Madam President

Not sure what to think about this one. The little girl is obnoxious and probably friendless. But I like that she's invented new cabinet positions to give roles to all her toys, including her music box, which is tagged Secretary of Dance. And the details in the art that aren't written about are cute... but how many ppl will notice the bust of Eleanor Roosevelt, and how many kids will understand who she was?

I liked this book for several reasons. First, the character is very likable. She is strong an smart and knows how to get things done. She takes things into her own hands and has big dreams for herself. For example, she negotiates between a cat and a dog and gives speeches to her classmates. She is a great role model for any young child especially girls.

The second reason I like this book is how the illustrations pair with the text. They show that the main character may be in her own head a little bit. She talks about giving an elegant speech but then the illustrations show her roughly carrying a podium and shouting "no comment" at her fellow students.

I think the big picture of the book is how you are never to young to know what you want to be when you grow up. She is very confident in her abilities and is starting at a young age practicing all the steps it takes to be president. I also think this book shows how you can be anything you want to be and never stop trying.

This is a brilliant book! Katy uses her executive power to make things happen in her world, and goes about her day as if she is the President of the United States. With hilarious pictures, and sharp, intelligent prose, Lane Smith has created a very informative and funny book. The illustrations are wonderful, and the look on Katy's face as she appoints her Cabinet, deals with the Secret Service out on the playground, and tries to repair the disaster area that is her bedroom is priceless.

I love the fact that this is a book about a woman president, and that she is a strong character who clearly knows herself. It's timely especially since we inaugurated the first African-American President yesterday. Why shouldn't little girls dream of being of the first woman President?

The strength of this book is the use of government terms to tell the story and the plays on words that go along with those terms. When the book is all said and done, Katy is just like any other little girl at the end of show more the day -- tired! show less

Humorous and informative--sometimes in such a way that the latter is lost to the former (eg. Secretary of Fantasy? Naps? Pets Who Should Be in Their Cages?) but that means readers need to be discerning--and it would be a good lesson to have them look up the list of real official secretaries. What is most excellent and important about this book, though, is that it shows a girl dreaming of a position that has yet to be held by a woman. Imagining it is where it starts, after all.

I continue my quest to read all illustrated books by Lane Smith. He is a prolific writer and artist. I'm glad there are many more to read.

In the United States, we do not have a female President, but we do have a woman Vice President!
Thus far the match of President Biden and Vice President Kamilla Harris, are thus far quite a good pair!

In this book, written and illustrated by Smith, Madam President is quite a character. A little girl journeys into a world where she is the President. There are executive orders, daily briefs, photo ops, babies to kiss, treaties to negotiate
And, when Madam President grows weary, she piles the work on the VP.

While this is cute, it isn't one of my favorites of the author and illustrator. But, the illustrations are cute and creative, and the premise is a great one!

This may go over the head of most preschoolers, but it's funny and it introduces some terms that kids will probably overhear on CNN. That Lane Smith always cracks me up.

This is a light book focused mainly on presidential responsibility. The main character is a young girl with delusions of presidential grandeur. She goes about her daily responsibilities and is generally misunderstood by all around her. Everyone else is either bemused or annoyed by her presidential ways, but she's oblivious to all of that. Very amusing book.

Katy is here to tell you that the President of the United States has many duties. She imagines what it would be like to be Madam President as she goes about her day at school and at home. She vetoes tuna casserole at lunch, gives a press conference in class, and averts a disaster by cleaning her room. And, as she settles into her bed for the night, she’s very happy there’s a vice president to meet the ambassador from Freedonia.

Smith’s illustrations are full of funny details that mesh perfectly with the conversational text. His protagonist, Katy, is intelligent and yet full of the infallible logic of a child. For instance, there is a two page spread that shows Katy’s cabinet members, which include Mr. Potato Head (Secretary of Agriculture), a lamp (Secretary of Energy), and a chef (Secretary of Pizza).

Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2012/03/book-73-madam-president-by-lane-smit...

