Liberty Porter: First Daughter

Liberty Porter, First Daughter #1

by Julia DeVillers

Juvenile fiction for ages 8-12. Story of life in the White House for an African American girl whose father becomes president.

Genres: Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade, Childrens, Chapter Books, African American, Family, Fiction

166 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hated this book, but it gets a second star because I can see the appeal for some kids. There's no plot, no substance, no anything, but there are lots of factoids about presidents and the White House, and they are presented in a way that would be accessible to kids. Otherwise, the writing is terrible. I've never seen so many exclamation points. Also, Liberty and her parents are black, but we only know that because of the illustrations. It never comes up in text. It'd be nice if I didn't get the distinct vibe that she's drawn as a black character to score points and not to represent an actual black character. I like that she's just portrayed as a normal kid, that's all good, but at one point she describes herself, and she just says that she has brown hair. It's like the white author thinks that she can't write a black girl as "everygirl" if she mentions that the girl is black? Not so!

[Olivia Amann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was very good!!! The theme was also very intersting. I thought it was very easy putting myself in the character and it was also a lot of fun. I would like to be the presidents daughter like she was! In the book the White House had all sort of cool rooms like, a huge movie theatre,a choclate factory, and many more!!! Read it,it is very good!!!!!!!

[Havebooks Willread · Rating 3 out of 5]

Preread for my daughter. Interestingly (and not ideally) the main character is illustrated as Black though both author and illustrator are White. 🤷‍♀️ It's just a fun little story about a girl becoming the first daughter of the USA and sprinkled with fun stories about children and pets in the White House throughout history. I think she'll enjoy it.

[Kyla Forte]

This book is about when liberty porter was the first daughter to go to the white house. She was mad cause she had to leave her school to go t the white house. Liberty took her school to see the white house and they were asking a lot of question and then they started to hate that Liberty was going to live in the white house and have all this fun. Liberty told her mom the things she wanted in the white house house so she basically used everyone and she has this plan to acted like an adjent

[Watch Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF

I was looking forward to this book, but the presidential life of our eager beaver main character failed to capture or hold my interest. I really wonder if young kids would enjoy reading this....

I'm going to try to give this book another go eventually, the twins series by this author was one of my favorites because of its writing style. Another review after take-two. -Zoe

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

i like this book because its full of adventure in the white house.

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

his book was just as good as the first. I advise you to read the first one before you reaad this one.

[Savindi · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book its about a girls life it is much different than ours read it

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Trinika Abraham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liberty Porter, First Daughter by Julia DeVillers is a fun and exciting book for young readers!

Liberty Porter is DOPOTUS, or Daughter of the President of the United States. Code name, Ruffles? No. Wait, make that code name, Rottweiler.
As much as Liberty is determined to take HER oath of office very seriously, she is equally determined to explore her new home and leave her mark in national history as one of the most fun First Children.

Decidedly, Secret Assistant to the President, Liberty has made it her mission to represent for all of the children of America and make her father, President William Porter, proud. To do so, she is making her rounds throughout the White House to discover every hidden treasure and conquer every ill-witted challenge. Liberty’s “high-spirited” personality provides for a lesson in every uncomfortable run-in. Young readers will enjoy this introductory story of Liberty Porter, First Daughter by Julia DeVillers as well as the other titles in the series: New Girl in Town, and Cleared for Takeoff. Liberty Porter proves that there isn’t one right way to be patriotic; there are a bajillion!

I would recommend Liberty Porter, First Daughter and the entire Liberty Porter series to readers new to chapter books who enjoy adventure fiction.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liberty Porter First Daughter is the first in the series of 3 books. My boss picked it up for the After School Program and thought I would like to read it first before putting it in one of our classrooms.

It is a cute story and a quick read for an adult, though the author is quite excessive with the exclamation points. I have opened the book to a random page (the story is double spaced) and there are 9 exclamation points on one page alone! (Did you see what I did there? LOL) I open to another page and there are 6, so I'm not making this up.

