Kid Presidents, a subtle parody of a textbook, opens by debunking the cherry tree myth tied to George Washington's childhood and never lets up.
Presidential and history buffs will appreciate the opening numerical list of leaders 1-44. Then author David Stabler takes a different tack, organizing stories about the presidents' youth into sections such as "After-School Activities"--tales of them as pranksters--and "Hardly Working," about the various jobs taken by would-be presidents to earn spending money. Stabler and Horner break out episodes from several presidents' lives as a kind of illustrated full-color cartoon. Two standouts: a 13-year-old Andrew Jackson outsmarting some British soldiers long enough to help their target flee; and a young Franklyn Delano Roosevelt getting "a day of freedom" from his parents (and taking the secret of his day's activities to his grave). Horner's humorous asides to the comics-style scenes allow those who prefer to skim to still get the meat of the tales. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness