The President's Stuck in the Bathtub

Week 10
The President's Stuck in the Bathtub
Written By: Susan Katz
Illustrated by: Robert Neubecker
Published: 2012

If you are going to write a political book for children, then you need to ensure that there is no bias. This book had the potential to be wonderful. I mean, short, biographical poems about each president? It really couldn't get more convenient than that! I knew it was too good to be true when I found it. A book that had the potential to be this helpful and this entertaining had to have some flaw. Unfortunately, it was a huge one. 

As previously stated, The President's Stuck in The Bathtub is an anthology of biographical poems about all of the past presidents of the United States of America, all the way down to Obama. Well, the first poem really set the tone for the rest of the book. Instead of focusing on the many accomplishments of George Washington, the poem informed the reader of all the different places where he slept. It gave no detail or explanation, just stated that he slept just about everywhere, but the White House. The poems started going down hill from there. Some of the presidents were made out to be blithering idiots by having satirical poems and hyperbolic illustrations. While others were made out to be heroes with grand photographs and poems highlighting how wonderful they are. 

This book should not be used in any classroom. It was completely wrong of the author to force her own political agenda upon readers who chose this book to assist them in learning more about the Presidents of the United States. The authors bias completely ruined the entire book, making it impossible for me to finish. I give The President's Stuck in The Bathtub two extremely generous stars.