When I was on Overdrive to request Barack Obama's newest memoir, I came across this picture book. There was a waitlist for it so I added my name to the list.
Of Thee I Sing is billed as a letter to Obama's daughters. It was written in 2010 when Obama's daughters were still very small, but I was still expecting a little more heft to this picture book. I had no idea who the target audience was. I guess in my "fifth grade teacher" mindset, I was anticipating a a middle grade picture book. It was exactly that.
This is a picture book that could be read to very small children as is to introduce them to some of the historical names of people who showed some sort of strength or drive in their lives. And even though it's short on details, it could be a great intro to a fourth or fifth grade class when starting a unit about Americans whose lives have had a big impact on society. It took me about 5 minutes to read Of Thee I Sing from cover to cover, but I could imagine the way I might have used it as a read aloud in my classroom.
Obama has a way with words and the illustrations by Loren Long were beautiful.
In the right situation, this is a lovely picture book to share with some young people in your lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment