Weird But True! Know-It-All U.S. Presidents

by Brianna DuMont, National Geographic Kids

What's so weird about U.S. presidents? Plenty! Did you know that Abraham Lincoln was a great wrestler? That Ulysses S. Grant got a speeding ticket riding his horse - twice! Or that Benjamin Harrison was afraid of electricity? And let's not forget that President McKinley had a pet parrot that whistled "Yankee Doodle Dandy" duets with him! In this new single-subject Weird But True book, you'll have a blast learning that there's a lot of substance - and weirdness - in every president's past.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Reference, Biography

192 pages, Library Binding

Published July 4, 2017

Reviews

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really well-curated book of one-page facts on all U.S. Presidents up until the 45th. It helps put each president into historical context while also personalizing them in interesting ways. A lot of the information is funny and quirky. This has been a hit with the young readers in our house and would also work great in a classroom.

[Vera Godley · Rating 5 out of 5]

National Geographic Kids Books is debuting titles that are perfect for celebrating not only our country’s amazing history, but learning more about our founding fathers — and those that followed in their footsteps. Weird but true! Know-it-all U.S.Presidents is simply packed with interestiing bits of information about each of the U.S. presidents. Some of it is funny, some intriguing, and some basic information about their presidency. It is quite a treat to learn some of this hitherto little known information. Some bears witness to the greatness of the man and some bears witness that they were simply humans with flawed personalities just as the rest of us are.

While this probably wouldn't be considered a go-to source for research papers, it certainly could be a springboard for such. Also, delving into the pages of this book will most certainly whet the appetite to learn more and dig deeper into the recesses of history.

This will make super reading (to stave off the dark pit of the summer slump) during the summer and then a handy resource for projects during the school year.

I highly recommend.

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy from MMPublicity on behalf of National Geographic Kids Books and the author to facilitate this review. Opinions are my own and freely given.

[Mrs Mommy Booknerd http://mrsmommybooknerd.blogspot.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY REVIEW:
This book is one of the BEST I have seen. It is awesome how it is laid out. It is like a vision sensation because it jammed with pictures, illustrations and facts galore. There is so much to look at and read. I am sure that you could read this over and over and over and learn something new. Here is a fun tidbit: Monroe once defended himself with a fire tongs after a disagreement with his secretary of state. Learn about so much awesome and wacky facts about our presidents in this book! It is filled with things that I find fun, interesting and oh so strange. My kids loved this book so much too. What a great way to teach history. Kids cannot help but be entertained because Nat Geo Kids knows what kids want and delivers it in spades.

[Stacie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though we didn't have a Presidential election this month, it's still a good time to share a fabulous book about the U.S. Presidents, past and present.

These WEIRD BUT TRUE books are always a hit with kids. Whenever I am subbing they are the first ones chosen from my book bag during free reading time. They are fun and informative and the kids don't even realize they are learning something every time they read it.

This book begins with facts about the job of President of the United States in general. Then it features every U.S. President and their own little-known facts. The bobblehead like caricatures of the Presidents on every page are awesome!

I looked up a couple of Presidents including Herbert Hoover, the only President from Iowa. The Hoover Dam was named for him, he was not in attendance when it opened because he wasn't invited. Even though his Presidency was during a difficult time in our history, he was still an interesting and intelligent man. He and his wife learned enough Mandarin to be able to speak it to each other during White House events so people couldn't understand what they were saying. Our family's favorite President is Ronald Reagan so I didn't think I would learn anything new about him, but I did! I knew he liked to joke around, and before he went into surgery after being shot by John Hinckley, Jr. he asked the doctors if they were all Republicans.

The end of the book offers some peeks into the life of the Presidents after they leave office. I didn't know that President George H.W. Bush has since jumped out of a plane at the ages of 80, 85, and 90. Herbert Hoover and JFK both donated their salaries while in office to charity.

As you can imagine there is much to learn and laugh about in this book. There are some really great historical moments as well as personal ones that will engage the children and their parents. This would make a great gift for a teacher to have for her classroom.

[K.L. Bernard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whether or not you have a favorite President you will be stunned by the weird facts surrounding some of our most interesting Commanders-In-Chief.

James Abram Garfield thought all men were created equal. As a result, he hid run-away slaves and gave folks like Frederick Douglass opportunities in government. James Earl Carter, Jr. could speed read at a rate of 2,000 words a minute. George Herbert Walker Bush banned broccoli from Air Force One, and Andrew Johnson taught himself to read while listening to customers at a tailor shop where he sewed clothes for 12 hours per day. President Obama read all seven Harry Potter Books with his daughters and loves to collect Spider-Man comics. Basically, most Presidents were just real people with a few quirks.

