Judith St. George writes an informational text about past presidents. This Caldecott-winning book is stock full of funny pictures and facts about all sorts of presidents. Geared toward students in grades 3-5, So You Want to Be President? would be a great addition to a social studies or history class. Did you know that all kinds of animals were housed in the White House? Did you know the White House has its own bowling alley? What about the kids that kept their pets in their bedrooms? Were the past presidents penny pinchers or big spenders? How many Jameses were presidents? Johns? This book has answers to those questions and more!
Personal Impressions
I really loved this book because it had excellent pictures and presented the past presidents in ways that not everyone knows. I used this book for the story time project I did. The students loved it. The facts were accurate and funny. I felt like I learned a lot about the White House and the past presidents. I think the kids participating in my story time really enjoyed it as well.
Professional Review
From School Library Journal (2000):
St. George, Judith. So You Want to Be President. illus. by David Small. Philomel.
Everyone should be familiar with this 2001 Caldecott Medalist, also a strong informational book for its stimulating presentation of "trivia" about the U.S. presidency that invites reflection. Its six-item bibliography of generally adult titles published from 1963 to 1986 might describe St. George's sources (we don't actually know), but certainly does not give reflective readers much to go on.
Library Uses
I personally used this book in an elementary library with 4th and 5th grade students during a story time activity. One of the things we did was write paragraphs and draw pictures of what we would do if we could be president for a day. This type of writing activity can be given to the reading or language arts teacher. 4th graders especially need to practice writing, as they take their first state assessment in writing that year. I think writing in the library is a great idea, giving students practice outside of the normal classroom setting and tying in the nonfiction/informational genres. The kids were engaged in the activity pretty much the whole time. Other library uses might be to introduce expository text to students or reading the story as a means of getting the kids interested in learning more about politics. It can be used as a supplemental lesson on fact and opinion or even on primary and secondary sources, talking about how the book is a secondary source. I can think of a ton of uses this book would have in both classroom and library.
References
Lindsay, N. (2001). A librarian looks at how even great books fall short. Retrieved: www.schoollibraryjournal.com
St. George, J. (2000). So you want to be president. New York, NY: Philomel.
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