In forty-three poems, each President of the United States is acknowledged and celebrated for some distinct aspect of his life or presidency. Although Grover Cleveland is counted as two Presidents because of his nonconsecutive term, he only gets one poem here. Katz focuses on the more whimsical and lighthearted stories and characteristics of the nation's leaders and provides a few sentences accompanying each poem that give more information on the poem's topic. The simple cartoonish illustrations by Neubecker add to the humor and playfulness of the poems.
Nearly all of the poems contain some sort of rhyme and occasional approximate rhyme. Unusual word choices and figurative language also add to the impact of the poems. One poem particularly that describes Warren G. Harding's alliterative oratory employs impressive alliteration very effectively. Lincoln's poem, about his trademark stovepipe hat, is a concrete poem with the text set in the shape of the hat.
Many of the poems are narratives describing a particular event. As this style of poetry has been found to be popular with students, this feature will make the overall book more appealing to young readers. The variety of topics from Presidential nicknames, pets, and physical oddities to the more noteworthy achievements grants readers a glimpse into the lives of men who have played a fascinating part in American history. The poems are informative in presenting an overall picture of the lives of the Presidents but also underline the humanity of the larger-than-life characters, allowing readers to find common ground with these famous men.
The poems are presented in chronological order by President, and Katz has maintained a consistent tone throughout, informing, sparking interest, and amusing through vivid and engaging language and careful selection of topics. All the poems are new and original to this collection. Each poem and accompanying facts and illustration get their own page or spread. The table of contents provides access points by poem name as well as by President, and the book ends with a list of additional information about the Presidents including birth and death dates, a quotation, nickname, and one distinctive fact.
Featured poem:
Overdue Mail (Zachary Taylor, 1849-50)
The Whigs have nominated you
for president,
the letter sent
to Zachary Taylor said.
but the Whigs
mailed it
postage due.
Taylor didn't want to spend
ten cents,
so he refused that mail,
dispatched it
back to the dead
letter office.
There it sat.
After waiting
for quite some time,
the Whigs decided to invest
a dime
for a second letter,
postage paid.
That worked better.
Taylor happily agreed
and led the Whigs
to victory,
the only man in either camp
who won
the presidency
by a stamp.
Before or after reading the poem, I might discuss methods of long distance communication with students: phone calls, text messages, video chat, email, snail mail, etc. and how the avenues available today were not always accessible. As so much communication is done through more immediate electronic means, the idea of sending a letter and waiting for a response may be new or unusual to students.
This poem could easily fit into a lesson about the historical time period of Taylor's life or the method of mail delivery in 19th century America, but I would probably use it in a writing lesson as a jumping off point to have students write their own letters to the President, a fun way to learn about the form and parts of a letter, addressing an envelope, and most importantly, not forgetting the stamp.
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