William J. Clinton

Children's Literature

This entry in the well-written "Our Presidents" series details the early years, the rise to political life taken, chief accomplishments and contributions to American life and the main themes of the presidency of Bill Clinton, as he was known. A variety of photographs reveal the early years, his emerging political activity and some of the causes he worked for, including negotiating peace between Palestine and Israel. Sidebars include interesting facts and picture captions are informative and lengthy enough to inform casual browsers. A one-page biography of Hillary Rodham Clinton includes the fact that she is the first First Lady to hold political office following her husband's years in office. The book closes with a discussion of his impeachment trial. Each volume in the series ends with a glossary defining highlighted words in the text, a timeline specific to the president's life, a complete table of presidents through George W. Bush with their home states, life spans, presidential spans, political party and the name of their first ladies. Also included are a page of "Presidential Facts" and numerous web sites and relevant suggested other resources, plus an index. All in all, it's a strong, informative and very readable contribution to the literature about presidents for upper elementary and middle-school readers. 2002, The Child's World, $27.07. Ages 10 to 14. Reviewer: Susan Hepler