Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out

It is a Christmas Gift, so I do not know how to respond until the recipient of the gift gives me feedback.

As a journalist who specializes in covering spirituality in daily life, I find myself drawn toward projects conceived by Candlewick Press. I still think their "A Visitor for Bear" is one of the best books I've ever read about the spiritual theme of hospitality.

Well, "Our White House" is a colossal project compared with "Bear" and I was pleased after reading all of its more than 200 pages to conclude that even in large-scale, long-form projects, the Candlewick team hasn't lost their impish sense of storytelling.

I say that because this is a weighty project. More than 100 top names in American history, arts and literature contributed to this coffee-table book for families. Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough is here along with Jimmy Carter, Charles Dickens and Walt Whitman. These are heavy names. This is a big book. It could have turned out as dull as one of those bronze statues in D.C. that people barely notice anymore.

Here's what I like about the book and why I think it's timely with our American role in the world called into question in so many ways: This book dares to have fun with America's enduring capacity for creativity. And that is an important spiritual lesson right now.

Did you know that Thomas Jefferson defied naysayers in personally helping to popularize the tomato? He did. He cultivated them and ate them both fresh and cooked. Today, who could imagine American cuisine without tomatoes?

Did you know that the Lebanese-American journalist Helen Thomas opened doors at the White House to female journalists? She did. And she did it by first cultivating coverage of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, a major barrier breaker herself.

Did you know it was a White House Executive Order in 1903 that kick started the national preservation of our wilderness and wildlife? It was. Teddy Roosevelt was behind it and, more than likely, his family's love of wildlife -- including a crazy array of pets in the White House -- played a role in saving some of our most precious natural areas.

Families will have a lot of fun sharing individual two- and three-page stories from the book. And it's not only a collection of stories. There are poems here, too, and letters. Some of the lavish illustrations are worthy a good bedtime story by themselves.

This book is a contemplation of many stories about the White House. Some are old, most are written by famous children's authors of the day. Great book illustrators are included too! (I want a poster of Eric Carle's contribution.) Every single entry is superlative and of great interest. I was absorbed from beginning to end. I am a teacher and my only problem will be how to share this book with my students. I will look for openings in the curriculum to share many of the stories and hope some of them will be interested in reading it themselves. The book is wonderful.

Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out This book is the natural outcome of all those speeches and interviews David McCullough has given around the country claiming again and again, "our children don't know enough about history."
And this book couldn't come at a better time, on the heels of the spectacular John Adams HBO miniseries. This book was written for young people to help them fall in love with history, the way the 108 contributors to this marvelous book clearly already have.
This book has all the reliable gateways to keep a kid interested, great illustrations, funny stories and personal notes the people that lived in the White House.
Really well done. I'm so glad!!