Madam President by Lane Smith

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Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library -- School Library Journal, 6/25/2008

From SLJ July 2008

SMITH, Lane. Madam President. illus. by author. unpaged. Hyperion. July 2008. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-0846-7. LC number unavailable.

K-Gr 3–A confident girl walks readers through a typical day at home and at school (Eleanor Roosevelt Elementary) as she fantasizes about herself as president. Her first executive order is for waffles. She then negotiates a treaty between a cat and dog and appoints a toy cabinet; Mr. Potato Head is a dapper Secretary of Agriculture. In decisive fonts, the Head of State vetoes tuna casserole and other schoolhouse aberrations. She "leads by example" when it’s time to straighten up her bedroom, but wisely delegates an ambassador’s visit to the VP as weariness sets in. Smith’s understated text is accompanied by clean, cleverly designed compositions. The heroine’s trapezoidal head and triangulated body are offset by stylized trees whose leaves are trimmed to float in perfect orbs. In what appears to be mixed media involving digital and hand-painted scenes as well as collage, the artist creates a ’60s feel with earth-toned backgrounds that resemble the faux grass wallpaper so evocative of the period. Mid-20th-century games and presidential biographies for children are part of this fearless leader’s paraphernalia. As in Smith’s other spoofs, this book blends message with medium for maximum delight. Kathleen Krull’s A Woman for President (Walker, 2004) and Jarrett Krosoczka’s Max for President (Knopf, 2004) offer complementary glimpses at females and the Executive Branch. Hail to the chief!