme Court
-William Rehnquist was made Chief Justice and his court “weakened Roe v. Wade, brought back the death penalty, reduced the rights of detainees against police powers, prevented doctors in federally supported family planning clinics from giving women information on abortions, and said that poor people could be forced to pay for public education (education was not a “fundamental right”).”
-Reagan proposed a “voluntary” approach for business to decide whether or not to comply to environmental standards.
-He appointed as head of OSHA a businessman who was against its aims.
-Reagan made a 90% cut in research into renewable energy possibilities.
-The popular Sandanista movement was a coalition of Marxists and left-wing priests. That is not the same as “communism”. They wanted to “give more land to the peasants” and “spread education and healthcare among the poor.” However, the Reagan administration saw this as a “Communist” threat, and a challenge to US control over governments in Central America.
-Edgar Chamorro who was a former colonel with the contras said, “I had hoped that it would be an organization of Nicaraguans...[It] turned out to be an instrument of the U.S. government...”
-About the Grenada invasion, “Both Cuba and Grenada...sent urgent messages promising that American students were safe and urging the invasion not to occur...No official has produced firm evidence that the Americans were being mistreated or that they would not be able to leave if they wanted.”
-“over 16 million Americans lost medical insurance” and “the infant death rate began to rise in 1981.”
And many many more examples of how Reagan was NOT the heroic man characterized in this book. Not to mention that he didn’t even fight against Nazi Germany or Imperial Japan.
Don’t expect to get a good understanding of Reagan’s presidency from this book.
Don’t think that the truth is too difficult to communicate to children.
That kind of thinking is exactly why we are repeating Reagan’s mistakes now. Kids are remarkably smart when given a chance, especially the kinds that would pick up this book in the first place.
Everything I mentioned can be simplified for any age.
Finally, to tell the truth about someone doesn’t mean to tarnish their image. The person who is a subject of a biography creates their own image and it is a writer’s responsibility not to sugarcoat the truth out of a desire to show respect or politeness.
Not only is it morally wrong to conceal from children the truth about history, but it is destructive to future society as well...as we are experiencing now in 2019.
If only we had better educated the kids of the 90’s about Reagan. We have the chance to do so now.
I’ll give it two stars only because I did learn about his personal and young life and it was better than “Mein Kampf.” Overall, it’s a piece of pro-Reagan propaganda for children to remember him as a hero.
May 3, 2018
This book was a really good book it interedsted me in a lot of parts in the book but not all some of the info in here was just interesting not important details. So I gave 4 STARS!
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December 15, 2017Who was Ronald Reagan by Joyce Milton is a really great book to read. I had such a amazing time reading this book. It has so much amazing facts about his life and what he did while he wasn't president. There are so much fun stuff that he did during his lifetime that I would've never imagined him doing. I mean I would've never expected him to start acting. But I would really recommend this book to readers that love to read about peoples biography and about people in their past. Which I love to read about that. So that's what really interested me in picking this book out of my school library.
April 26, 2017
Ronald Reagan was the 40th U.S President of the United States of American.
I learned that Reagan was a lifeguard and he saved about over 50 people's lives.
Ronald was an actor and he was in over 60 televisions shows.
I learned that Reagan was a lifeguard and he saved about over 50 people's lives.
Ronald was an actor and he was in over 60 televisions shows.
April 22, 2018
Biography
"Who Was Ronald Reagan?" by Joyce Milton is of course all about Ronald Reagan, but in an unexpected way-- not just about politics. The book starts with Reagan's life as a child and how his personality came about. The book also discusses his career as an actor before he began his career as a politician. While everyone knows that Reagan became President, this book highlights many aspects of his life that are fascinating, but unknown to many people.
This book is perfect for having students create their own biographies because it shows how it is important to reference multiple points about a person to make their stories come to life. Along with teaching on biographies, this book could be used in social studies when discussing American government and Presidents.
After I finished reading this book, I actually had the words "wow" come out of my mouth; Madison was there to witness it! History has always been one of my favorite topics, so it was interesting to me to be able to read a biography about a major character in history. I did not know much about Reagan before this book, but I found myself intrigued by who he was. One of my favorite things I learned was that Reagan was a lifeguard when he was younger; this was favorable for me because I am currently a lifeguard, so it was neat to see that I have that connection with a former President.
