Last February I featured National Geographic and their every four year encyclopedia on U.S. Presidents (OUR COUNTRY’S PRESIDENTS). It’s a great resource on each of the 45 men voted into this prestigious office.

This new title is a fun handbook covering the lighter side of each president along with their weird quirks and accomplishments. Between the giggles you will also find important historical information. This includes a set of pages beginning the book of how this office came to be, powers bestowed, and a look at some big words important to an understanding of the presidency.

Once through these six pages readers are treated to an look at each of the 45 presidents. You will smile or laugh out loud at Adrian Lubbers whimsical color caricatures of each man. My favorites were President John Adams, Pierce, Carter, Obama, and Trump. George Washington featured on the cover is pretty good, too.

Throughout you will find both familiar events and ones known only to the most ardent presidential researchers. Here’s the official blurb on this fun resource from National Geographic Kids:

Weird But True Know-It-All: U.S. Presidents by Brianna Dumont, illustrated by Adrian Lubbers (ages 8-12, June 2017) – What’s so weird about U.S. presidents? Plenty! Did you know that Abraham Lincoln was a great wrestler? That Ulysses S. Grant got a speeding ticket riding his horse – twice! Or that Benjamin Harrison was afraid of electricity? And let’s not forget that President McKinley had a pet parrot that whistled “Yankee Doodle Dandy” duets with him. Every president — from the 1st to the 45th — is spotlighted, featuring important historical information alongside vignette’s highlighting the oddities of each prez. “Extras” include an introduction that delves into the powers of the President, Congress, Supreme Court, an explanation as to how the electoral college works, a glossary, an index and even a listing of the Presidents’ most outrageous pranks. 

*******************QUIZ TIME*******************

Now that you have some background, try guessing the president for each of these five facts. There are hundreds more in the book but these are my favorites I didn’t know about before reading this guide.

1. His father passed away when he was 11 years old.
2. He kept his pet alligator in the East Room of the White House.
3. This president had 15 kids!
4. He was the first to have both his mom and dad at his inauguration.
5. This president reported seeing a UFO.

For the answers you’ll have to get your own copy of WEIRD BUT TRUE! KNOW-IT-ALL: U.S. PRESIDENTS…

No, I wouldn’t do that to you… Here are the answers to my teaser questions:

1. George Washington
2. John Quincy Adams
3. John Tyler
4. John F. Kennedy
5. Jimmy Carter

God Bless America and have a great weekend!