Martin Van Buren (Profiles of the Presidents) [Library Binding]

Robin S. Doak (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Profiles of the Presidents

A passion for politics -- Early years -- The young politician -- Onto the national scene -- The President's right-hand man -- A difficult presidency -- Defeat and retirement.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7-Succinct and clear writing makes this an accessible portrait of a lesser-known president. Concepts are explained well. The writing is objective and balances the president's accomplishments with his faults and failures. Almost every page includes a color or black-and-white photograph, drawing, or illustration of Van Buren, his contemporaries, or a scene depicting life at the time, such as the interior of a general store. Steven Ferry's Martin Van Buren (The Child's World, 2001) is similar in scope and design, but Doak's work gives more detail and explores issues a little more deeply. The content of Susan Jankowski's Martin Van Buren (Enslow, 2002) is similar, but the pages are designed to look like Web sites.
Kristen Oravec, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Strongsville, OH
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Library Binding: 64 pages
• Publisher: Compass Point Books (March 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 075650256X
• ISBN-13: 978-0756502560
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,174,376 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very informative first Martin Van Buren biography for kids, October 21, 2003

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Martin Van Buren (Profiles of the Presidents) (Library Binding)

When George Herbert Walker Bush defeated Michael Dukakis in the 1988 election, he was the first sitting vice president to be elected president since Martin Van Buren in 1836. Van Buren, the 8th president, was actually the third vice president to become president, but at that point it was actually being Secretary of State that was the secondary power position in the Federal government. One of the interesting things about going through these juvenile biographies of the presidents, in alphabetical rather than chronological order, is picking up on the changing tides of American politics in terms of where we look for our presidents. The last half of the 20th century has seen a lot of governors (Roosevelt, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, Bush II). What makes Van Buren interesting is that he was governor of New York, appointed secretary of state by Andrew Jackson, and then served as vice president in Jackson's second term.

Robin S. Doak presents Van Buren as a career politician, the first U.S. president born as an American citizen, and one of the founders of the Democratic party. Like most of the volumes in the Profiles of the Presidents series, this book provides an excellent introduction for younger readers to Van Buren's life and career. Richly illustrated with historic paintings, etchings and even early photographs, this book traces his early years, his involvement in politics, and the efforts he made to put Andrew Jackson in the White House. When Doak talks about Van Buren as Jackson's right-hand man it is something of an understatement. I do not know if young readers can really appreciate the in-fighting between Van Buren and Jackson's first vice president, John C. Calhoun, but Doak lays it all out, and shows how Van Buren ran what might be considered one of the first modern election campaigns with slogans, fundraisers, and rallies (so he is the one to blame for the way things are today, boys and girls).

Since he followed Old Hickory in the White House you would expect Van Buren's presidency to be rather anticlimactic, but Doak does an excellent job of explaining in simple terms how difficult his term in office ended up being. Young readers will appreciate that political parties change radically over time since Van Buren, a Democrat, insisted that it was not the government's role to help individuals. Doak only offers a brief paragraph listing some of the few successes Van Buren had as president. The final chapter covers his defeat and retirement after a campaign in which he became the only U.S. president who campaigned without a running mate (if there was a curse on vice presidents becoming president, then this is as good an explanation as any for why it came about). Van Buren was also the first former president to run for the White House again as an independent, running with on the Free-Soil Party in 1848, when his running mate was Charles Francis Adams, the son of his old political revival John Quincy Adams.

Consequently, young readers will find Martin Van Buren to be one of several distinguished career politicians with impressive resumes who were elected to the White House only to have a wretched time in office. The back of the volume includes a Glossary of terms from abolitionists to treaty, a look at Martin Van Buren's Life at a Glance in terms of both his personal and public lives, a time line that compares Van Buren's life with world events, additional sources on Van Buren, a list of the Presidents, and an index. As I indicated above, these Profiles of the Presidents volumes are pretty good, but this is one of the most informative ones I have read to date.