This book was about all the duties that Madam President has, including being a fearless leader, assembling congress, and veto things she disagrees with. This book is really cute in the sense that it explains the duties of a president through a girl's school day. it uses different routines and chores as a metaphor for political duties, and makes it easier for children to understand. The book also includes pictures that take up the whole page, and make the text out to be part of the story, incorporating it into the images, making it really come to life for readers.

This book would be excellent for teaching students of any age about US government. It gives a silly but informative take on presidential life and government. I think that children would love to see a young girl dreaming to be a president. It shows that everyone has a dream, and this little girl shows everyone that she knows alot about her dream. Many activities could be created from this book, regarding government.

I liked how the book showed a girl dreaming of one day become president, but there are better books about it than this one.

A young girl tries to imagine what her day would be like if she were President of the United States of America. Who would she name Secretary of State or Secretary of Soccer? Coupled with the demands of attending school on a daily basis, she imagines a busy day full of decisive steps that would make her school and country a better place. Readers will laugh when she oversteps her bounds in order to veto various food items and plays she finds unappealing. The comical illustrations compliment the short lines of text, and depict a wide array of emotions and expressions on the face of the main character. The spreads incorporate a variety of different layouts and help propel the story along with their unpredictability. Appropriate for young elementary school students and preschoolers. A great read aloud during election time!

This is a great book that gives a brief description of the presidential duties in a manner that kids can understand. The fun pictures are really engaging and help to express her view of what it would be like to be madam president. I would recommend this book to be used as a writing prompt for students to then write about what they think it would be like to be president.

Reviewed by Jennifer Rummel for Kids @ TeensReadToo.com

One little girl imagines her day if she were President.

Katy uses an executive order to refill her waffle plate. Recess includes secret service agents hiding behind the trees. She vetoes tuna salad for lunch. Katy even has to deal with a Disaster Area - her room.

Lane Smith creates a story that will make readers giggle. The adorable pictures reinforce the humorous tale. While the presidential subject is timely, this book will be enjoyed for years to come.

"Madam President" is told by a young girl. She explains the responsibilities, duties, and privileges that a president has, such as treaties to negotiate, to keep peace, and to lead by example. This story has a lot of key words that students will learn during a unit on presidents, or government. For example, treaties, veto, diplomat, etc. It is told in a kids point of view what they think a president deals with on a day to day basis with pictures that show what she sees on a day to day basis. This book is cute to read to young students come election time. However, I feel like it is misleading and confusing to the Presidents actual duties and responsibilities. I was bored and confused when reading this. I am not sure how I would incorporate this into a lesson because it isn't that factual. Though it is a cute silly book to read, I don't necessarily agree with the text.

This is a great children's book for children that are around a second or third grade level. It talks about the way children see the president.

I like some of the not-so-subtle commentary on politics and politicians! I like that the illustrations had the little girl wearing a pantsuit - ha ha. In your face, Tim Gunn. Over all, quite cute.

A young girl tells her story of what she thinks it would be like to be president for a day. Each page portrays a different job that she would have to be in charge of; Veto-ing laws, keeping the peace, press conferences, negotiating treaties and many more. She then ends by planning for her important day tomorrow.

MADAM PRESIDENT by Lane Smith is a non fiction book that describes what it would be like to be the president. It has a twist to it because the person running for the presidency is a girl which is strange because history has shown us that there has been no women presidents. It explains the many duties one has to if they do become president like make everyone happy and be a leader. Its a good book to have in the classroom because a teacher could use it to let students know that they can be anything they want to be and that it doesn't matter what sex you are.

Probably the best book I can find for a Presidents day storytime. Simple text, not too long, on theme. Madam President runs through all the duties she has for a day.

Lane Smith is so quirky and fun.

text here is great; illustrations leave a little to be desired - scary, in some cases

Genre
Humorous stories
Picture books for children
Writing Style
Witty
Illustration
Inventive
Location
United States
Subject
Gender role
Girls
Imagination
Imagination in children
Presidents
Women presidents