A good day to learn about our presidents
Monday, February 19, 2007 6:33 AM PST
By Washington Post
Printable version
E-mail this articleToday is Presidents' Day. Some people think it's a good time to buy a mattress or other items on sale. KidsPost thinks it's a good time to read about our presidents. These two books could keep you busy all day.
"Don't Know Much About the Presidents" by Kenneth C. Davis. Funny drawings by Pedro Martin make the little stories jump off the pages. Ages 6 and older.
What we learned:
-- By age 15, Harry Truman had read every book in the public library in Independence, Mo.
-- Grover Cleveland answered his own phone at the White House.
-- Rutherford B. Hayes was born in both Delaware and Ohio (the town of Delaware, Ohio, that is).
-- Andrew Jackson fought many duels and had two bullets lodged in his body.
-- Thomas Jefferson kept caged grizzly bears at the White House.
-- Franklin Roosevelt was superstitious and refused to sit at a table of 13 people.
"Presidents of the United States," a Time for Kids book, with Lisa deMauro. This new book, for ages 8 and older, also has short descriptions of the presidency, the branches of government and the role of the first lady.
What we learned:
-- Abraham Lincoln was one of nine presidents who never attended college. (Truman was another.)
-- At age 18, George H.W. Bush became the youngest Navy pilot in World War II.
-- George Washington's 1796 farewell address to the nation is still read in Congress each year.
-- Theodore Roosevelt wrote more than 40 books.
-- Jimmy Carter grew up on a Georgia peanut farm.
-- When the White House was crowded with guests in 1860, James Buchanan slept in the hall.
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