"Who Was Ronald Reagan?" by Joyce Milton is of course all about Ronald Reagan, but in an unexpected way-- not just about politics. The book starts with Reagan's life as a child and how his personality came about. The book also discusses his career as an actor before he began his career as a politician. While everyone knows that Reagan became President, this book highlights many aspects of his life that are fascinating, but unknown to many people.
This book is perfect for having students create their own biographies because it shows how it is important to reference multiple points about a person to make their stories come to life. Along with teaching on biographies, this book could be used in social studies when discussing American government and Presidents.
After I finished reading this book, I actually had the words "wow" come out of my mouth; Madison was there to witness it! History has always been one of my favorite topics, so it was interesting to me to be able to read a biography about a major character in history. I did not know much about Reagan before this book, but I found myself intrigued by who he was. One of my favorite things I learned was that Reagan was a lifeguard when he was younger; this was favorable for me because I am currently a lifeguard, so it was neat to see that I have that connection with a former President.
March 15, 2020
Ronald Reagan Is a president true to every Americans heart, and this book was very interesting. I found myself with a jaw drop for over half of the book! Everything was written simple enough to be understood by most 5th graders, yet the content was new and fresh. This is my favorite book that I have read in the who was/is series. A truly great book on one of the most beloved presidents of the twentieth century.
February 4, 2023
I am reading books about Presidents now for my 4th Graders. This was a very inspiring book. It makes me want to read - When Character was King by Peggy Noonan. I love teaching the love for our great country through an amazing lineup of leaders from our past.
November 12, 2017
Nice children's summary of Ronald Reagan's life with a pro-Reagan perspective. It was not too politically charged, though. There were some fun things that I learned about him which were fun.
April 6, 2022
We read this aloud for school. Everyone gave it 4 stars. MD liked that it was a good portrayal of Reagan’s life and beliefs. CN thought it was a good book, but would have liked more details. MK thought it was well written and she learned from it. I also thought it was a good overview of Reagan’s life and policies.
March 10, 2024
I love the way the books in this series tell the stories of historical and popular figures!
Ronald Reagan is my home country's 40th president and one of the most beloved presidents of the 20th century. From a young age Mr. Reagan put others before himself and risked his life on many occasions to save the lives of others. Reagan's presidency reflected his genuine love and compassion for others. I especially enjoyed learning more about Mr. Reagan's childhood, teenage, and young adult life in this book.
Ronald Reagan is my home country's 40th president and one of the most beloved presidents of the 20th century. From a young age Mr. Reagan put others before himself and risked his life on many occasions to save the lives of others. Reagan's presidency reflected his genuine love and compassion for others. I especially enjoyed learning more about Mr. Reagan's childhood, teenage, and young adult life in this book.
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December 1, 2025Loved learning more about this beloved president!
November 20, 2020
Who Was Ronald Reagan? by Joyce Milton is a short but fact-filled book in the award-winning "Who Was..." series targeted specifically for the youth market. The author shares details from Ronald Reagan's youth when he was active in various sports, including swimming, and became a lifeguard who saved many lives. He had an interest in becoming a sports broadcaster and was considered quite good at it before he was approached by Hollywood to move into acting. He made a number of movies (mostly considered B Movies that also were popular. While in Hollywood he eventually became the president of the Screen Actors Guild. After his movie career seemed to have played itself out he made another transition into hosting programs on television and he was considered the face of GE for a while. He next was approached by people who wanted him to get into politics. He was elected and served as governor of California for two terms prior to running for and becoming our 40th president as a republican. He survived a early assassination attempt and went on to turn the economy around in a very positive direction. He is probably most known for being tough on the Soviet Union and created the conditions that eventually led to its break up and the tearing down of the Berlin Wall. He was one of our most positive presidents who always believed that America's best days were still in the future. I have read several books about Ronald Reagan and this book is great as a quick review but also as an overview for those who are not that familiar with one of our most popular presidents who was hard not to like.
