Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
If the Walls Could Talk: Family Life at the White House
Illustrator: Gary Hovland
Nonfiction
For ages 7 to 10
Simon and Schuster, 2004 ISBN: 978-0689868634
Let us visit the White House, home of the American presidents. We will take a ?tour' of the house finding out what the presidents did during their time in this most special of buildings. The tour is presented in a unique way, with each President 'appearing' in the order in which he lived in the house, beginning with George Washington (who never saw the house completed) and ending with George W. Bush.
Some of the Presidents and their families did very peculiar things during their residency in the White House. For example Herbert Hoover disliked speaking to servants so much that when he met them as he walked about the house, they were expected to disappear from his presence as fast as possible so that he wouldn't have to address them. Poor Mrs. Adams used to hang her washing up to dry in the East Room, and President Kennedy was known to spray the lawn green if it was looking dry and important guests were due.
With amusing cartoon style illustrations that are decorated with quotation banners, and interesting details about the Presidents and their lives, this picture book is sure to please readers of all ages.
