When Hillary was young, she wanted to be an astronaut, to soar as high as the stars above. She kept reaching up and up as she grew. There were people who told her no. But she didn't listen to them. There were people who didn't think she could do it. But she believed in herself. And Hillary has been making history ever since. This is the inspiring story of a girl with dreams as big as the open sky.
As a young girl, Hillary Rodham dreamed of being an astronaut. Although life would ultimately take her down a different path, her dreams served her well later in life. In Hillary Rodham Clinton: Dreams Taking Flight, author Kathleen Krull and illustrator Amy June Bates share the story of a little girl who followed her dreams and became an inspiration to millions of women of all ages.
Beautiful watercolor art and inspiring quotations accompany Krull’s writing. We follow Hillary through her early education all the way to law school, from her time as First Lady of Arkansas to the First Lady of the United States, all the way to her historic run for the 2008 Democratic Presidential nomination. Hillary faced many obstacles along the way, but her hard work and determination to succeed are an incredible example to young girls with big dreams.
This book would be a good choice for classroom or home school use. In addition to the main story, Kathleen Krull has included five pages of more detailed information about the events covered in the book. This supplemental material is very interesting and will deepen an older child’s understanding of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s life and career.
This was a gift from a dear friend who knows what a strong supporter of Hillary I am. It was adorable, inspiring, and I would recommend to any mother (or father) of a daughter (or son!) about doing what you believe and not taking no for an answer. I'll treasure it.
Hillary Rodham Clinton grew up during a time that girls weren't allowed to do everything that boys were. After writing to the national space agency to volunteer she found out that girls could not be astronauts. Undeterred and with the never ending support of her parents, she continued to go after her dreams. Hillary was a star student and a natural leader. When running for vice president of her class a boy said she was "really stupid if she thought a girl could be elected president." It seems that Hillary kept these words in mind as she moved forward in life. Through college and law school, she ignored anyone who thought girls couldn't accomplish what boys could. When her husband was elected presidents, she was a new kind of first lady, one tried to get a lot done. Upon the completion of her husband's presidency, Hillary realized she wanted to make a difference in the world. So she ran for senator and won. Eventually she in the primary for the democratic candidate for president. As we all know how the story goes, she did not win. However along the way she taught little girls and big girls everywhere that you can accomplish your goals if you never give up. This book tells the story of a girl who has many dreams, but has to work twice as hard to accomplish them because she is a girl. No matter what your political beliefs one cannot argue that Hillary Rodham Clinton is a role model to girls everywhere on how to accomplish your goals. On each page of this book there are motivational quotes. One interesting note, is that her husband is never mentioned by name instead the story focuses solely on Hillary and her accomplishments.
It's interesting to read this older (recently revised) title next to the new picture book biography, Hillary, from Winter & Colon. This book feels more appropriate for slightly younger readers, but the recommended age level for both books starts at 5 years. The historical information about HRC's life included at the back of this book is a notable inclusion; there's a wealth of information packed into only a few short pages, which allowed me to better appreciate the text!
The illustrations are lovely and compliment the picture book biography well- doing a bang-up job of capturing Rodham Clinton herself. And Krull's story is soft and powerful at the same time with a bit about her life chronologically while pulling out a brief quote or inspiration to use cursive writing to highlight.
A powerful girl-inspired story about being what you believe yourself to be and not selling out to anyone with a nod to how we evaluate female candidates by their looks, not by their politics.
Theme(s): Bravery, Courage, Dreams, Flight, History
Opening Line/Sentence: “Once there was a girl who wanted to fly.”
Brief Book Summary: This is a picture book about the life of Hillary Rodham Clinton. It is presented very nicely and without just listing fact after fact. It’s starts off telling about a girl who wanted to be in space, and then really does “fly” high above the world because she proceeded to always follow her dreams.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: (Booklist) “Picture-book biographies of presidential candidates are something of a trend these days (including two recent biographies of Barack Obama and one of John McCain by his daughter). Hillary Clinton may be out of this year’s race, but she was an important part of it, and this offers an appealing portrait of a person who pursued her goals with a single-mindedness others lack. Krull’s text has a lofty tone befitting the book’s subtitle, while Bates’ pictures, with a stylish retro look, keep the focus on Clinton, capturing her in all her incarnations. Readers follow along as Hillary develops from a young girl who writes NASA that she wants to be an astronaut (NASA writes back that she can’t), to a teen inspired by an introduction to Martin Luther King Jr., to a woman involved in both career and causes. Bolstering the text is an effective five-page author’s note that divides the book by spreads and provides supplemental information. With inspiring messages sweeping across the pages (“Take the lead role in your own life”), this book champions both Clinton and hard work.”
