With Independence Day on the horizon, I chose U.S. Presidents as this week’s theme for our summer learning program.
Our local library has quite a collection of the series of biographies by David A. Adler entitled A Picture Book of…. We checked out a number of them, including titles on George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Dwight D. Eisenhower. While these are a very easy read for my nine-year-old, the author does a good job of weaving an interesting storyline and including basic facts about the person.
For longer books, I thoroughly enjoy the Childhood of Famous Americans series. Both my husband and I remember reading these when we were children; whenever I spot them at used bookstores, I buy them to add to our collection.
I haven’t read every book in either of the series above, so I can’t endorse each individual one, but have found the ones I read to be engaging and age-appropriate.
I typically allow my children to choose which presidents they would like to read about; however, this time I required that one day be spent reading about Ronald Reagan. While he certainly wasn’t the perfect president, he was a decisive leader, an inspiring communicator and was able to convey his heartfelt love for our country in a way that made me (in my teenage years at the time) proud to be an American.
Do you have a favorite series of biographies? Are there any Presidents or First Ladies whose lives have inspired you? Please share!
photo courtesy morgue file
I love this. YOur theme is perfect and my oldest would jump on this. Thanks for the idea!
Sounds like a fun week!! We love all things presidential at our house ~ and really have fun around President's Day! We have a handful of presidential biographies but none that belong to a particular series since most have come from used book sales. Ronald Reagan is definitely one of our favorite presidents, and Abe Lincoln, George W. Bush, and George Washington join him at the top of the list. We haven't studied many First Ladies yet, but there are several that inspire me personally! Great topic! Have a wonderful Independence Day!
I've always been fascinated by Thomas Jefferson: how much he did, and accomplished, both politically, scientifically, etc. And, following on the above comment, the book "Secret Lives of the First Ladies" by Cormac O'Brien is a really interesting book with mini-biographies of the First Ladies from Martha Washington through Laura Bush.
What a wonderful idea
Great idea! There are so many presidents that I would love to read about. I forget which one it was that was a congressman or senator before president and then went back to that position after office. I think John Adams? I'd love to read more about him.