This year the United States is celebrating its 250th anniversary/birthday! To get ready for the BIG celebration, we are sharing various books about the United States and some famous Americans. Today we are sharing a new book from the Ordinary People Change the World Series that was one of Hazel's favorites when she was younger. The book is I Am Teddy Roosevelt by Brad Meltzer and illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos. It is recommended for ages 5 to 9. After our review of this book, we will be sharing links to our past reviews of these books about some amazing Americans!
About the Book:
The “conservationist president,” Teddy Roosevelt, joins the other heroes in this New York Times bestselling picture book biography series.Teddy Roosevelt grew up with a great love of nature and a strong belief that we are all responsible for one another. When he became the governor of New York and eventually the 26th president of the United States, he devoted himself to protecting both people in need and the great outdoors. One of our earliest environmentalists, he established the National Forest Service, five national parks and 150 national forests. His impact is felt to this day.
This friendly, fun biography series inspired the PBS Kids TV show Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum. One great role model at a time, these books encourage kids to dream big.
Included in each book are:
- A timeline of key events in the hero’s history
- Childhood moments that influenced the heroes
- Facts that make great conversation-starters
- A virtue these heroes embody: This book highlights Teddy Roosevelt’s commitment to serving those in need and protecting the environment.
From Me:
This book follows the standard form of the Ordinary People Change the World series. It begins with baby Teddy. Even as a baby he has his mustache and adult looking face. It shares about his childhood illness as well as how his parents taught him to stand up for others who need protection and to value the great outdoors. It shares his own interest in nature and more. It goes through his college, marriage and the start of his political careers. Teddy had much loss in his life. He turned to nature and discovered how important it was. He realized nature needed to be protected. He suffered some losses but eventually had some success preserving Yellowstone and then Yosemite. Then of course he became president and he continued to preserve nature for us all.
I love that this book is coming out now when so many of our wildlife preserves are being sold off or given away for things like data centers or other business. Teddy Roosevelt worked hard to ensure our beautiful country was preserved as well as wildlife protected so all Americans can enjoy it. He did so much for the country in ways that many presidents haven't. Perhaps it is why his face joined the founding fathers and Abraham Lincoln on Mt. Rushmore. This book shares some of the amazing things he did for our country.
Teddy was truly a force of nature. He fought for nature and understood the stewardship we all share for our planet and the life on it. This book is a wonderful way to learn about our country and some of the amazing National Parks and more as well as the history of a president you may not know as much about. This book is entertaining and informative. It is a perfect summer read as well as a book for any classroom. It is perfect for learning about the country, national parks or a U.S. President unit.
Now as we mentioned above, this series was a favorite of Hazel's when she was younger. We have shared several of the books in the series including ones about twelve Americans. All of these books would be wonderful to learn about how this country is a melting pot of cultures and how it came to be. There are educator resources for the books in this series here.
1) I Am George Washington (this is the newest cover that is special for this celebration year!)
4) I Am Martin Luther King, Jr. and here
9) I Am Lucille Ball and here
12) I Am Jim Henson
Other Americans that are in this series that we have not reviewed:
- I Am Sonia Sotomayor
- I Am Billie Jean King
- I Am Harriet Tubman
- I Am Walt Disney
- I Am Oprah Winfrey
- I Am Muhammad Ali
- I Am Dolly Parton
- I Am I. M. Pei
- I Am John Lewis
- I Am Temple Grandin
- I Am Mister Rogers
- I Am Ruth Bader Ginsberg
- I Am Jesse Owens
- I Am Sally Ride
- I Am Simone Biles
And Upcoming Ones:
- We Are the Wright Brothers
- I Am Taylor Swift
I may have to check out a few of these other ones myself. I'm interested in Temple Grandin, Sonia Sotomayer, Simone Biles, Walt Disney, Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Taylor Swift. Which ones are you excited to check out?