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: (School Library Journal) “Kindergarten-Grade 4—Krull incorporates imagery of flight throughout this adulatory overview of Clinton's life. From her thwarted childhood dreams of becoming an astronaut to her decision to sail through the clouds in a presidential bid, Clinton overcame numerous obstacles in the way of advancement for women. Hand-lettered inspirational quotations appear on each spread. Attractive watercolor, gouache, and pencil illustrations depict her disappointments and achievements. Visual elements such as balloons, birds, and planets reinforce the airborne theme. Extensive endnotes provide background about the scenes depicted. Independent readers might consult these pages for a more complete biography that ends with a list of all the women who have run for president plus related titles. Ardent Clinton supporters may relish this homage, but others probably would appreciate a more down-to-earth biography.”
Response to Two Professional Reviews: I pretty much agree with the professional reviews in that this book though it is different from a typical picture book biography it works well. The artwork although not bolstered with details gives a kind of airy, wispy quality that goes along with the theme of flight throughout the story. I also like the end notes with lots of supplemental information that is useful but would have detracted from the story that Krull wrote.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: I think the plot is accessible and easy for readers to follow. It starts out with her as a little girl and lets us know the event that gave her leverage to pursue her dreams even though there would be many obstacles along the way. Along with the story there are didactic quotes on each page that are encouraging and heartfelt, these would be good to pull out and discuss what each one means to each student. The character of Hillary is developed over the course of her life throughout the story and therefore would be a great character to do a story map on, and discuss problem and solution.
Consideration of Instructional Application: I don’t know if I would use this story in the classroom. I feel like young boys would tune it out and not want to listen to a story about a girl, and while it is an important story I feel like you would have to go above and beyond to keep the students interested. I think this would be a great book to read at a girl scout meeting and encourage young girls, because the themes and lessons presented are essential to young girls and future women.
We have a lot of picture books around the house from the library, many of them specifically to honor Women's History Month. My wife is voting Hillary (I'm feeling the Bern, as they say, though compared to the Evil Clown Car Opposition, I will probably be voting Hillary, too, if necessary, in spite of what Green Party rep Jill Stein says), and the ten year old girl L is all about the Hillary news. Friendly competition, shall we say, among lefties? But my view is that she is kinda a right of center concessionalist, a Hawk Democrat with not much to show for years of politicking
This book is mean to inspire girls to Be All You Can Be, but it is pretty vanilla, kinda lame, in my opinion. I like the cover, H as befreckled girl from Park Ridge, Illnois. You learn almost nothing concrete about her except that in the face of male (ahem) opposition to her running for class president to succeeding in law school or becoming POTUS, she has succeeded.
The book is filled with irritating platitudes throughout, which is the intended take-away from the book: * Even if you make a mistake, never be afraid to show your intelligence. *Find heroes to lift you. (she did shake the actual hand of Martin Luther King) *When borders surround you, try to break through. *You don't have time for fear. *When something make you fall, rise up again.
And so on!
The art after the cover is just okay, watercolors.
The best part of the book which could have bee integrated into the main text is a five page appendix with actual somewhat detailed history. I knew about her 1969 graduation speech critical of Nixon, her law review articles on child welfare, her Children's Defense Fund work, all admirable and not something I mean to dismiss in any way.
What a great book! It is a Biography about Hillary Rodham Clinton but it also is a great source or inspirational quotes about working hard and not giving up. The book is filled with lovely illustrations by Amy June Bates that are inviting and clearly readable with the text. The words written by Kathleen Krull work smoothly together to tell the story of a person who did not let limitations in society from stop her reaching her dreams. This text is a great example of a strong female character which is very important to me. Each quote in the story could be something posted in my classroom.
"Stand up for yourself, and keep your balance." "Even if you make a mistake, never be afraid to show your intelligence." "Find Heroes to lift you up." “When boarders surround you, try to break through."
All of these would be something I would have my students discuss, analyze and think about how they could apply to their own lives. This book is a part of my Resiliency text set because not matter what your political affiliation it cannot be denied that Hilary Clinton has overcome many difficulties and hardships in her life and career. She is an example of a strong girl who became a strong woman through hard work, determination.
