Dear President Obama Letters of Hope From Children Across America

Weekly Trip to the Library

Dear President Obama
Letters of Hope From Children Across America
By Bruce Kluger and David Tabatsky

On November 5th, 2008, writers Bruce Kluger and David Tabatsky had a simple idea: to recapture the exhilarating spirit of the 2008 presidential election from the perspective of our nation’s youngest citizens.

They emailed a handful of friends, asking them if their children had something they wanted to say to President-elect Barack Obama. Those friends forwarded the email to their friends—and within six weeks, Kluger and Tabatsky had received nearly one thousand submissions.

In the end, the same infectious enthusiasm that had fueled the Obama campaign itself produced this landmark book, Dear President Obama: Letters of Hope from Children Across America (Beckham Publications Group), a remarkable collection written and illustrated by 179 children from all regions of the country.

The 179 children ultimately selected for Dear President Obama represent a wide spectrum of socio-economic backgrounds—from the seventh-grader in a Manhattan private school, to a classroom of children in one of the poorest communities in Lincoln, Nebraska. Yet despite their differences, their letters are uniformly inspirational, as the young correspondents enunciate their hopes, fears and dreams about the world they live in, and their boundless excitement about the historic election that took place during their young lives.

“Kids really get it,” writes veteran TV journalist and longtime host of Nickelodeon's Nick News, Linda Ellerbee, in her foreword to the book. “They believe they can change their world. And that is the kind of honesty you will find in these pages.”

Do you have a book review to share with nannies and au pairs? Email Stephanie@BestNannyNewsletter.com to share your book ideas. Stop by next Saturday for another "Weekly Trip to the Library."