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Caroline Kennedy Talks About How Her Parents Shared Their Love of Reading

In an interview with Dotson Rader for Parade titled "Courage, Strength, and Dignity: A Conversation with Caroline Kennedy," Kennedy shares memories of her parents and discusses her new book Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy, to be published September 14. The book presents never-before-heard interviews with Jacqueline Kennedy following the death of President John F. Kennedy.

When asked if Jacqueline had encouraged Caroline and John to read, Caroline answers, "Yes. She made it fun, and she was always quoting things. When we’d play charades, everybody wanted Mummy on their team because she knew these quotes no one else knew. She would throw in Walter Raleigh, Yeats, and Bible verses, and she’d win every time! She mostly didn’t play, but when she did she was really a star." 

Did your parents read to you as a child? "My mom did when I was younger. I don’t remember my father reading to me, but I remember him telling me bedtime stories. I got to pick what was in them, and then he’d make them up. ... They were adventure stories. I had two ponies in them—one was black with a white star and one was white with a black star, and they were called White Star and Black Star. I could pick who rode the other one. Mostly I picked my cousin Stevie. [Now a business executive, Stephen Kennedy Smith Jr. is the son of Jean Kennedy Smith, the sister of John F. Kennedy, and the late Stephen Smith.] "

To read the entire interview, click here.

Learn MORE About America's First Families

To learn more about presidents and their families, check out the NCBLA's award-winning anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out!

Share the stories of the first presidential children to live in the White House in "High Spirits in the Lincoln White House" by Russell Freedman and learn more about White House life for the young Kennedy family in "The Kennedy White House" by Barbara Harrison. Read about the letters Theodore Roosevelt sent to his children in "Theodore Roosevelt’s Letters to His Children" by Leonard S. Marcus.

On the companion educational site OurWhiteHouse.org, you can read about each and every one of our nation's presidents and first ladies in the "Presidential Facts" and "First Lady Facts" pages. 

While visiting OurWhiteHouse.org, be sure to check out the vast array of other articles, resources, and activities that help young people connect with American history.

Our White House is a project of the National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance created to encourage young people to read more about America’s rich history and culture; to think more about America’s future; to talk more about our nation’s leadership; and to act on their own beliefs and convictions, ensuring this great democratic experiment will survive and thrive. Our White House is available in both paperback and hardcover from Candlewick Press.

Ask for Our White House at a library and bookstore near you!