The First Pup: The Real Story of How Bo Got to the White House

by Bob Staake

Once upon a time, a man named Barack Obama ran for president of the United States and he won! On the night of his victory, he made a very important When he and his family were settled in their new home in Washington, D.C., his daughters would get . . . A PUPPY! On a farm in Texas, a puppy had been born. One of ten brothers and sisters, this puppy was lively and smart, but he needed a new home. From a Texas farm to the White House, this is the real story of Bo―the First Pup!
The First Pup is a 2011 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Nonfiction, Animals, History, Presidents

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Bob Staake has authored and/or illustrated more than forty-two books, including The Red Lemon, a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year. His work has graced the cover of The New Yorker a dozen times, and his November 17, 2008 Barack Obama victory cover was named Best Magazine Cover of the Year by Time magazine. He lives on Cape Cod, in Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Laura Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic White House related picture book. It contains some of the cutest and warm dog illustrations I have ever seen!

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book s awesome

[Mackenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love this book. BO is so so so so so cute.

[Erin Buhr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A super cute story about the Obama family and how they came to own Bo the First Pup. Full of energy and spunk, this is a fun story to read aloud. You can almost feel the cheerful puppy's tail wag.

[Zara Younus]

The illustrations for this book were absolutely incredible!! The story behind how the Obama family got their dog was cute! As I was reading this book, I was thinking of how students could persuade the principal into having a class pet for our classroom. Students could include ideas for pets, how they would care for the pet, and how they would select the name for their pet. Great for creative and persuasive writing.

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love picture book biographies about the First Family; they make history and current events exciting to young readers and listeners. Reading about and seeing the First Pet’s on television is often times the first thing that endures a president to children and hopefully will foster a desire to learn even more. Bob Staake did a fantastic job of adding humor into his illustrated telling of Bo and his new family at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little story about the president's puppy. I wish it would have gone into more detail about the pup's life before the Obamas got him, as it seemed he struggled to find a home. I still wish they would have adopted from a shelter, it would have sent a great message to America encouraging shelter adoptions.

[Restokes92]

This book is about the Obama's puppy and the story about how they got him. The book talks about Bo's backstory and tells how this puppy ended being known worldwide as the first pup. I would use this book in my classroom to show students that history isn't something that is always old but is made everyday. This is yet another book where I would combine ELA with history or social studies.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun little story about how the First Family adopted a puppy and named him "Bo." It has humorous cartoonish illustrations and the expressions are hilarious (we love the one of President Obama in bed, being woken up by his girls to read stories about dogs.)

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of how President Barack Obama' made good on his deal to get his daughters, Sasha and Malia, a puppy if he won the election. Adorable illustrations are very engaging. This would be a cute book to use as mentor text for writing about historical events.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an extremely well told story of how the first family ended up with a first pup.

The text is perfect, but the illustrations are phenomenal. Bo is so adorably drawn, I actually thought about getting another dog for a second.

[Tatiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a cute story about the (former) First Pup, Bo! The illustrations are like a cartoon in this telling of how Bo came to be Sasha and Malia's puppy at the start of their father's first term as president.

[Autumn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great illustrations, great story. The kids (ages 2 1/2 and 6)love it, I love it!

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was good

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

funny

[Deborah Harris]

AR Quiz No. 137459 EN Nonfiction
Accelerated Reader Quiz Information IL: LG - BL: 4.6 - AR Pts: 0.5
Accelerated Reader Quiz Type Information AR Quiz Types: RP

[Jan Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very cute book about how the Obama's got their first puppy. Kids who like dogs will enjoy this book.

[Rani · Rating 4 out of 5]

#Whitehouse #Childrensbook #Pet #Dog. #Welcome #Bo to the first family!

[Sarah Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The First Pup" is about how the Obama family got their first puppy in the White House. There were a lot of different dog breeds to consider but they finally settled on a Portuguese water dog. This book explains the process that it took for the family to find the perfect dog and why they chose that breed.

This book is a great example of historical fiction for kids. Although it is a fairly long picture book, this children's book is a great way to show kids that not all history has to be a long time ago. Along with this, it also show kids that not all history has to be boring. There is a good chance that if a kid is interested in dogs that they will actually find this history book interesting.