Parents, teachers and kids will love this fact filled history of our Presidents. Photos, and colorful illustrations teach readers about life during the term of each of the featured Presidents. Readers will be surprised to see fun facts about Obama and even Trump, our most recent elected Presidents. Special categories include Smart Stuff, Why He’s Weird, and Oval Awful, provide funny and interesting quick facts.

[Sophie Greenbaum · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book "Weird But True! Know-It-All U.S. Presidents" is a very quirky, humorous, but insightful book that dives into strange unknown fact about the well known historic presidents of the United States of America. While this book does not discuss much about the presidency or known accomplishments of the presidents, the book provides weird facts that are not commonly known by American Citizens. The purpose of this book is to familiarize and gain intrigue for students who are intrigued by humor and the unusual about the president's of the United States, and also to humanize these historical figures more. I think that this book would be a great, unexpected addition to have as an informational book independent reading choice for students in fourth or fifth grade social studies classes.

[Renate Deutsche Oma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice size book for school age children (6 x 9 inches). Nice glossy pages and eye appealing layout. Includes 45 Presidents: Washington thru Donald Trump. Each President's term, party, nickname, Claim to Fame, Where Born, and First Lady state. PLUS - Why HE's Weird! Nice pictures, plus a glossary and index is included. While the Caricatures of each President are unique, my 3. grade granddaughter found them confusing, strange, some looked frightful and mean. A different approach for information on the Presidents of the United States. 170 pages.

[Kim Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the most part, this was really enjoyable. The biggest reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because there were a couple of times some things that seemed just a little off. I did some fact checking and it wasn't 100% accurate. I have a compilation of interesting factoids about the presidents I share with my students. The problem was that I couldn't fact check everything, so there were things I added to my papers in good faith, hoping they are right. For the most part, though, it was really fun.

[Jenee Antoniu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was great! I read 4 books about presidents simultaneously, including this one. This one easily balanced being informative with being interesting. I think I might buy this book for my classroom. While it is readable for late elementary-age children, it contained real information about the good and bad about the presidents, as well as the weird and entertaining. Each section begins with a caricature of the president, which fits with the whimsy and fun structure of the book.

[✨Neena✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This actually took me a bit to read thoroughly, but it ended up being worth it! It was a very run book to read with all the cool facts and it was also very helpful (I am horrible at all things presidents).

I learned a lot from this book; it helped me understand more about the presidents, what they did, etc. It is kinda long though so if you have some time and want to learn something new then I recommend reading this book.

[Elizabeth Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a fun book. I love it and so do my kids! Sometimes history books can be boring, but this one is a great page-turner and helps bring history alive. Full review for National Geographic Kids can be found here: https://agoodreid.blogspot.com/2017/0...

[Two BookWorms Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you want to put a new – and definitely not boring – spin on Presidential biographies? This is just the book to get.

For the full review: https://twobookwormsblog.wordpress.co...

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

My students enjoy these Weird but True books by National Geographic Kids. Kids love weird things, but I found myself thoroughly enjoying it as well. Not only does the book highlight each president but gives a description of the job and interesting tidbits about various presidents as well as major events that impacted those presidencies. I especially appreciated the fact that presidential strengths and weaknesses are covered. Important events and decisions both good and bad and mentioned showing that every president had his issues. Reading this book reminded me that our country has been through hard times and bad leaders in the past and will likely continue to survive despite current challenges. A fun book for both reading and browsing.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the little tidbids of information on all the presidents. I was rather expecting there to be more weird facts (thus, the title), but it was more just brief information about the highlights of each presidency.

[Jill Leininger · Rating 5 out of 5]

National Geographic Kids magazines are always the best to read when you want to learn something. The pictures of the presidents were cool and interesting to read about even as an adult. You never know what you can learn!

[Sara Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mostly good information but a bit too much liberal personal opinion comes through. When teaching my kids about politics, I want straight facts, not the writer's personal tone underneath everything. For being National Geographic, I was disappointed.

[Katelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learning fun facts about presidents what more could you ask for. The president who installed the light switches never even touched them because he was afraid of electricity. The book was awesome and I absolutely loved it.

[Eva B.]

Not rating since I only skimmed it for the fun facts and didn't read the biography sections since I'm pretty well-versed in US presidential lore and only wanted the weird trivia lol. Honestly I recommend doing that since some of the facts are genuinely hilarious.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

So facts I knew , some were very interesting.

[Janna Huyler collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is for kids but really enjoyed all the interesting presidential facts.

[G P Devine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great kids book, (4th-8th grade level), with some new facts.

[Carol Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick summary of the best and worst for each U.S. President with fun trivia to keep it entertaining.

[Jaden John · Rating 5 out of 5]

great

[Jacob Choi]

Good

[Liam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually learned a lot from this one!

[Debby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book I bought for my high school grandson, but read first. It is filled with weird facts, but in a format teens like.