Books That Are Just For Fun!

by Maria Salvadore and Reneé Critcher Lyons

Following is a select list of fun, fiction titles for young people:

Duck for President by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin (Atheneum, 2004)
Grades K to adult, ages 5+

The irrepressible Duck (first introduced in the Caldecott Honor book Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type) is elected first to head the farm, then the country, but finds that being President is a lonely job.

The Founding Fathers: Those Horse-Ridin’, Fiddle-Playin’, Book-Readin’, Gun-Totin’ Gentlemen Who Started America by Jonah Winter (Atheneum, 2014)
Grades K to 3, ages 5-8

Learn about the motley crew who didn’t agree on anything…except founding a new nation!

Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by LeUyen Pham (Hyperion, 2008)
Grades K-3, ages 5-8

Electoral votes and more are introduced when Grace runs for President in her class’s mock election.

My Teacher for President by Kay Winters, illustrated by Denise Brunkus (Dutton, 2004)
Grades K–3, ages 5-8

Oliver thinks that his teacher has all the necessary qualities to become president, so he writes a letter to the local television station to suggest it. Leadership qualities make food for thought in a book for younger children. A similar theme is introduced in Rosemary Wells’s humorous story of a school election, Otto Runs for President (Scholastic, 2008)

The President’s Stuck in the Bathtub by Susan Katz (Clarion, 2012)
Grades 1-4, ages 6-9

Young children are introduced to the very human foibles and idiosyncrasies of our presidents via varying poetic formats.