Poetry Picture Book: Rutherford B., Who Was He?: Poems About Our Presidents

Title: Rutherford B., Who Was He?: Poems About Our Presidents
Author: Marilyn Singer
Illustrator: John Hendrix
Publication: 2013

This book was super cool!! There is a poem about each president, so that readers can learn about each one a little more. I know for me, it was very helpful having the presidents listed in chronological order, so I could see the progression of time. The poems were short and sweet, cute and to the point, memorable but also easy to read. I think this book would be great for a fourth or fifth grade classroom as they learn about presidents and famous figures.

The best part about the book is that Singer provided a "Presidential Biographies" section at the back of the book, giving more detailed information about each president. Matching the poems to their biographies was very helpful because the biographies better explained some of the things they did, were known for, etc. The poems were more brief explanations about the more well-known facts of their presidency, whereas the biographies in the back gave a more detailed description of what they actually did while holding office.

I believe this book is a great resource to students because one, Singer, makes it easy to put a face to the name and remember the presidents through the fun poems. The poems are catchy and usually bring up something unusual or unique about the president to make him stand out. One of my favorites was Calvin Coolidge's poem. He was president during the roaring 20's and part of his poem reads like this: "More autos on the highways, more airplanes on the flyways, with radio and movies, who was bored? They kept cool with Mr. Coolidge, while the twenties roared" (Singer). Through this stanza, the reader can really get a feel for what it might have felt like to live in the twenties. With the onset of cars, planes, radios, and movies, how could the 20s not be roaring??

Overall, I absolutely loved this book!! I'm really into learning about history because I think being informed about the past makes us better able to make decisions for the future. This book makes learning about the presidents fun, easy and entertaining!! Singer makes history interesting with her catchy poems and loud illustrations. The short bios in the back help to summarize presidencies for students as well. The best part is this book is very relevant and modern because it was published in 2013, with Obama being the last president in her chronological history.