The Horn Book Magazine
Gives
Our White House:
Looking In, Looking Out
a STAR Review!
The NCBLA's extraordinary publication
OUR WHITE HOUSE
receives its third starred review!
The Horn Book Magazine writes:
Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out
242 pp. Candlewick 9/08 isbn 978-0-7636-2067-7 $29.99 (Intermediate, Middle School)From Natalie Babbitt to Jon Scieszka and from
R. Gregory Christie to Steven Kellogg, 108 contemporary writers and artists use a variety of stories, poems, and historical records to take readers on a virtual tour of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Starting from the ground up with the construction of the President’s House and first residents John and Abigail Adams, these voices and images, roughly chronologically arranged, recognize those living and working inside and those observing from the outside. Unique bits and pieces (including Jefferson’s fascination with fossils and William Henry Harrison’s purchase of a national cow) create a browser’s dream as readers explore the nooks and crannies of American history. Other entries deal with somber topics such as death, war, and protest; the text of a few, such as Charles Dickens’s 1842 observations and FDR’s Four Freedoms, are not original to the book. Occasionally, connections to the White House are tenuous, and historical links may require an adult intermediary, a joyous job that opens up avenues of discussion on topics from politics to pets. Appended with biographical notes (of contemporary contributors only), an index, and a supporting website (http://www.ourwhiteouse.org), this handsome book concludes with a portrait of an empty chair in the Oval Office that signals the yet-to-be-written future. b.c.Parents, teachers, and librarians will find The Horn Book Magazine is an exemplary guide to the best in children's literature and will also find their website of great interest.At: www.hbook.com/
Also of interest is The Horn Book's Editor-in Chief, Roger Sutton's provocative blog READ ROGER at: http://www.hbook.com/blog/
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