What Presidents Are Made Of [Hardcover]

Hanoch Piven (Author)

Book Description

PRESIDENTS are made of BIG EATERS...and so much more!

You get a portrait of former U. S. president Jimmy Carter, who builds houses for the homeless.

See the presidents as never before -- made out of objects! Using everything from blue jeans to boxing gloves, Hanoch Piven "builds" the characters of our leaders. And with revealing anecdotes to go along with Piven's creations, you'll never forget what makes up George (Washington), George (Bush), or anyone else in between.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-6–Beginning with its wordplay title, this book exhibits Piven's flair for creativity and whimsy. Focusing on 17 U.S. presidents, each single- or double-page entry begins with the same phrase ("Presidents are made of…"), includes an interesting anecdote showing the human side of that individual, and presents a collage caricature made of inventive bits of realia that extend the metaphors suggested in the text. For example, George Washington is "…made of good deeds." The narrative recounts how he helped extinguish a neighborhood fire at age 67. His "portrait" has eyes made of small resin-coated American flags that reflect enough light to make them twinkle. Thomas Jefferson is made of "comfortable shoes"; Andrew Jackson, "hot tempers"; Theodore Roosevelt, "endless energy"; and Bill Clinton, "enthusiasm." The last spread has official portraits of all the presidents, their birth and death dates, and their years in office. In the introduction, readers are invited to compare the "object portraits" with the realistic images and to fashion collages of their own. Children will be fascinated by the imaginative, humorous artwork and will appreciate the anecdotes that allow them to see the "stuff" that presidents are made of. This book should be particularly popular at election time, but will be enjoyed any time, singly or in groups.–Lynda Ritterman, Atco Elementary School, Waterford, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 2-4. In this picture book for older children, Piven presents the characters and interests of 17 U.S. presidents in text and collage portraits that make use of small toys and objects. Hot-tempered Andrew Jackson has bullets for eyes, a boxing glove nose, and a mouth represented by a miniature rifle; overweight William Howard Taft holds a rubber duck as he sits, clothed, in the White House bathtub; Ronald Regan, pictured with Bonzo, has facial features made from jellybeans. The multimedia illustrations, paint on plaster-covered wood with three-dimensional objects affixed, emphasize humor (Richard Nixon's face is a tape recorder), and brief captions explain details in the art; George W. Bush, for example, is portrayed with a hotdog nose and baseball mouth because he once owned the Texas Rangers. With the exception of the depictions of Grant and Lincoln, the portraits appear in chronological order; an appended time line shows all the presidents, noting life spans and years in office. This is sure to be in demand during the upcoming election season; it will also make a good read-aloud. Kay Weisman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (July 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689868804
• ISBN-13: 978-0689868801
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #780,724 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The colorful and witty illustrations of Israeli illustrator Hanoch Piven have appeared throughout the last 18 years on both sides of the Atlantic: in most major American magazines and newspapers such as Time, Newsweek, Rolling Stone and in many European publications from The London Times to the Swiss Die WeltWoche

Piven's work is in the permanent collection of The Prints and Photographs Division of The Library of Congress in Washington DC where he presented his award-winning book: "What Presidents Are Made of". Time Magazine chose "What Presidents Are Made of" as one of the best 10 children books of 2004.

Piven has published 6 other children books in the USA, most recently "My Best Friend is as Sharp as a Pencil" published by Random House's imprint Schwartz and Wade in March 2010.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You will be surprised at what these president are made of, December 2, 2005

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: What Presidents Are Made Of (Hardcover)

There are two things that interesting about "What President Are Made Of." The first is that Hanoch Piven puts together portraits of the presidents using ordinary objects, from blue jeans to jelly beans. Put together a peanut, a little ladder and hearts cut out of miniature American flags and you have the nose, mouth and eyes of President Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who know builds houses for the homeless. So the idea is that the objects are representative of the individual president.

The other interesting thing is which presidents Piven chooses to depict because while you might know to associate Bonzo the chimp and jelly beans with Ronald Reagan, who is going to come up with anything equally iconic for the likes of Millard Fillmore? But overall Piven sticks to the obvious choices, although we do get William Howard Taft and Calvin Coolidge instead of Woodrow Wilson and Lyndon Johnson (the latter being the only president since JFK who is omitted).

Actually, Piven is making a concerted effort to get beyond what kids will find in the history books. We all know that George Washington was the first president, that Abraham Lincoln ended slavery, and that Franklin D. Roosevelt led the U.S. during World War II. But Piven wants to know what the presidents were like: "Did they make jokes? Did they play with their children?" The results are moments that usualy do not make it into the history books, so we see Washington fighting fires, Lincoln making fun of his looks, and FDR being a picky eater (which is something kids should be able to relate to).

I can see "What Presidents Are Made Of" being useful to teachers of American history even if we are talking about those teaching high school students. You can show one of these portraits and have students figure out why Piven used the objects that he used. Usually the explanations are right there, as with the head of Richard Nixon being made of a tape recorder and George W. Bush as the former owner of the Texas Rangers so that his nose is a hot dog, his eyebrows a hot dog bun, and his mouth a baseball. But the pictures are a lot bigger than the text so that you can show them to the class and see how much the cherubs know about the presidents.

Beyond that the principle applied by Piven here to the presidents can be expanded to other people, famous and otherwise. So I can see class projects where students come up with similar collages for other presidents and famous people, or even for themselves. The idea of an iconic portrait made from objects could be used in a lot of interesting ways (and can make decidedly different Christmas presents for the kids to send Grandma and Grandpa).

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Object Lessons, December 12, 2004

By 

E. S. Will "a new leaf" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: What Presidents Are Made Of (Hardcover)

[This review was first published in the "Ephrata (Pa.) Review."]

In this fun book, the creator has assembled whimsical collages portraying 17 presidents-using objects appropriate to each president's personality, involvements or quirks.

Nixon's portrait is assembled from a tape recorder; the cassette spools become his eyes, the buttons his teeth, the curly cord his hair. (Because Nixon was terrible with machines, he arranged it so that his office tape recorder turned on automatically; he unwittingly recorded his and his staff's misdeeds.)

Jimmy Carter's portrait features, among other things, peanuts (his nose), a mini-ladder (his mouth) and mini-tools, highlighting his career as a peanut farmer and his work with Habitat for Humanity.

In an introduction, Piven encourages readers, "to try your own `object portraits' of the presidents." He certainly provides ample inspiration.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars politically charged - inappropriate, January 12, 2012

By 

akinoame - See all my reviews

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This review is from: What Presidents Are Made Of (Hardcover)

I love pictures by Hanoch Piven, but this book is a shame! He made a good start, giving short funny stories from presidents' lives. Nice to have a little human touch. But... then... suddenly Nixon turns out as a completely evil guy! And Carter is an angel!
Shame on you, Hanoch Piven. Please stay with your pictures. And when you write something for little children, please keep your political biases to yourself... Just a shame!!

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