Review|America: A Patriotic Primer By Lynne Chaney

This week, the books on the Book Badger Blog are all written by American politicians or their families. Yesterday I reviewed Barak Obama’s “Of Thee I Sing” and today we are going to take a look at “America: A Patriotic Primer”. 

Lynne Cheney, wife of former Vice President Dick Cheney, wrote the book. It is illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. The book is an Alphabet of sorts, and is filled with a TON of information about our country, our constitution, and what it means to be American. 

What I Love About America: A Patriotic Primer

It’s an Alphabet

ABC books are all the rage in our house right now, as my four year old is starting to recognize his letters and identify their sounds. This book was a natural fit for our library because we are learning about the meaning of Fourth of July as well as the Alphabet.

The Illustrations Are Fantastic

There is so much detail in Glasser’s watercolor sketches. The pictures help break up and draw attention to the text, which would otherwise be a lot of dry historical information. 

It’s Politically Neutral

I think this is what makes books by political figureheads work or not work, personally. If you put a lot of your political opinion into the book, it may fall flat with half the parents reading. But if you stick to the things all Americans can agree on, like the constitution, the declaration of Independence, and our founding fathers, you make a book that binds people together rather than pulls us apart. 

There are a few moments in the book where it is clear that Laura Cheney is Conservative (“G is for God”, specifically), but there isn’t anything about the book that I felt carried an agenda. As someone who tries to stay informed and non-biased, I want the same for my child and I felt like overall this book fit the bill. 

There Is A Lot to Learn From It

There is so much information in this book, and it is written in a way that children can easily grasp. It’s truly an A to Z of our country for young citizens. Children who are just learning the alphabet can learn from it, and so can older kids who are just getting their first introduction to American History and Civics. It would make a great addition to a classroom.

Who is it for?

While many of the children’s books that politicians write seem to be for the adults or for publicity, this one is definitely for the kids. I think that kids ages 6 and up will probably get the most out fo this one, but my for year old really liked that it was an ABC book. I could see teachers using this in a classroom. I personally purchased it to have on hand in our library for homeschooling purposes. 

My Overall Impression

I’m very happy with my purchase. This book will likely have a lot of use as my son gets older. It’s informative, well done, and doesn’t overload kids with big worlds or complicated concepts. Everything is written in a way that they can easily understand. 

What do you think? 

Is “America: A Patriotic Primer” something that you would read to your kids?

What other patriotic books are your favorites?