Wackiest White House Pets [Hardcover]

Kathryn Gibbs Davis (Author), David A. Johnson (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up

In the tradition of the Caldecott-winning book SO YOU WANT TO BE PRESIDENT? Gibbs Davis and David A. Johnson present some of the White House's wackiest residents with hilarious fun.


White House pets come in every size, shape, and species. What are some of the pets that belong to the world's most powerful men and their families? John Quincy Adams' alligator liked to slither across the White House steps and was fond of chasing the guests! Thomas Jefferson took walks around the garden with his pet grizzly bears! James Buchannan received a herd of elephants from the King of Siam! William Howard Taft, who was fond of creamy fresh milk, kept a milk cow in the kitchen! With comical anecdotes and hilarious illustrations, here is a side-splitting look at American history.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4–Davis has chosen 15 presidents, briefly summarizing their terms of office and highlighting the unusual animals they kept, as well as the quirky behavior of both the creatures and their owners. While some of the pet facts are mildly entertaining, the book is replete with sweeping generalizations that are often unfounded or misleading. For example: "Jefferson was a true democrat.… [he] not only believed in equal rights for people, he believed in equal rights for animals, too." Jefferson as a slaveholder is ignored. President Buchanan "was too old and cautious to make hard decisions." The relationship drawn between age and decision- making is ridiculous. "World War I was a time of plots and spies under every bed." Will the intended audience recognize the hyperbole here or take it literally? A section presenting some information about the other presidents is included, but with the same difficulties in terms of generalizations. Johnson's watercolor illustrations are amusing, but cannot compensate for the problems with the text. For a humorous, eclectic, but more accurate peek at the presidency, stay with Judith St. George's So You Want to Be President? (Philomel, 2000).–Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 2-4, younger for reading aloud. John Quincy Adams briefly kept an alligator in the East Room during his presidency. Ronald Reagan had a First Fish, sent to him in the mail by a 10-year-old boy. Sixteen hundred Pennsylvania Avenue has witnessed 400 different pets, from Lincoln's goats to Coolidge's raccoon. This whimsical topic will appeal to young history buffs and provide entertaining insights into the family life of presidents. The art, rightly, goes for the humor, but neither the delicate, muted colors used, nor the stiff design, are especially engaging. Still, breezy, exclamation point-ridden, corny joke-filled tales about the likes of Dolley Madison's pet parrot, rescued when British troops set fire to the White House during the War of 1812, and Woodrow Wilson's tobacco-chewing ram can't help but amuse. The 43 presidents are listed in chronological order in the back, with nicknames, brief historical notations about term highlights, and lists of pets--most of which are dogs. A bibliography is appended. Karin Snelson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439443733
• ISBN-13: 978-0439443739
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 9.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #577,957 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gibbs Davis is an award-winning author of 24 books for children. She is a frequent visitor to schools and libraries across the country. In 2008 and 2009, Gibbs co-hosted the Reading Discovery Program with Former First Lady Barbara Bush at the presidential library. Mrs. Bush read WACKIEST WHITE HOUSE PETS (Parents' Choice Gold Award) to over 11,000 Texas school children during this televised event.

WACKIEST WHITE HOUSE PETS Teacher's Guide:www.scholastic.com/wackiestguide

AUTHOR INFO: www.gibbsdavis.com
AUTHOR VISIT:[e-mail]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars neat book, November 18, 2004

By 

Melissa Sack (georgia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wackiest White House Pets (Hardcover)

Did you know that the White House has been home to more that 400 pets? In the book Wackiest White House pets we meet some of the most unusual ones. John Quincy Adams had an alligator for 2 months, Thomas Jefferson had 2 grizzly bears! Of course the most popular pet of all has been a dog. The book features a list of presidents and all of the pets that each one had.



The book taught me a lot of each president. I never knew that the White house had been home to some of the wackiest pets!


I would recommed this book to others. It's very educational.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for kids 5 years+, June 4, 2009

By 

Kindergarten mom "kindergarten mom" (Chicago USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wackiest White House Pets (Hardcover)

I purchased this for my son who was asking about our new president's pet. Not only does the book share detailed stories about a crocodile, goats etc that lived in the white house, but it also serves as a great tool to teach him about our presidents. It even mentions George Washington's wooden teeth. It has good illustrations as well.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars We checked this out from the library, now we're buying it!, January 30, 2009

By 

Jennifer Hancock (Vienna, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wackiest White House Pets (Hardcover)

This book does a great job of presenting little nuggets of historical information while telling about the interesting pets that kids are interested in learning about. Short descriptions of the times are included for each man, but phrased in such a way that kids easily digest the info. The 15 presidents & their pets are presented in chronological order, which is a nice detail.