It's a story about Liberty Porter who is 9. She likes to have fun but can find herself in mischief. Her father is elected president and it's Inauguration Day. It's the family's first day being in the White House.

There's lots of interesting facts that are written into the story that children can learn about.

I want to see what Liberty Porter does next, so I've ordered books two and three from my library. I will give this back to my boss tomorrow with a thumbs up for our After School children readers.

[Stephanie ((Strazzybooks)) · Rating 3 out of 5]

“‘I, Liberty Porter, promise to be an awesome First Daughter. I will represent the children of America, who are the future of our country!’”.

I think I would’ve loved this series when I was younger. Not much happens, but it was fun to see 9-year-old Liberty as the new first daughter. The writing was descriptive and engaging - the description of the rooms in the White House was fun. Liberty was a fun character whom you root for.

I am torn on Liberty being portrayed as Black in the illustrations, but it NEVER being mentioned in the books - especially when the girl shares presidential history throughout the book. It was written in 2009, so it wasn’t worth mentioning “first Black president/first family”? It's also worth noting that neither the author nor illustrator are Black.

Overall, this was a fun book that I think students will enjoy.

[Allison Turkish · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had really high expectations for this book based on the title and the idea of a First Daughter chapter book series. Unfortunately, I didn't feel the writing lived up to the hype. The book is just "meh" and I'm not going to bother reading any more of the series.

I think the author was trying too hard to be "cutsy" but then there were sentences like this:
p. 57
"There was a room for she had no idea! There was a bathroom! There were stairs!"

The book is useful for teaching kids a lot about US presidents' children and their pets and a few things about the White House.

[Ninckiminjaj · Rating 5 out of 5]

I HAVENT READ THIS IN 10 YEARS BUT I BET ITS STILL AMAZE THIS SHIT SHAPED ME omfg i think i just realized why i love red white and royal blue so much if anyone hasn't read that read it also don't question me giving goodreads reviews at 2 am when i have to go into work tomorrow its normal love u all and i love liberty porter the most

[Kristi Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book should be for elementary aged kids. Cute book about Liberty Porter, a girl whose father has become the President of the United States. Littered through this book are little known facts about previous presidents.

Sex: none
Violence: none
Language: none

[Bronwen Lacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this to 3rd grade, starting Inauguration week and I used Robert Sabuda's The White House: A Pop-up of Our Nation's Home so they could actually see the rooms that were mentioned. The kiddos loved it and we have moved onto book 2.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book with lots of interesting facts about the White House.

[Star Fire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read, liked the characters. The editing was a bit poor tho, grammatical errors all over the book.

[Jami Trost · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was good

idk
Shenzhen skeins hehehe haha I mean Jenna Jenna hehehe Jenna Shenzhen skeins sneak wanna wanna shaman wanna banana sksi

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't read this, but my 9 year old loved it.

[rowan ꩜ · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 10 yr old absolutely loved this series.

[nyla]

it didn't really show that many pictures but I still liked it!

[Katie Pozzuoli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This middle grade book was the perfect way to breeze through a holiday week. A spunky First Daughter with a big heart introduces young readers to the charms of the White House.

[Emily]

She's spunky and loves white house history. It's silly and unrealistic but informative in an entertaining way. It has the potential of sparking interest in US history.

[Arden Gergen · Rating 4 out of 5]

As 9-year old, Liberty Potter must be on her best behavior. Ever since her father got sworn into office, Liberty is not a normal girl, she is the first daughter. She has to be extra careful not to get into trouble. Liberty has a dog, a friend who's mom works for her dad, a dad who is the president of the United States of America, and the White House to explore. How many adventures could she go on?

[Lisa W. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liberty Porter, 9-year-old Af-Amer daughter of the newly sworn in President, explores the White House with a friend and and Secret Service agent on Inuguration Day. Good for likes of Junie B, Amber Brown, Judy Moody.

