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Product Description Playful political poems about the penchants and peccadilloes of the presidents!Sure, William Taft got stuck in his tub, but did you know that John Quincy Adams used to skinny-dip in the Potomac? Herbert Hoover spoke Chinese with his wife, and Gerald Ford had his name changed from Leslie Lynch King. It’s true! In The President’s Stuck in the Bathtub, the lives of the presidents are served up as fact-filled and fanciful poems that will make you laugh, cringe, and gasp with amazement at the colorful cast of men and women who have lived in the White House. With footnotes relating the facts behind the inspiration for each poem, and a section called “Presidential Notes and Quotes” in the back, this is one hilarious history lesson that kids will elect to read over and over again! From Booklist Katz’s nod to presidential foibles arrives just in time for Presidents’ Day and the upcoming election cycle. In humorous yet informative rhymes, she explains that Washington never slept in the White House, John Quincy Adams often skinny-dipped in the Potomac, Herbert Hoover and his wife avoided eavesdroppers by conversing in Chinese, and William Howard Taft (at 350 pounds) required a special bathtub. Although admittedly trivial, these sorts of details are just the kind to pique young readers’ interests. The poems exhibit wide diversity (concrete, alliterative, free verse, quatrains), and each is accompanied by a footnote explaining the verse’s context and a cartoon-style illustration. Neubecker’s artwork, rendered in India ink with digital color, is full of interesting details; the title spread, for example, features an enormous, hairy Taft being extricated by four determined aides. Appended with a list of presidential notes and quotes, this is sure to be popular; pair with Kathleen Krull’s Lives of the Presidents (1998) or Judith St. George’s So You Want to Be President? (2000). Grades 2-5. --Kay Weisman Review "Humorous yet informative. . . . These sorts of details are just the kind to pique young readers’ interests. . . . Sure to be popular."—Booklist "Katz takes playful swings at U.S. presidents in poems as funny as they are informative...an unexpected and diverting look at presidents past and present."--Publishers Weekly "In forty-three poems, Katz gives each of our U.S. presidents their due."--Horn Book, starred review — About the Author Susan Katz is the author of LOOKING FOR JAGUAR AND OTHER RAINFOREST POEMS (Greenwillow), which received starred reviews, and two other poetry collections. Her novel, SNOWDROPS FOR COUSIN RUTH, (Simon and Schuster) was a Publishers Weekly "Flying Start." She lives in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. ROBERT NEUBECKER's acclaimed picture books include Wow! School!; Wow! America!; Wow! City!; and Courage of the Blue Boy. He will be publishing his first book with Harcourt in fall 2008, Monsters on Machines by Deb Lund. He lives in Park City, Utah.