Obama: Only in America - Hardcover

Weatherford, Carole Boston

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0761456414 ISBN 13: 9780761456414

Publisher: Two Lions, 2010

Synopsis

From his childhood in Indonesia to his teenage years in Hawaii, from his father’s homeland of Kenya to the halls of Harvard Law School and, later, the South Side of Chicago, Barack Obama searched for a place where he belonged. His search led him to the White House, where, as president, he would fight for "the god-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness." In elegant, cadenced language, award-winning author Carole Boston Weatherford provides a biographical tribute to a citizen of the world who journeyed from "Barry" to "Barack" to "Mr. President" as he found, finally, the place where he belongs. Primary source quotes from speeches are included throughout.

About this title

About the Author:

Carole Boston Weatherford is the author of Obama: Only in America; First Pooch: The Obamas Pick a Pet; and Racing Against the Odds: The Story of Wendell Scott, Stock Car Racing’s African-American Champion. She is also the author of other biographies about prominent African-American figures. A Fayetteville State University professor, Carole lives with her husband, son, and daughter in High Point, North Carolina.

Robert T. Barrett is the illustrator of Obama: Only in America and Walter Cronkite's picture book, Silent Night, Holy Night: The Story of the Christmas Truce. He was educated as a painter in Europe. In addition to being a prolific painter, illustrator, and muralist, Robert is a professor in the Department of Visual Arts at Brigham Young University. He lives in Provo, Utah, with his wife, Vicki, and their sons, Michael and Eric.

From Booklist:

Some will call this picture book for older readers adulatory—and it is—but Weatherford puts an amazing amount of information about Barack Obama into a rhythmic text that is also wonderfully concise. Most of the major moments of Obama’s life are here, both personal and professional. Beginning with the unlikely pairing of his parents; through his time in Indonesia (“There, beggars knocked on the door and crocodiles sunned in the yard”); to his decisions to become, first, a community organizer, then a politician, the book makes Obama seem both larger than life yet also someone beset with struggles with which readers can identify. He is shown longing for his father, at times lazy in his studies, unsure of his racial identity. His flirtation with drugs is mentioned obliquely: “He . . . stopped getting high.” Barrett’s illustrations, oils on canvas, add a soft focus to the events. Depictions of Obama himself vary in quality from page to page, but they capture a man of many parts. The snippets from speeches that adorn each spread deepen the perspective. Grades 3-5. --Ilene Cooper

About this edition

• Publisher: Two Lions
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0761456414
• ISBN 13: 9780761456414
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 48
• Illustrator: Barrett Robert