From Publishers Weekly
Krull (Lives of the Writers; Lives of the Athletes) has a proven knack for delivering generous dollops of covert asides along with fun facts and pertinent information when it comes to profiling famous figures. This latest effort does not disappoint. Beginning with her debunking of the myth that George Washington had wooden teeth, Krull briskly moves through the list of White House inhabitants, discussing their personality quirks and qualifications for elected office (or seeming lack thereof) as well as offering tidbits about their marriages and love lives, favorite foods and pastimes, family pets and, of particular import these days, scandals. She goes so far as to mention that President Clinton has "admitted privately that he has had affairs," and hints at his reputation as a womanizer. Presidents whose terms had major historical significance and more recent chiefs of state are given longer entries (two to three pages) while the others receive paragraphs. All, however, are written up in the same chatty and intriguing tone. In watercolor-and-colored-pencil paintings, Hewitt, in her signature style, depicts each president with a very large head and smaller body. Background scenery and dress suggest the historical era and significant details about the man; those presidents with a full-page portrait include an inset, smaller portrait of the First Lady in the top left corner of the painting. Young readers will find many of the school-report essentials here?birthplaces and dates, number of terms in office?and plenty of items that will surely entertain as well as educate. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 4-8-Who says biography can't be authoritative and fun at the same time? This briskly written book presents our presidents as human beings first, figureheads second. Krull asserts that her intent was to look "at our leaders with a cool, contemporary eye, respectful but definitely nosy." She succeeds admirably. This is the perfect antidote to encyclopedia articles and standard collective biographies. Krull is factual, but her writing has pizzazz and her details bring the heads of state to life. The most coverage is given to modern presidents and the best known leaders of the past, but for almost any of the 42 men, tidbits of information contain insight. That Andrew Johnson barely escaped impeachment is fairly common knowledge, but not so well known is the fact that this dapper little man was apprenticed to a tailor and made his own suits. John F. Kennedy certainly had charisma, and he could also bark like a seal for two minutes straight-a voice technique he had learned from a vocal coach. Packed with enough detail for brief reports, these articles are also just plain entertaining and could be used to pique students' interest in biography. Hewitt's spirited watercolor cartoons add to the presentation immensely, showing, as they do, the individual, his style of dress, and, in the case of longer articles, his spouse and some of the accoutrements of his life. The jacket cover, displaying presidents, spouses, and one first child, provides a provocative draw for this fine book.
Ann Welton, Terminal Park Elementary School, Auburn, WACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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