A Picture Book of Dwight David Eisenhower

While Lynda Scheele, the Executive Director of The Eisenhower Foundation, gives the "highest recommendation to this entertaining and factual pictorial biography," I am not so enthusiastic about a book that is essentially a 30-page annotated timeline of a great man's life and work. I really enjoyed the variety of pictures from Eisenhower’s early life, such as one of his childhood home and a family photograph when he was 12 years old. I was also impressed by the photographic cut-outs with wrap-around text, such as the 1920 picture of Eisenhower’s first son, Icky, whose untimely death of scarlet fever at the age of 3 was a "disaster" for the family. Indispensable to the book were the many direct quotes from Eisenhower, which really show more give young people a glimpse into his psyche.

However, some of the quotes did not seem to have a place in such a short picture book. For example, he is quoted as calling General Fox Conner “a natural leader and something of a philosopher.” But this reveals little about the subject of the book. Certainly, there are countless quotes that would be put to better use here. While the body of the book is organized chronologically – and well – other areas are not. On the inside cover, the second sentence says “raised in a small Kansas town,” while the third sentence says he “was born in Denison, Texas, and then raised in Abilene, Kansas.” This should have been condensed. The timeline of Important Dates at the end is valuable, but looks just like a summary of the book would look. Finally, the Author’s Notes are poorly-organized clusters of random information, some items merely repetitions of the main content. It is arranged like prose when they are really bullet points. This section did not take advantage of giving the adult reader important information to bolster their knowledge when sharing this book with a young person. show less

This book would be good to use to get to know the thirty fourth president. The students will like that the book gives you an up close and personal look at the presidents life.

For some reason, I really I like this book for simply for the pictures. Though the book was a children's book and the pictures were in black in white, I really thought it captured the mood of the story. The photos were really pictures and not just something that someone drew up. An example of this is when Alder wrote about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. An illustration would not be able to capture the bombing and the reactions of the individuals present at the time. The main idea or message of the story was to break down the life and accomplishment of America's thirty-fourth president in a way that is easy for a child to understand with accurate historical facts. The story displays Eisenhower's strength during the toughest of time after show more the bombing of Peal Harbor. show less

Summary: A depiction of Dwight D. Eisenhower's life through resolving conflicts during World War II as the Supreme Commanded of Allied Forces. he was also an athlete, philosopher, and president during his lifetime. A summary of his time in office is in the book.

Personal reflection: I liked this book because it was a nice change from fiction books I have been reading. I think books about presidents and politics will always be relevant in a child's life, which is why I thought the book was very informational and could hold many uses in the classroom.

Class use: Text set on U.S presidents, Text set on Dwight D. Eisenhower, Read aloud and ask students how Eisenhower influenced the development of the country during his presidency. Create a show more traits map for Eisenhower show less

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