June 26, 2017
Reagan was before my time but I've heard older people talk about what a "great president" he was. I hoped this book would kind of show me why he was "so amazing," but I didn't really get any major insights from it.
Here are some fun things I learned about Reagan:
*He was a lifeguard for six summers and saved 77 people. I like that he grew up in the working class, I feel like that does make him a bit more able to relate to the majority of people. (Unlike some other celebrity presidents.)
*He was called Dutch until he became a movie star.
*A three-ton section of the Berlin wall was sent to Reagan as a thank you gift.
I probably need to read an adult bio so I can understand the politics a bit better. From this book I couldn't really see anything he did as a president that was that phenomenal. Then again, I'm really disillusioned with politicians at present so my criticism is very harsh.
Here are some fun things I learned about Reagan:
*He was a lifeguard for six summers and saved 77 people. I like that he grew up in the working class, I feel like that does make him a bit more able to relate to the majority of people. (Unlike some other celebrity presidents.)
*He was called Dutch until he became a movie star.
*A three-ton section of the Berlin wall was sent to Reagan as a thank you gift.
I probably need to read an adult bio so I can understand the politics a bit better. From this book I couldn't really see anything he did as a president that was that phenomenal. Then again, I'm really disillusioned with politicians at present so my criticism is very harsh.
March 29, 2019
Who was Ronald Reagan is a outstanding book it talks about his childhood and his adulthood. Ronald's childhood actually wasn't bad when he was 14 he got a job working at a pool where he was a lifeguard.
He was very good at this job and has saved many lives, a cool thing he did was that every time he saved some ones life he carved a divot in a tree stump. When he was around 23 years old he started running for senator. He actually won too, then he started making movies and got recognized all over the world. People started to tell him that he should run for president. Finally he mustered up enough courage to run and he won by a landslide! This book is very good and I would recommend it to any one.
He was very good at this job and has saved many lives, a cool thing he did was that every time he saved some ones life he carved a divot in a tree stump. When he was around 23 years old he started running for senator. He actually won too, then he started making movies and got recognized all over the world. People started to tell him that he should run for president. Finally he mustered up enough courage to run and he won by a landslide! This book is very good and I would recommend it to any one.
April 19, 2020
Biography
3-6th grade reading level
I picked this book up because it was one of the only biographies we have at my house, but I actually learned a lot! I didn't know that Ronald Reagan was divorced and was a washed up actor. I never knew that he had a lot of challenges in his life. All I've ever heard of is how successful he was. I really enjoyed reading about his childhood, too. Ronald Reagan was pretty shy as a kid. His whole story is pretty encouraging to me! He went through high times and low times, just like we all do. This is a great book, very informative and yet interesting.
I am quite the picture person, so I love that there are pictures mixed in within the book. Overall, it is a great biography, and I would recommend it to anyone!
3-6th grade reading level
I picked this book up because it was one of the only biographies we have at my house, but I actually learned a lot! I didn't know that Ronald Reagan was divorced and was a washed up actor. I never knew that he had a lot of challenges in his life. All I've ever heard of is how successful he was. I really enjoyed reading about his childhood, too. Ronald Reagan was pretty shy as a kid. His whole story is pretty encouraging to me! He went through high times and low times, just like we all do. This is a great book, very informative and yet interesting.
I am quite the picture person, so I love that there are pictures mixed in within the book. Overall, it is a great biography, and I would recommend it to anyone!
May 17, 2017
The book Who WAs Ronald Reagan? by Joyce Milton was a good non-fiction book about Reagan. This book was mostly about his acting career and what he did during being president of the U.S. . It was a shorter book but got a lot of good facts.
I thought this book was good. I liked learning about Ronald Reagan because he is one of the presidents we are going over in history, so it was nice to know more about him. There is nothing about this book that I would change about the way it was written.
I suggest this book to people who would like to learn more about a great president we had. And I would suggest it to people who want good information but with an easier book.
I thought this book was good. I liked learning about Ronald Reagan because he is one of the presidents we are going over in history, so it was nice to know more about him. There is nothing about this book that I would change about the way it was written.