The back of the book is just as interesting with its facts about Hillary. It speaks about how as a child she was bullied but stuck up for herself. It discusses all her educational hard work and how she would have been a doctor if the sight of blood did not make her sick. I think that my students would enjoy this book and it would be a great addition to my library so I am recommending it to my school next year.
Originally published in 2008, then revised in 2015, Hillary Rodham Clinton: Dreams Taking Flight, is a picture book biography. The book extends over Clinton’s whole life, starting when she was a child, ending with her as Secretary of State.
Strengths: -Good illustrations -Great message about gender equality -The back of the book contains longer explanations about each page from the picture book portion.
Weaknesses: -At only 32 pages, the picture book doesn’t go into depth on any one event. -The book contains a lot of platitudes and is a little bland.
I thought this book was pretty cute. It’s a general overview of Hillary Clinton’s life, from childhood to Secretary of State. The illustrations were nice and the overall message is positive, focusing on the theme of gender equality and women’s rights. I can envision, however, Clinton non-supporters viewing this book as propaganda (though that may be the case for any children’s biography of a living politician!) I thought the book was a little bland, though. Most pages contain narrative text and also a platitude. I wondered if these were maybe quotes from Clinton speeches, but after doing some Googling it doesn’t seem like they are. They remind me of those quotes people post on Pinterest vision-boards - somewhat inane and insipid. That being said, it wouldn’t be a bad book to use on a lesson about the presidential election.
In this story we learn of a young girl who has the dream of becoming an astronaut in a time when certain opportunities were not available to women. Young Hillary continues to dream helping to define the roles of women in government. She shakes hands with Martin Luther King Jr., becomes a lawyer where her goal is to help neglected children, serves as First Lady, serves as a senator, and is chosen to be secretary of state. I feel the most important role in this story is her role as a mother. When she held her baby she began to whisper inspirational messages of encouragement to inspire her daughter as she grew. This biography could be used as a wonderful read a loud tool for k-2 students to discuss current events. It could also be used to talk about dreams students have for their futures. This was a WOW book for me because I love the messages of encouragement contained on each page. "You can be anything you want-even an astronaut." "Take the lead role in your own life." I selected this book because it reminds me of the times I have spent with my own children sharing messages of encouragement. I also chose this book for the children who tell me, "I can't." I want them to know, "Take a deep breath, look ahead, and keep trying to fly."
There's a whole slew of picture books focusing on presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton that have just come out. It is incredible to read about all her accomplishments- and what else she has yet to accomplish.
Michelle Markel's Hillary Rodham Clinton: Some Girls Are Born to Lead seems to be the most kid-friendly (with LeUyen Pham's signature illustrations) with an invitation for girls to pave their own way despite obstacles. I appreciate all the details Pham includes and the explanations of who the people are who she drew.
Skewing to a slightly older audience- and maybe adults will pick this up more- is Jonah Winter's Hillary. Of the three picture books, this one feels more like an agenda book even though it does the same of sharing her story and just what her future might hold and what that might mean.
A balance of the two picture books I already mentioned is Kathleen Krull's Hillary Rodham Clinton: Dreams Taking Flight. Alongside the facts are inspiring quotations. What I appreciated about his one was the detailed notes at the end of the book, which I actually enjoyed more than the story text!
This children's book tells the story of Hilary Rodham Clinton's rise to power in American politics. As a young child, Hilary always wanted to be an astronaut, but it was only 1961 and women still couldn't take certain jobs. Throughout her school years she was a great debater and “In high school she was elected vice president of her junior class. But when she ran for president, she lost. One of the boys she ran against said she was ‘really stupid if she thought a girl could be elected president.'" Despite the sexism Hilary faced beyond high school into law school and even in the public eye, Hilary believes, “Sooner or later, we will have a woman president, and it will be because of every girl who has wanted to fly.” For any girl who was told they couldn't be something, this book tells the exact opposite: you can be anything you want to be.
Children's books about HRC are powerful. Some of her greatest work as a politician, and the consistent heart of her mission, has always been guarding and advocating for the interests of children. Kids deserve to hear about politicians who have their interests at heart. Girls deserve to hear about real-life female politicians with skin "like a rhinoceros" succeeding in a male-dominated field.
Krull's book is beautifully illustrated, and alongside each page's text, there are small encouragements integrated into the pictures. "You don't have time for fear." "Think of the world as bigger than yourself, and carry on." "Take the lead role in your own life."
