The First Pup: The Real Story of How Bo Got to the White House
Grade 1–3—Staake chronicles President Obama's 2008 victory speech and the ensuing media blitz surrounding the new puppy promised that night to his daughters. The pop-culture tale includes the well-known details of how Senator Ted Kennedy suggested a Texas-born Portuguese water dog, a sibling of one of his own dogs, when that puppy's first home didn't work out. It is Easter weekend on the White House lawn, a rosy day with a rosy sky, when the red carpet is rolled out and up rolls a limousine with the new puppy. Staake's sophisticated cartoons combine traditional and digital techniques to create depth and give the drawings a crisp, vibrant, retro flavor. This is one of the best versions of the tale so far, but it remains lightweight fare.—Sara Lissa Paulson, American Sign Language and English Lower School PS 347, New York CityCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.