I suggest this book to people who would like to learn more about a great president we had. And I would suggest it to people who want good information but with an easier book.
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December 3, 2019Summary: This book explore the life of Ronald Reagan. It is broken into chapters which span from his early years, his college days, what impact he had on politics and even his farewell letter. It includes many drawings throughout each chapter.
Review: I like that the book is broken into chapters and the information is sorted which would be useful if doing research. I also like that the back of the book includes a timeline of his life, and a timeline of the world. I do wish that there were some real photographs
Mentor Text: Writing non-fiction texts or autobiographies
Books I would pair this with: Who Was Walt Disney and other books from the series.
Review: I like that the book is broken into chapters and the information is sorted which would be useful if doing research. I also like that the back of the book includes a timeline of his life, and a timeline of the world. I do wish that there were some real photographs
Mentor Text: Writing non-fiction texts or autobiographies
Books I would pair this with: Who Was Walt Disney and other books from the series.
November 4, 2018
This man had an eventful youth. I always considered that doing as many different things when you're young will be an asset for all your life.
The funny fact is he got elected president in school, sport, theatre and the many activities he tried, like a premonition.
He also was quite popular. He didn't have an easy start. His family was poor. He had to use his imagination to make his way through.
So many ingredients to go to success.
The funny fact is he got elected president in school, sport, theatre and the many activities he tried, like a premonition.
He also was quite popular. He didn't have an easy start. His family was poor. He had to use his imagination to make his way through.
So many ingredients to go to success.
June 27, 2023
Ronald Regan knew that big government was the problem not the cure. And that was why he tried to cut a lot of government spending. As the book states he was not very successful. I have a lot of respect for the man, but the worse thing I think he did as President was not covered in the book. That was when he passed a bill where big pharma couldn’t be held responsible if their vaccines killed people.
September 26, 2025
This book was very well written and is very informative about the facts of Ronald Reagan. It does show political bias and that is important to me in an informational only book for children, that it does not sway one side or the other. Especially in today's world that nothing is unbiased. It goes through basically a complete history in this short narrative. I love these little Who Was book series, they have taught me more on subjects I thought I knew pretty well, but not so much
January 13, 2019
106 pages. Great biography with lots of personal stories of a famous American president. I learned a lot about Pres. Reagan that I had never heard before. I think the author gives a very well-balanced view and lots of detail. Students could use this one for a report or just for biography reading. Highly recommended for grades 4-5.
May 19, 2017
I liked this book more than I thought I would, I really liked learning that he was an actor. My favorite part was when Ronald told the American people that he had Alzheimer's and said goodbye to them. I didn't like the part where he died or the part where he was divorced. I'm very glad that Ronald Reagan found love again and had two more children and that he served the country well. I didn't know he had a horse ranch and that gave me a whole new understanding of the book. I didn't mind the fact that he was in a million movies but i haven't seen any of his movies so I don't know if he was any good. I would recommend this book to people that like to learn new things and have happy endings.
December 29, 2020
Learned some new things. I am realizing most of the books try to paint the person as positive as possible, and I'm sure Reagan wasn't perfect. I was impressed with how many people he saved as a lifeguard as a teenager.
September 28, 2022
Wildly uncritical of a problematic president. Doesn't even mention the AIDS crisis, which he ignored, makes conservative ideas about governance and taxation sound like a super idea despite ample evidence to the contrary, and papers over the Iran-Contra scandal.
April 10, 2025
A great book! I enjoy this series, they are good children’s books and/or good introductory books for important figures or topics!
I recommend!
I learned some things about Reagan’s life that I didn’t know before!
I recommend!
I learned some things about Reagan’s life that I didn’t know before!
October 28, 2025
very basic bio but it works for it's target demographic of kids and those wanting a quick and easy read. still, it's a really good way to learn about a president who did so much(for bettter or worse).
March 19, 2017
A well written biography directed at the elementary age reader.
The author shares key facts and Ronald Reagan's character and strength.
The author shares key facts and Ronald Reagan's character and strength.
May 15, 2017
I have to edit this later.
September 20, 2017
Really good little biography on "the gipper".
Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews