Presidental Poetry

In this post I present you not with one, but two books featuring poems about US Presidents. This strikes me as such a specific topic that I'm surprised there are two books on the subject (and perhaps more.)

However I work in public library where almost anything goes. I was asked last May by several students in a desperation to finish up their poetry assignments if I could help them find a poem about Constitution  Day.  ._.
I couldn't really believe this was an actual assignment until I was presented with the evidence. 3rd and 4th grade students presented with the task of finding and copying a poem about several holidays during the year including MLK Day, Arbor Day, and Constitution Day (which I didn't even know was a holiday) Needless to say despite finding books on holiday poem and America poems, I did not find one about Constitution Day so I suggested the just write the Preamble. (It's poetic, I guess. Close enough)

So if anyone needs a poem about presidents, I'm prepared!

The President is Stuck in the Bathtub: Poems about the Presidents By Susan Katz with illustrations by Robert Neubecker

Rutherford B. Who was He? Poems about out Presidents by Marilyn Singer with illustrations by John
  Hendrix

Each book follows the same format. A poem about (almost) each President along with factual information about their life or administration. All of Singer's poems rhyme, while some of Katz's rhyme and follow the same pattern, other forms are used. Katz also devote a poem to every president while Singer combines lesser known Presidents into one poem. Surprisingly she combines Adams and Jefferson into one short poem.

Katz's poems present the lighter side of the presidents while Singer's are much more informational. Some of them present the reader with some serious heavy thoughts after reading them, partically the spread about JFK and LBJ.

For example.

Singer's poem about  Lydon Johnson lay out his many accomplishments "Great Society. War on Poverty. Clean Air. Medicare..." but point out that this legacy was undone by the war in Vietnam.

In the next poem, about Nixon, a similar point is made. "Who protected the environment? Who opened the gateway to China? Would people remember Watergate, nothing but Watergate?"

Some of the stories and anecdotes are already familiar to me and some of them repeat. (William Henry Harrison's claim to fame is his short term and poor Taft gets stuck in the bath again) But I did learn some new things. In summary, I preferred Singer's poetry over Katz and her book had much more information in it. While I also love the work of both illustrators,  John Hendrix's illustrations are so well done, full of detail and featuring hand drawn text. It makes the book beautiful and eye catching to compliment the poems.