Review by Booklist Review
It's commonly known that Donald Trump has no pets in fact, he's the first president in nearly 120 years not to have a dog in the White House. But what about some of those past pets? Theodore Roosevelt, for example, kept an assortment of exotic and domestic pets. Like children, he was fascinated with animals and young readers will enjoy Singer's comical and insightful poetic tribute to the nation's first pets. She looks at George Washington, whose presidential pets never lived in the White House (because neither did he!) and notes that some First Pets were ill-behaved, like Andrew Jackson's parrot Poll (""She flapped and she squawked, then began to curse""). Some animals were kept solely for utilitarian purposes, like William Taft's bovine, Pauline Wayne, used for butter and milk. Singer's 31 poems, accompanied by McAmis' mixed-media artwork, showcase a lighter side of political life and offer an accessible point into presidential history. An ""Executive Pets"" section of facts and bibiliography/webography in the back matter supplements this first-rate collection.--Carol-Ann Hoyte Copyright 2020 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Singer commemorates a menagerie that's furry, feathered, and even scaly, all of them "witnesses to history" who kept company with, and occasionally provided consternation for, U.S. presidents and their families. Beginning with George Washington's hounds, a new breed that he created, and moving forward through time, Singer employs an impressive variety of rhyming schemes in service of the parade of animal names: Veto, the heroic Newfoundland belonging to James Garfield; Emily Spinach, Alice Roosevelt's pocketbook-toted garter snake; and the titular Macaroni, Carolyn Kennedy's pony. McAmis's witty, ingeniously dimensional collages are a treasure, from a view of the Wilsons' sheep grazing on the White House lawn to LBJ in a pool howling with his beloved mutt Yuki. Ages 6--8. (Oct.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
"Along with children, First Ladies, and presidents, / the executive mansion had notable residents."The veteran versifier offers new stanzas on select animals who occupied the White House (often only briefly) or were at least associated with the chief executives. Readers are likely to be impressed by the sheer varietynot just horses, cats, and dogs in abundance, but a mockingbird that Thomas Jefferson "bought from a slave for five shillings," John Quincy Adams' alligator and his wife's silkworms, Benjamin Harrison's possums, Teddy Roosevelt's wild menagerie, and more. Singer writes in casual but controlled metrics that lend each poem a fresh, individual character. She also broadens her general theme both by frequently commenting on the experiences or characters of the animals' presidential owners ("In the White House, / a mouse is not a welcome resident. / Occasionally, neither / is the sitting president") and adding observations at the end that will resonate with pet owners far from the nation's capital and several years away from voting age. In lengthy endnotes she adds still more. McAmis uses clipped bits of paper and found materials to create low-relief collages for each poem. Though he depicts Calvin Coolidge's pair of lion cubs as tigers, the animals and human figures throughout (the latter all white) have homey, domesticated looks.A popular topic explored with humor and respect for its furred, feathered, and four- (more or less) legged cast. (bibliography) (Picture book/poetry. 6-9) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
