Presidents' Day Read Alouds for the Classroom

We celebrate Presidents' Day on Monday, February 21st. I shared some of my favorite books to celebrate the national holiday in a previous blog post, but I wanted to share a few more of my favorites to share with students.

1. Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio.

Summary:

When Grace's teacher reveals that the United States has never had a female president, Grace decides she wants to be the nation's first and immediately jumpstarts her political career by running in her school's mock election! The race is tougher than she expected: her popular opponent declares that he's the "best man for the job" and seems to have captured the votes of all of the class's boys. But Grace is more determined than ever. Even if she can't be the best man for the job, she can certainly try to be the best person!

2. Looking at Lincoln by Maira Kalman

Summary:

A little girl wants to find out who Abraham Lincoln was. She discovers, among other things, that our sixteenth president was a man who believed in freedom for all, had a dog named Fido, loved Mozart, apples, and his wife's vanilla cake, and kept his notes in his hat. From his boyhood in a log cabin to his famous presidency and untimely death, Maira Kalman shares Lincoln's remarkable life with young readers in a fresh and exciting way.

3. Presidents’ Day by Anne Rockwell

Summary:

Today at school we celebrated Presidents' Day by putting on a play. Mrs. Madoff said I could be George Washington because his birthday is the same as mine. Charlie was Abraham Lincoln because he's the tallest kid in our class. Everyone else had very important parts to play, too. At the end of the day we voted for class president, and you'll never guess who won!

4. Joey: The Story of Joe Biden by Dr. Jill Biden

Summary:

Joe Biden grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and he is the oldest of four children. His parents always encouraged him and his siblings to be independent and strong. The family moved to Wilmington, Delaware, where Biden was elected one of the youngest United States Senators ever elected at twenty-nine. This is his story.

5. Presidential Pets by Julia Moberg

Summary:

Did you know that John Quincy Adams kept an alligator in the bathtub, while Thomas Jefferson's pride and joy was his pair of bear cubs? Andrew Jackson had a potty-mouthed parrot, and Martin Van Buren got into a fight with Congress over his two baby tigers. Find out all about the weird, wacky, little, big, scary, strange animals that have lived in the White House.

Hope you found a new book to add to your classroom!