My husband can name all 44 U.S. presidents (without cheating)—a feat that never ceases to amaze me, especially when he works his way through Hayes-Garfield-Arthur-Cleveland. The late 19th century stumps me every time. So I’m spending this President’s Day brushing up on the “Oval Office All-Stars” with an informative little book from Kingfisher, Basher History: U.S. Presidents.
Each president gets a two-page spread that includes a list of his three top achievements, a first-person description of his tenure (“I started out bright-eyed and bushy-tailed” says James K. Polk) and a colorful portrait. The illustrations are by English artist and designer Simon Basher, who gives these somber old guys something of a Hello Kitty look. Grover Cleveland is shown with a baby carriage and a halo (he was known as an honest guy and is the only president to have a baby born while he was in the White House) while John F. Kennedy is surrounded by tiny, colorful nuclear warheads.
Though the book is aimed at kids 10 and up, those of us on the far, far end of that age range will find many items of interest in Dan Green’s clever text. Who knew (besides my husband) that James Monroe is the only president to have a foreign capital named after him or that Calvin Coolidge is the only president to have a pet raccoon?
One of our favorite parts of the book is a teaser on the cover that reads “2012 Election Winner Inside!” For those of you who hadn’t heard (spoiler alert!) Barack Obama was re-elected and is pictured wearing a lei of Hawaiian flowers and clutching an economic chart. I’ll use those as mnemonic clues when I practice naming the presidents for our next family duel.
