So Your Want to be President?

Author: Judith St. George
Illustrator: David Small
Publisher: Philomel Books
Date: 2001
Awards: ALA Notable Children's Book, Caldecott Honor book (2001),
Ages: 4-8
Topics: President, American Presidents, political cartoons, caricatures
Summary: This fun look at the Presidency is told through interesting facts and silly, political-style cartoon caricatures of the U.S. Presidents. It's easy for young people to idenify the presidents represented. This book reminds students that the presidents are people with both virtues and vices.

Book Connections

• So You Want to be President from Wikipedia

Topic Connections

Cartooning

• Cartoon Art Museum
• National Cartoon Museum

Presidents

• 42explore: Presidents of the United States
• 42epxlore: President and First Ladies
• The American Presidency from Grolier
• American Presidency: A Glorious Burden from Smithsonian
• American Presidents from PBS
• American Presidents
• POTUS from IPL
• Research Presidental Materials from National Archives
• Scholastic Resources
  • Article Archives: Presidents
  • Timeline: Guide to all the Presidents
• White House for Kids

Political Campaigns

• Election 2008 from Scholastic
• Political Ads - Audio and Video
• Presidental Campaign Memorabilia

Political Cartoons and Caricatures

• A Brief History of Political Cartoons
• Cartoon Bank from the New Yorker
• A Catalog of Political Cartoons by Dr. Suess
• America in Caricature 1765-1865
• American Political Cartoons: A History
• Analyze a Thomas Nast Cartoon
• Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonist's Index
• It's No Laughing Matter: Analyzing Political Cartoons from Library of Congress
• Herblock's History: Political Cartoons from the Crash to the Millenium from Library of Congress
• The Political Dr. Suess from PBS
• Running for Office: Candidates, Campaigns, and the Cartoons of Clifford Berryman from National Archives
  • The House is in Session

Mount Rushmore

• Mount Rushmore from the National Park Service

Learning Connections

• A Day in the Life. Write about a day in the life of a President. Use a real or fictional President.
• Analyze Political Cartoons. Go to Analyzing a Political Cartoon: "Settin' on a Rail" and analyze a cartoon. Also go to One is Silver and the Other's Gold: Student Interactive to analyze a cartoon.
• Fictional Presidents. Explore the List of Fictional Presidents from Wikipedia. Which of these Presidents do you prefer? Why? What characteristics do you like or admire? Which real-world President does this person best reflect?
• Google Earth. Use Google Earth to mark the locations of the Presidental birthplaces.
• I'm the President. Using David Small's visual techniques, draw yourself as the President. Using the book for inspiration, think about the setting where you might be drawn. What would you be doing? Why?
• I Want/Don't Want to be President. Would you like to be President? Why or why not? What do you think would be the fun and frustrations of this position?
• Mount Rushmore Makeover. If you were in charge, whose faces would you put on Mount Rushmore? Why? Create your own design.
• My Admiration. Choose a President that you admire. What characteristics do you think makes them a strong person? Give an example.
• On the Record. Learn about Presidental quotes. Create your own top ten list of your favorites.
• Political Cartoon. Examine political cartoons and create your own
• Presidental Scrapbook. Create a scrapbook for a President. Choose ten photos from their administration and write about th context of each.
• Presidents Game. Create your own quiz gameshow about the Presidents of the United States. Use the rules from a board game, video game, or television program.
• White House Dinner. Pretend that a group of Presidents get together in the White House for dinner. What would they say to each other? Learn about a President and team with a classmate to write a dialog between two Presidents. Try focusing on a particular issue. Would they agree or disagree about war, treaties, social issues, or other topics?
• Trading Cards. Create President Trading Cards.

Teaching Connections

• Editorial Writing and Cartooning from Web English Teacher (links)
• So You Want to be President from Scholastic
  • Lesson Plan
• So You Want to be President? from Teacher Vision
  • Additional Activities
• Teacher's Guide for Professional Cartoonist's Index
• Try Lessons on Political Cartoons
  • Analyzing the Purpose and Meaning of Political Cartoons
  • Analyzing the Stylistic Choices of Political Cartoonists
  • Drawing Political Cartoons
  • The Election Process and Political Cartoons
  • Pictures are Worth a Thousand Words
  • Political Cartoons and Dr. Seuss
  • Teaching With Documents Lesson Plan: Political Cartoons Illustrating Progressivism and the Election of 1912
• Try Lessons on Presidents
  • If I Were President
  • Presidents, Vice Presidents, and First Ladies
  • Who Was It?
• Try WebQuests
  • So You Want to be President?

Learn More

Do a Thinkfinity search for lessons related to Presidents and political cartoons.

 

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