Madam President: The Extraordinary, True (and Evolving) Story of Women in Politics

by Catherine Thimmesh

Book Overview

When will the U.S. elect a woman for president?Catherine Thimmesh's inspiring look at the role of women in American politics--past, present, and future--is now available with updated sections on... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0618396667
• ISBN13: 9780618396665
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 80 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 7.8" x 11.2"
• Grade Range: Preschool and higher

Customer Reviews

The women who have paved the way for the first Madam President

Pat Paulsen once said that in America every boy can grow up to be president; or, if he never grows-up, vice-president (remember how they portrayed Dan Quayle on "Saturday Night Live"?). But what about if you are a girl instead of a boy? No girl has ever grown up to be president and only one has grown up to even run for vice-president on a major party ticket. However, at this writing the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party for the 2008 election is Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Running for president is not the same as being elected, but Catherine Thimmesh highlights this progress in the sub-title of her book, "Madam President: The Extraordinary, True (and Evolving) Story of Women in Politics." This book looks at the women who have played key roles in political history, and one of the interesting things is that instead of proceeding chronologically from Abigail Adams to Condoleezza Rice it does so within the context of specific categories. Thimmesh begins her book with a kids talking about what they want to be when they grow up. When one young girl says she wants to grow up to become president, a young boy scoffs at the idea. Others then come up with alternatives, such as marrying a president. Thimmesh then looks at a half-dozen first ladies: Abigail Adams, Edith Bolling Wilson, Eleanor Roosevelt, Lady Bird Johnson, Rosalynn Carter, and Clinton. Each is covered in a two-page spread that tells why each is remembered, with a key quotation highlights in blue print. From marrying the president the book turns to voting for president, and looks at Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Charlotte Woodward, Susan B. Anthony, Sara Bard Field, and Mrs. J.L. Burn, and the parts they played in getting women the vote. One of the strengths of this book is that it looks at women whose names are not usually remembered in this regard, so it does get beyond the usual women who are remembered. The next category is working in Congress, beginning with the first Congresswoman, Jeannette Rankin, and the first Senator, Margaret Chase Smith, and ending with Nancy Pelosi the current minority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives. Then the book looks at women who have been appointed by presidents to serve in the Cabinet and elsewhere: Frances Perkins, Madeleine Albright, Sandra Day O'Connor, Condoleezza Rice. The briefest category has Geraldine Ferraro, the only women to run on a major party ticket (twenty years ago), and the final category is devoted to women who have been presidents and prime ministers in foreign countries: Sirimvao Bandaranaike of what was then Ceylon, Vigdis Finnbogadottir of Iceland, Margaret Thatcher of Great Britain, and Benzair Bhutto of Pakistan. When young readers get to the end of the book George Washington will help point out that to become president all you need to be is an American citizen, born in the States, and at least thirty-five years old. Clearly, at that point there is nothing else to be said to make the case for a

Timely and beautiful!

I bought this book for my 11 year old niece who gave it rave reviews! She has passed it on to her cousin who also loved it. The girls are showing some interest in politics especially as it is an election year and they are learning alot about the basics of government at school. The writing and the illustrations make, what could have been a dry subject, fun, hip and humorous. The characters are stylish, accurate and engaging. We all need to encourage an interest in politics and voting in our youth. And its great to show little girls examples of strong female role models in a way that they can relate to. I highly recommend this book!