Betty's Books: Five for the Fourth

This Independence Day, read along with your grandchildren as they discover great stories from America's history.

Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative, on the Fourth of July political persuasion doesn't matter. It's our nation's birthday, a time to come together and celebrate our heritage. And the best way to celebrate with grandchildren is through books that tell how our founding fathers fought for independence, explain our system of government, and instill a love of our country.

Guess Who's in the White House

Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin's Duck for President (Atheneum, 2008), ideal for pre-readers or early readers, tells the tale of lovable but troublemaking Duck. Having grown tired of his farm chores, Duck decides to unseat Farmer Brown by running against him for control of the farm. He wins, but doesn’t like all the responsibility he has inherited, so he runs for governor and, finally, president. But he finds that moving up the political ladder only makes his life more complicated and unsatisfying.

Young children will love this funny and charming story (written in 2004 but rereleased in a 2008 election edition) while older siblings can glean a little information about the electoral process from it. And grandparent readers will chuckle at topical allusions like Duck playing the saxophone on late-night TV, or demanding a recount because of suspected "sticky votes."

An All-Star Cast

Anne Rockwell and Lizzy Rockwell's Presidents’ Day (HarperCollins, 2007) focuses on a play being performed in a primary school classroom about the four presidents whose likenesses are chiseled into Mount Rushmore: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Theodore Roosevelt. The tallest kid in the class plays Lincoln. The smartest, Nicholas, portrays Jefferson as sitting at a desk, scratching his head, and crumpling pieces of paper while trying to write the Declaration of Independence. The text is gently laced with historical facts but presented entirely in the words of the classroom's young actors, making it perfect for beginning readers.

Doreen Rappaport and Matt Tavares's Lady Liberty: A Biography (Candlewick, 2008) is told in the present tense by those responsible for the creation of the Statue of Liberty, from concept through construction. Introducing these historical characters is an ingenious way for Rappaport to relate the statue's story. Young readers meet the French "dreamers" who wanted to thank America's patriots for inspiring their own revolution. They also hear from Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, the resourceful sculptor, who chose copper for the statue so it would not rust in the salt air, and Emma Lazarus, the poet who wrote "The New Colossus." The poem's immortal words are inscribed on the statue's pedestal: "Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe
free ... "

The real hero of this story, however, turns out to be newspaper magnate Joseph Pulitzer, who used his New York World to lead a campaign to raise $100,000 to complete the statue's pedestal. Americans of all ages sent in nickels, dimes, and dollars to ensure that the 151-foot-tall Lady would rise high above New York City's harbor, welcoming new arrivals to America.

The text is moving, and the realistic illustrations are inspired. The full-page images of the construction end in a magnificent vertical gatefold of Lady Liberty in her original 1886 copper color.

The Man of the Hour

Joan Heilbroner's Meet George Washington (Random House, 2001) is part of Random House's Landmark Books series about American heroes, which are a great way to introduce young readers to biographies. Short sentences and simple words relate the inspirational story of this once loyal Englishman who ended up leading the revolution against his king. The book stresses not only Washington's accomplishments as a general, but also his frustration as a president trying to knit the new country's independent, self-absorbed states into a cohesive nation.

Straight From the Horse's Mouth

Robert Lawson's Mr. Revere and I (Little, Brown, 1988) details the events leading up to the American Revolution, as told by Paul Revere’s horse. A purebred English steed in His Majesty’s army, Scheherazade (who answers to "Sherry"), is tossed aside by her military master but ends up, thanks to the intervention of Sam Adams, in Paul Revere's stable. The horse is at first skeptical, even critical, of the Sons of Liberty. But as she learns more about the inequities and unfair taxes levied on the colonists, she becomes a quick-thinking, patriotic mare. Sherry is determined to help Revere, a gifted silversmith but an inexperienced horseman, in his numerous courier missions, leading up to the famous Midnight Ride. The perspective of this unusual narrator is a hoot and will, I suspect, generate interest among elementary-school readers in Revere's story. But it may be best understood and appreciated as a read-aloud, giving grandparents many opportunities for discussion with their grandchildren about the people, events (and animals) that set the colonies on the road to revolution.