Hail to the Chief

by Don Robb

Although we know the president of the United States as the person who runs the government of our nation, do we know what the responsibilities of the president actually are? And, do we understand what effect his actions have? HAIL TO THE THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY investigates the office of the presidency and its power. It details how this job was inaugurated, how it has changed over time, and why the person in this position is considered one of the most important and powerful leaders in the world. Examples of presidential actions and orders include every president from George Washington to Bill Clinton. Unique because of its thematic exploration of the presidency, rather than the people who have held the job, HAIL TO THE CHIEF is a significant and fascinating introduction to the mechanics of the American government.

Alan Witschonke's bold portraits and sweeping depictions of the circumstances that have made the American presidency a notable and compelling subject for the entire world will capture the interest of young readers. HAIL TO THE CHIEF brings vividly into focus all the exciting details of the office of the President of the United States.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Caycee Hatchette]

Personal Reaction- I liked this book. What I really liked was the way the pages were broken up into easier to understand topics about the residency and government.

Read aloud- If I were to read this aloud to my class, I would probably break the book up into different days. The book is split into categories like: leaders in war, leaders in hard times, enforcing the laws, expanding the country, etc. I would take the book day by day and read it aloud to the class so it doesn’t seem overwhelming all at once.

Independent Reading- I think that this book would mostly by enjoyed by second graders because some of the categories in the book are a little confusing. The pages aren’t filled with a ton of words but the words included are appropriately challenging. The illustrations do a good job of enhancing the learning experience as well. They elaborate and play off of what the words and text are saying and make the words come to life.

Literary Elements- The pages have an overall explanation and summary of the title of each page and then each page also has supplementary facts about the category. At the back of the book, the author also included a list of all of the presidents and the time I which they were in power.

[Kimberly]

Personal Reaction: I liked this book and the way they categorized the presidents was really interesting and I learned a lot from reading this book.

Purposes: Sections of this book could be read aloud to a class of any age, but I think that upper elementary would understand it better. This book could also be read independently by 4-6th graders. It is a picture book, but the amount of text and information presented may be hard for younger grades. I think this would be really great to use for a President study in a social studies unit. There are some great nonfiction conventions in this unit such as tables and dates that correspond to pictures. It also has a list of all of the presidents, the years they served, their party, etc. On the last page it has information on other books that students could use for presidential information and websites they could use.

[Shelli]

This non-fiction picture book, like so many others, will most likely not find its way to the right reader; one that will appreciate or benefit from it. Offering information about some of the major accomplishments and characteristics of some of our greatest leaders this is a nice refresher if your students have a bit of background knowledge on presidential history. Otherwise they are points that will not be understood or forget by the end of the book. Since the age group that would most benefit from this quick read is high school, they will typically not be seeking material from small picture books; which is sad because so much can be learned from them if given the chance.

[Meredith Bush]

The book talks about the presidential powers, the beginning of the presidential office, presidents in war and hard times, how they are elected and what they do in office. This book would be good to use as a resource in the classroom about government and what a president is. As well as how it has changed over time. This book would be used with slightly older grades.

[Edward Sullivan]

An updated version has been released for 2010.

[Michelle Gray]

I enjoyed the realistic illustrations and the way the information was presented.

[Joelle]

3.5 Informative book, but not one I am likely to read aloud to a class. This would work better as reference material for social studies or language arts activities.

[Linda]

Seemed choppy. Illustrations didn't match the text.