Pets at the White House (Scholastic News Nonfiction Readers: Let's Visit the White House)
It’s easy to understand the appeal of presidential pets: within the controlled world of the White House, it’s fun to imagine these agents of chaos clawing the Lincoln Bedroom drapes and shedding all over the Oval Office rug. Author Kennedy strikes just the right note between awe for the country’s leaders and the squeals of delight worthy of their (mostly) cuddly buddies. After an opening spread lays out the kind of animals readers will soon be meeting, Kennedy places large, clear text and a small historical photo on the left-hand page, and a big color photo of the animal in question on the right. LBJs’ beagles and Clinton’s cat are just the beginning: there have been seven goats, a herd of sheep, three ponies, a raccoon, and over forty pets attributed to Teddy Roosevelt’s clan alone. Young readers will enjoy the pets’ names (Macaroni the pony, Emily Spinach the snake), and a closing tally of numbers adds a nice counting element to this quite delightful vocabulary-based book. Preschool-Grade 1. --Daniel Kraus