A Celebration of President's Day with a Look at Our Nation's 35th President, JFK, by Jonah Winter

   

     President's Day origins date back to the 1880s, when the birthday of our nation's first President, George Washington, was first celebrated as a federal holiday.  In 1968, the United States Congress passed what was called the Uniform Monday Holiday Bill, which moved several federal holidays to Mondays.  This bill was heavily debated before the bill went into effect in 1971, when President's Day became the commonly referred to name.  So, in honor of President's Day, we shine a spotlight on one of the most influential, fascinating leaders of our nation with, JFK, a look at the life of our country's 35th president by the New York Times best-selling team that wrote the acclaimed 2008 picture biography, Barack.

     The very first thing that strikes you as you look at the stunning illustration by artist AG Ford, on the front cover of JFK, by author Jonah Winter, is the smiling image of a youthful president in his prime, during a time that was filled with his hopeful aspirations for the future of our country.  While, alas, his dreams for the country were not meant to be, Winter's heartfelt, moving book reminds us all of the powerful resonance that Kennedy's words still hold more than 50 years after his assassination.
     After reading this story, even my twelve year-old son (himself an avid reader like his momma), felt  strongly about the way that Winter has managed to tell the life story of a president who has been the subject of countless books over the decades, by simply, yet eloquently, focusing on his life, rather than the circumstances of his tragic death.  A story that begins quite like many of our families beginnings-- searching for a better life for their family, Kennedy's great-grandparents traveled on a boat across the Atlantic for the opportunities that escaped them while living in the famine-stricken shores of Ireland.  How ambition and a striving urge to succeed drove the new generations, now well-established in America, to become one of the most powerful and influential families in the nation--and how only in this country could a sickly little boy, who loved to daydream and read about the legend of Camelot and King Arthur, who went on to turn into a hero during World War II, saving the life of his crew members when their PT boat was torpedoed, could become President of the United States.  A stunning. powerful, moving story that would be the perfect addition to any classroom lesson on the history behind some of the most influential leaders of our nation's past.

JFK
Written by Jonah Winter & Illustrated by AG Ford
Publisher:  Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers (2013)
Website: www.harpercollinschildrens.com
ISBN: 978-0-06-176807-1
Retails for $17.99
For ages 4 thru 8
Accelerated Reader Book Level (ATOS): 5.1
Accelerated Reader Points: 0.5