Madam President

Madam President by author and illustrator Lane Smith is a book which, meant for grades K-2, can be a good short and sweet introduction to the executive branch for even upper elementary students. It follows a day in the life of an elementary school girl who imagines what it would be like to be president for a day. Starting with her breakfast and ending with bedtime, Smith highlights the important duties of the president while keeping an element of sly humor with the depictions of a how a child might interpret those duties into her day. Smith’s artistic wit combines well with his serious message, making this a great book for boys and girls alike to inspire them to go after what they want.

Rather than having the girl dream of being president, the main character actually spends a day of her life being what she imagines the president to be. Doing everything from attending a “state funeral” for a pet frog to vetoing the school lunch (tuna casserole), this little girl makes herself into the president. Especially impressive are the number of side discussion that could be brought up with elementary students as the story progresses. Smith packs his illustrations full of information which can engage students in asking questions such as why the American flag in the girl’s room has only 13 stars rather than its current fifty. The American flags the girl leaves in her wake can bring up discussion about patriotism and the symbolic nature of the American flag. And what better way to introduce the concept of a presidential cabinet than to have a secretary of naps or of fantasy?

Smith takes a daunting event such as giving an oral report and makes it not only funny but relevant to life. It is moments like these that make me want to read this to kids. By taking events that students can relate to in their lives and showing how they appear in real life, Smith creates ties between what happens in school to what happens outside of it. He shows that bullying exists even for grown-ups and that even grown-ups need to do things they really don’t want to do (like clean their rooms) at times.

I recommend this book to all of you. Not only does it paint a good message for our future students, but it also offers a great jumping-off point for studying history and our government. The more I looked at this book and studied the pictures, the more I saw the different values of it. I encourage all of you to pick it up, look through it, and see what values you can see throughout.