I'm 23, and even as an adult I found this book encouraging and inspiring. I'll definitely be using it as a gift for friends' kids, especially daughters, in the future.
Even for those that are not big fans of Hillary Clinton, I think this book would still be interesting. It gives a short overview of her life. I believe that it will be a great book for a teacher to have in their classroom library, because it talks about the road Hillary takes to run for president. Even if she does not win it still has a great message behind it. My favorite part was the beautiful pictures throughout the book and the little notes of motivation you can see. In the end of the book if there was a page you wanted to know more about, you can go back here and it goes into more detail.
Picture book biographies struggle to find a balance between being readable and being informative. Krull chose the story format meaning this works as a readaloud. She included 5 solid pages of text notes at the close that further explain each set of pages from the book. I'm torn, because while this is necessary and informative, I know almost no one will read it. I skimmed part of it. But, it's there. Krull did a good job, without every preaching, about the utter nonsense sexism Hillary Clinton's spent her life dealing with.
I enjoyed the way this book portrayed the idea of chasing your dreams. One of the reasons this stood out to me was because it really showed the many challenges that may step in someones way to achieving their goal, but should never stop them from going after it. Another thing about this book is that it had quotes on each page summarizing what its lesson is. I thought that was a great addition. This is a very simple way for a child to learn the life of Hillary Clinton from when she was their age, enjoy some beautiful pictures, and learn a few lessons about personal dreams.
1. No awards. 2. K-5 3. This picture book biography of Hillary Rodham Clinton begins with her dreams of one day becoming an astronaut, and follows her life through all of her political successes and stumbles. 4. Through beautiful watercolor illustrations, I love how Hillary's life and dreams are portrayed from childhood on, with the constant message of always believing in yourself, despite how many people may tell you no. 5. This book could be taught during a unit about believing in yourself, or when discussing government or political figures.
The primary text of this book is written simply, for children, and is fanciful, if not fictional. However, a very well conceived, concise appendix provides a linear narrative of her life, fleshing out some details, primarily those that put Clinton in a favorable light. Her participation in policy making during her husband's presidency is discussed; his infidelity and her way of coping with it is not.
Great information that is incredibly inspiring with read aloud text, though the heart of the book is in the Flying Facts section (notes on the text) included in the back matter.
Watercolor, gouache, and pencil artwork is beautiful and really captures Clinton's physical features, but also her spirit.
A list of sources is also included in the back matter and denotes which sources are for young readers. Recommended for grades 3-5+.
This was an unexpected gem of a picture book biography on Hillary Clinton, the unexpected part being the very detailed afterward. This book showcases her unending determination to break through the glass ceiling of woman’s rights and shows how far equality has come in just one lifetime. The illustrations are done well and are filled with such expression and eagerness; together with the narrative they will hopefully inspire many young girls to dream big.
I'm a big fan of Kathleen Krull & picture book biographies, but this one was too simplistic. There was very little meaningful content for someone not already familiar with Hillary Rodham Clinton's life. Lovely illustrations, and a good amount of information at the end, however the story itself did not live up to my expectations.
This book told the (overview) history of Hillary Clinton from the time she was an imaginative child with dreams of reaching the moon until 2016 as she is running for U.S. President. It was a very uplifting story which held the attention of my youngest child. The illustrations were very colorful, beautifully done as well.
Clinton is disturbingly cute—hot, even—in this awful, awful story book of her bio, each two-page spread of which ends with an awkwardly grafted-on random inspirational saying.
Like the Obama bio picture book, this too is still better than Megan McCain's My Dad, John McCain.
Hillary Rodhams Clinton By Kathleen Krull 2008 is a biography of the life of Hillary Rodham Clinton. It describes her life as a child up through her run for president. It also mentions along the way all the roadblocks she faced against women.
This is a nice biography of Hillary Rodham Clinton. I believe that this book would be of good use to elementary school children since it has beautiful illustrations that go along with Hillary's story.
I liked this book. I have two daughters and it's important to me that they have wonderful role models. This book doesn't go too deep into Hillary's life, but touches on high points. My daughters enjoyed reading it with me.
Genre: biography, picture book Published: 2015 Empowering picture book about Hillary Clinton. Each page had an inspirational quote encouraging readers to never give up. The last few pages of the book give further details about Hillary and her life.
Love the illustrations, but the information is a bit too surface level. In the back, there are a few details that go a bit deeper, which is nice, but I feel it's not a very informative story. I guess I wonder what the purpose is. It's a bit inspirational though, so I do like it.