From Publishers Weekly Focusing on children who either resided in or were frequent visitors to the White House during the terms of 17 U.S. Presidents, this assiduously researched volume is a great way to bring American history to life for young readers. In place of biographical overviews, the author offers informal, anecdotal stories. Some are somber in tone: George Washington's granddaughter, Nellie Custis, loses her best friend in the 1793 yellow fever epidemic; Mollie Garfield's hopes are falsely raised when her father temporarily recovers from the gunshot wound that eventually claimed his life. More frequently the tales focus on lighter moments: Theodore Roosevelt's impish son Quentin sneaks a horse upstairs to cheer his bedridden brother; Amy Carter has her first camp-out in the tree house she and her father designed. While providing bountiful trivia, such as the fact that Calvin Coolidge's wife kept a pet raccoon at the executive mansion, Leiner's narrative is valuable for its depiction of a number of these Presidents in their rarely emphasized roles as fathers and grandfathers. The large format and open, uncluttered book design allow plenty of room for period drawings and a generous selection of photos as well as Keller's (Seven Loaves of Bread) stylized, colored scratchboard portraits of the White House youths. These intricately lined pictures showcase the dress and decor of the times while sustaining the candid mood of the text. Ages 8-up. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. From School Library Journal Grade 5-8?Leiner looks at life in the White House from the perspective of some of the many young people who have lived or spent time there. She takes an episode from a specific child or YA's life and uses it to convey the mood of the White House at that time. The profiled residents range in age from quite young to adult. The accounts include Quentin Roosevelt and his White House Gang and first-grader Caroline Kennedy as well as Letitia Tyler's jealousy over her father's remarriage to a woman her own age and Luci Johnson's wedding. Although the author makes use of historical sources and incorporates background material, she also includes some fictionalized dialogue and thoughts, especially for the earlier presidents. The brightly colored woodcut-style portraits at the beginning of each chapter add little to the presentation; the good-quality archival photos and reproductions are more effective. The episodic format and shallow coverage will limit this book's use for reports. General readers and browsers will find this supplementary purchase appealing.?Mary Mueller, Rolla Junior High School, MOCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
