Updated for 2013, readers can easily relive the course of American history through a detailed timeline, more than 50 vivid photographs and illustrations, information about each president's term in office, and the major political issues of each era.
This book was just okay. Compared to the others I read, this one was lacking a lot of information and was somewhat boring. Most presidents only have one page of information. The more notable presidents have 2 (a whole page spread). It gives a very broad overview without giving you much to really fully understand about what was going on. It was fine, but nothing compared to the other two I read. It rarely added new information about the president. More often it was the information about events happening during that time period that was most interesting.
Just finished my U.S. President reading "surge" with reading at least one biography for each of 44 U.S. presidents (I did not read 2 books for Grover Cleveland thus 44 and not 45 presidents). Reading this short overview book was just way for me to try to cement their stories into my mind and to go book for 12 year old but was a quick and easy read. Maybe a little unfair to only give it two stars since clearly I was not the target for the book.
Had this book on my shelf for a long time and decided to read it. The book only goes through the presidency of George W Bush, but I enjoyed the facts and the American History timeline. Maybe now I can answer a few more Jeopardy questions accurately.
Frey, M., & Davis, T. (2013). The new big book of U.S. presidents: Fascinating facts about each and every president, including an American history timeline. Philadelphia: Running Press Book Publishers.
Citation By: Kayla Stewart
Type of Reference: Biographical Reference
Call Number: Ref 920
Content/Scope: This text contains biographical information about each president starting with Washington and ending with Obama. This text includes important facts about each president as well as important events that occurred during each president’s presidential terms. There are also sections on each president’s page for information about important accomplishments that occurred during the time periods that the presidents were in office.
Accuracy/Authority/Bias: This text was updated for the year 2013 and has had many editions. The information presented is all factual, and not presented out of a personal opinion for any of the presidents.
Arrangement/Presentation: The text is arranged in chronological order, beginning with Washington and ending with Obama. Each page has pictures of the presidents. The presentation makes it easy for the reader to find the president that the reader is seeking.
Relation to Other Works: Time for Kids publishes a similar book about the presidents, but they have not published a 2013 edition. Since this text was published in 2013 it is a more accurate and complete reference source to use when studying presidents.
Accessibility/Diversity: There are many graphics displayed in this text, which makes it appeal to visual learners. The timeline included in the text also appeals to those who are visual learners. Each president represents different interests and hobbies which will appeal to diverse readers.
Cost: $12
Professional Review: Whitehurst, L. (2013). The new big book of U.S. presidents: Fascinating facts about each and every president, including an American history timeline. School Library Journal, 59(5), 134.
Could have been better had the author done the following:
Fact checking - In the War of 1812 the British burned parts of Washington including the President's House (White House) in August of 1814, not April as indicated in the book.
Grammar - Author began an inordinate number of sentences with subordinate clause and had errors such as ending sentences with prepositions.
Punctuation - Several formatting errors and misspelled words.
Subjectivity - Author added personal comments in unnecessary places when presenting the facts would have sufficed.
Overall the book is an interesting and informative read for someone wanting to find out general facts about our Presidents.
Exactly the type of overview I was looking for- not only about the presidents, but the time period they served in, the struggles the country faced, and other important events that happened during that time.