School Library Journal™ - 10-01-2009
Gr 2-4-It's nine-year-old Liberty Porter's first official day at the White House. Her dad is being inaugurated as President of the United States and she is beyond excited. She wants to be the best First Daughter ever. It doesn't take long, however, before she gets in trouble with the chief of staff as she blurts out answers to questions at a press conference and disguises herself as a tour guide. Because her intentions are good-she wants to help others and make the White House a welcoming place for everyone-she is forgiven by her parents and embraced in a "family hug." Sometimes a little over-the-top in its effort to be cute and kidlike, the book does hit the mark for how a youngster might approach some of the overwhelming elements of living in the White House. Though sometimes misguided, Liberty is an engaging character whose heart is in the right place. She also knows a lot of interesting presidential facts, which she spouts throughout the book. Classy illustrations depict the child, her parents, and pets. With interest high because of the Obama First Daughters, this chapter book will appeal to many children, including reluctant readers.-Tina Martin, Arlington Heights Memorial Library, IL Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.
Copyright School Library Journal™ - 2009. Used with permission.

[Awesomegirl12(ara1) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book that I read was liberty Porter First Daughter. It was a good book because the author was trying to tell you what it felt like to be new at something, that was a really good thing to do.The genre of this book is fiction because alot of it could really happen in real life. One of my weakness is that I should have went back in the book and reread if I did not understand it and that was not smart of me. This book takes place In Washington D.C and in the White House those are the two places where this story took place at it actually felt like you were in the white house with Liberty.

The three main characters in the story was Henry, liberty and the presidant(dad). I know my mom is like a president because she makes the rules around here and she makes it a fun place to and also are princible to it's like he rules the school which is like the white house and we are the hard working students ha ha ha! the auther really describes the characters like she has brown hair he looks this she looks that he did a good job for that to. I do not dislike anything that the auther did in this book because he made it funny and it kanda taught you lesson for not doing somethings. His words were really good he did not use slang talk or anything like that. Here is a short text from the book that I know everyone would want to here.Liberty stoped in her tracks.Chocolate Shop?CHOCOLATE SHOP?!! "nobody ever told me about a chocolate shop said Liberty!!!!!And that was all about the book Liberty Porter first daughter.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 "If your father is about to become president of the United States, there are a few things you might want to know. 1. Inauguration Day is the day a new president starts the job. 2. Riding in the backward seat of the limo to Inauguration Day seems really cool. But it actually can make you kind of sick to your stomach. 3. And then if you ask your dad to switch seats because you are feeling sick, don't forget that you put something on the seat next to you: a congratulations card that you decorated in glitter glue. And maybe the glitter glue hadn't exactly dried yet. And your dad sits on it." Thus begins this series featuring an African-American presidential family.10 year old Liberty Porter is determined to be an amazing first daughter. But she has to contend with a very strict chief of staff (Miss Crum), a secret service code name that she detests (Ruffles), and other kids thinking she is spoiled. As Liberty moves into the White House she has many adventures where she gets into minor trouble, though she has the best intentions. Readers see a very loving family and a very outgoing Liberty Porter. With Liberty's various hijinks and knowing who currently in office, this should be a hit series with children.

[KayLee J.]

I recently finished Liberty Porter by Julia DeVillers. This book starts with Liberty Porter moving into the Whitehouse. Her dad was just elected president and now she wants to make her move in the White House. The tone of this book was upbeat and happy, making me feel that way too. But of course every story has a problem and in this case it was Liberty's problem, was a problem named Miss Crum. Miss Crum, the President's chief of staff seemed to always make sure Liberty never did anything awesome in the White House (in Liberty's opinion). So when Liberty invites a group of kids touring her new home to her new bedroom things get a little bit crazy. Especially after Miss Crum walks in... At that very moment I felt suspense rising, making me excited to flip the page and read what happened. That's what I really enjoy in books is getting to sort of experience in my mind what the reader is feeling. I can also connect with Liberty because everyone wants to do something fun once in a while, but can be held back by teachers,parents, or other adults. I really enjoyed this book and can not wait to read the sequel. It is a Good Read!

[Anna•Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had forgotten about this book and was sitting in history class when I remembered it. I forgot the plot really but I remember loving this book!!! I must’ve donated it because I can’t find it on my book shelf but I would love to read it again!