Wackiest White House Pets

This book does a great job of presenting little nuggets of historical information while telling about the interesting pets that kids are interested in learning about. Short descriptions of the times are included for each man, but phrased in such a way that kids easily digest the info. The 15 presidents & their pets are presented in chronological order, which is a nice detail.

This clever book deserves a rating of five waggy tails. You might be interested in knowing that Abraham Lincoln was our greatest national animal-lover. He not only kept a variety of animals while he was in the White House, but he was especially kind to them too. The first photo we have of a presidential pet is one of Abe's dog, Fido, a mutt. Here's hoping Obama follows his example. There are many stories about animals Lincoln saved--a pig, a nest of birds, and a dog. In those days, his kindness was unusual. Ellen Jackson, author Abe Lincoln Loved Animals

My 5 year-old daughter, an animal lover, really enjoyed the way we talked about history through the idea of White House pets. At the very least, it helped her identify the names of some ex-presidents. I like how the book gives a bit of a background on all presidents at the end.

-2004 PARENT'S CHOICE GOLD AWARD - "For The Animal Lover...This inspired picture book for ages 7 to 10 tells the true stories of such bizarre presidential beasts as Jefferson's grizzlies and Van Burne's tiger cubs." - PEOPLE MAGAZINE - (Dec. 2004) "Election Selections...Animal lovers in the family will enjoy author Gibbs Davis and illustrator David A. Johnson's WACKIEST WHITE HOUSE PETS, a collection that includes Thomas Jefferson's grizzly bears - a gift from explorers Lewis and Clark - Andrew Johnson's mice and, of course, best-selling author Millie Bush, the first President Bush's springer spaniel. It's hard not to laugh at such great illustrations as Millie with a laptop and Woodrow Wilson's sheep mowing the White House lawn." -NEW YORK POST - (Oct. 2004)

Did you know that the White House has been home to more that 400 pets? In the book Wackiest White House pets we meet some of the most unusual ones. John Quincy Adams had an alligator for 2 months, Thomas Jefferson had 2 grizzly bears! Of course the most popular pet of all has been a dog. The book features a list of presidents and all of the pets that each one had. The book taught me a lot of each president. I never knew that the White house had been home to some of the wackiest pets! I would recommed this book to others. It's very educational.