John F. Kennedy (Profiles of the Presidents (Compass Point Press)) [Library Binding]

Lucia Raatma (Author)

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Library Binding: 64 pages
• Publisher: Compass Point Books (January 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756502055
• ISBN-13: 978-0756502058
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,414,284 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lucia Raatma (1963-) was born as Lucia Tarbox in Georgetown, South Carolina, and grew up on the grounds of Brookgreen Gardens, an outdoor sculpture garden and wildlife park. She earned a B.A. in English from the University of South Carolina in 1985 and then went on to earn an M.A. in cinema studies from New York University in 1989. She was a copy editor for G. P. Putnam's Sons and later served as managing editor. After working freelance for a few years while she and her husband, Andy, started a family, Lucia was a copy editor at Reader's Digest magazine. Currently, she lives in the Tampa Bay area with Andy and their two children, Lizzie and Alex. She does freelance copy editing and writes a variety of books for the children's educational market.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars An Inspirational President, March 24, 2011

A Kid's Review

This review is from: John F. Kennedy (Profiles of the Presidents (Compass Point Press)) (Library Binding)

I enjoyed reading this book. President John F Kenndey was a very inspirational man. I really admire his courage, determination and focus in helping our nation to challenge themselves. From the beginning, the author tells us the history of our president. He was the youngest person ever elected as president and also the first Roman Catholic to hold office. From his early beginnings, Joseph and Rose Kennedy, expected a lot from their children. Jack was destined to become the next president. Even though he suffered from many illnesses when he was young, he did not give up. As a young child, John was always himself. He did not follow the crowd but enjoyed being a leader. He always wanted to have fun and it was his older brother Joe that was supposed to be President, not John. John was always competing with his older brother Joe. They did everything together and even went to the same schools but John learned a lot from his older brother. He loved him very much. During the time of World War II, when both of the brothers entered the military, Joe became a bomber pilot but was killed when his plane was shot when it flew over England. Everyone was so sad when this happened. Jack had lost his older brother and best friend. John had won a U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Medal for his heroism in the South Pacific. His ship was destroyed and that's where John proved his courage. He and the rest of the men swam to a nearby island with John carrying an injured member on his back. It's because of this that he won the medal. He also was the first president to ever win the Pulitzer Prize for his book, Profiles in Courage.
John did not want to go into the political world but it was a decision that his dad wanted him to do. But many people liked him for his calmness, intelligence and people skills. He was a successful politician. He soon began to realize how much he loved working with the government and helping people. His father and family helped him with all of his campaigns. They believed in him. But John never thought he would live a long life because of all his illnesses. He fought through it. Then he fell in love with Jacqueline "Jackie" Lee Bouvier, who enjoyed photography and journalism. She was always there for him when he needed support. She was a great woman who many people admired. She was part of many charities and was the main person who redecorated the White House. She wanted for the people to be more aware of everyone's culture. She was nice and sweet. When John decided to run for the Presidency against Richard Nixon everyone tuned into their television sets. There were 70 million Americans who watched the debate. John was confident, relaxed and spoke with much honesty. Richard Nixon was sweating a lot and looked very nervous. Not a lot of people liked Richard Nixon. They both were smart men and answer all questions clearly and honestly but many Americans decided that John had won the debate. When John was elected President of the United States, everyone listened to his inspiring speech. It was his statement of "Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country" that has become a very famous line. He chose his brother Robert Kennedy to be the U.S. Attorney General. He confided and trusted a lot in his brother. When he needed some good advice, he would always go to his brother Bobby for help. The President wouldn't trust anyone else but his brother. John had to deal with many hard situations in his life. Jack loved his children and wife. They were always photographed running around the White House or playing with them. His family made him happy. They were many deaths in his family: His older brother Joe, his sister Ruth whom he was very close to, and his son, Patrick, who died two days after he was born. Even with all these tragedies, he didn't give up. He did have many bad situations happen to him while he was in office. The "Bay of Pigs' was a mission that became as an embarrassment for President Kennedy. He approved a plan that would help Cuban rebels living in the United States invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs and overthrow Fidel Castro. He learned from his mistake and accepted the blame. But he did have many other accomplishments during his presidency. He created the Peace Corps which was a group of volunteers that wanted to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in different countries. His stand on civil rights created the Civil Rights Bill in 1964. And his strong stand against Fidel Castro during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
On November 22, 1963 John F. Kennedy was killed. He and Jackie were traveling through Dallas, Texas to keep the voters in the South. While riding in the limousine, three shots were fired and the president was shot in the head and neck. The other bullet hit Governor John B. Connally in the back. President John F. Kennedy at the age of 46 died from his injuries. Police had a suspect, Lee Harvey Oswald, but he was never interrogated because he too was also killed. On November 22nd, the nation was very sad. We had lost a great man. John F Kennedy's story had many sad moments in his life but he still continued to fight. That is an example of a person with great determination. I didn't know anything about President John F Kennedy at first but when I started to read this book, I couldn't put it down. I became more interested. He was such a courageous person. I bet if he were still alive today, he will still remain as one of the nation's favorite and greatest president's.