Margaret Chase Smith: A Woman for President

I love this book. I think Margaret's story is amazing, and I am seriously shocked that I haven't heard of her before now. She seemed like such a boss lady until the very end. She had so much drive and passion for what she did, I can only hope to be the same kind of woman when I grow up. I think Margaret should have been our first female president, I think things would be a WHOLE lot different in 2020 if she had been. I think every child should have to know about her, she is apart of american history. She did so many unconventional things that were so unexpected of women in her time. This woman is monumental and I wish I could have been her friend.

Lynn Plourde has more than one vested interest in writing Margaret Smith’s biography. Besides the fact she is also a woman, the author is from the same small town in Maine and grew up learning about the courageous Margaret Smith. It is clear through her writing that Lynn Plourde has a sincere affinity for Mrs. Smith. The author writes “Perhaps the object that best symbolized Margaret was the rose . . . just like those rose petals, (she) always demonstrated uncommon grace, poise, and beauty. Margaret, just like thorny rose stems, also showed incredible strength, vigor, and toughness.”
The author tells the story in linear terms and uses simple language that young readers will be able to comprehend. The bibliography sources contain show more more than half of their volume from scholarly sources and government websites.
The author included some interesting and relevant timelines to coincide with the story she is telling like the “right to vote” timeline, the “US Women in Congress” timeline and “The life of Margaret Chase Smith.” My only critique is that I would have preferred to see real photographs instead of the illustrations used throughout the entire book. In the Author's Note section, there is one photograph. Perhaps the author's intent was to prompt readers to look up Mrs. Smith on the internet for more information.
A must-read for anyone honoring Women’s History Month. show less

The first page of this book states why Margaret Smith ran for president. It was because of all the reasons that other people thought she couldn't. This shows readers that there may be many obstacles, hardships, or People in your way but you can still work hard for something and try to overcome them. Smith was a woman Senator for many years who defied the odds. Though she did not win the Presidency she made many differences in history for women. On almost every page there is a sentence at the bottom that gives a poetic sentiment of her character that is described on each page. Every page also has a timeline at the bottom that outlines the events that caused a bigger event that affected Smith or that she was a part of creating.

A good spotlight on the life of a really admirable and inspiring woman, but a little too fawning for my taste.

A very cute book about the first woman to seriously make a run for the presidency of the United States. Like with all political biographies, this book spends most of its time showing what an amazing, patriotic American she was.

The book includes a great deal of detailed time-lines for easy reference on the historical impact of her life. This was probably the best part of the book because it gives the reader an excellent sense of context for the story of Margaret Chase Smith.

I liked the book a great deal, but I may be biased in that I love Senator Smith for her feminism and love of the Space Program.

I would recommend this book for ages 6-12.

Margaret Chase Smith grew up in a poor family, but that did not stop her from greatness. She worked endlessly to get her name up their with other big leaders. Through hard work, she became a senator and she did everything for the people. She worked to give women more rights, and also worked towards the race to get a man in space. She eventually tried to run for president, but lost the nomination because she was female. She continued to serve the people until she became to old to work in Washington. She passed away in 1995.

I found this biography to be very interesting because I never knew a woman before Clinton had tried to run for president. The author presented this information in the order it happened, and supplied a timeline at the show more bottom of each page. The illustrations were simple, but complemented the story well. show less

I found this book to be quite informative. I really liked the time lines at the bottom of each page, there I found many facts I never knew. Before reading this book I hadn't heard of Margaret Smith, but after reading it I have a lot of admiration for her.