Ghosts of the White House - Softcover

Cheryl Harness lives in Independence, Missouri. As an author and illustrator, she is known for her engaging approach to history, seen in such books as Our Colonial Year; Mary Walker Wears the Pants; Young Abe Lincoln; George Washington; Spymaster; Three Young Pilgrims, Ghosts of the White House; and Remember the Ladies.

Cheryl Harness lives in Independence, Missouri. As an author and illustrator, she is known for her engaging approach to history, seen in such books as Our Colonial Year; Mary Walker Wears the Pants; Young Abe Lincoln; George Washington; Spymaster; Three Young Pilgrims, Ghosts of the White House; and Remember the Ladies.

Grade 3-6?Sara is excited about going on a field trip to the White House. Once there, she is unexpectedly pulled ("Magic Schoolbus" fashion) into a portrait of George Washington and given a grand tour by Mr. Washington himself. As they move from room to room, Sara meets the ghosts of the men who made this very special house famous. The approach is neither chronological nor alphabetical. Instead, each room is associated with a few presidents. Readers will find Ulysses S. Grant and Dwight D. Eisenhower in "The Map Room" briefly discussing D day while Millard Fillmore and Richard Nixon discuss their similarities in "The China Room." Numerous speech balloons are full of little-known facts and imagined opinions. For example, Harry Truman tells Sara about the deteriorated state of the White House in 1945 while exclaiming that the current need to check visitors with metal detectors "makes me mad!" Sidebars contain additional facts including dates of birth and death, nicknames, and term dates. An illustrated time line and an explanation of the office of the president is included, and the five still-living presidents are given brief treatment on a separate page. While the detailed watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations and the curious tidbits of information make this volume a potentially appealing browsing item, be aware that its lack of traditional organization and presentation of opinion as fact hinder its use as a source of reliable information.?Alicia Eames, New York City Public Schools
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