Rebecca the White House Raccoon

Gr 1-3–A fun piece of White House history as told by a furry, fun-loving, raccoon who was loved by all (mostly). President Calvin Coolidge really did have a raccoon sent to him for his Thanksgiving dinner in 1926 that he decided not to eat and then named ­Rebecca. She joined an eclectic menagerie of animals in the White House, including cats, dogs, lion cubs, wallaby, pygmy hippo, donkey, and black bear. The President and First Lady were animal lovers, and Rebecca, as she tells it, is the most beloved of them. Why else would she have her own tree house to be the queen of? Or her own specially embroidered collar? Lady Grace took her for walks on a leash, and the President cuddled her while sitting by the fire. Yes, everyone loved Rebecca. Just ask the staff who chased her and the bobcat through the house as they tore curtains and knocked over lamps and plants, or the lion cubs to whom she and the donkey told scary stories. Tucholke’s fun and casually informative text is all from Rebecca’s point of view, while Szalay’s illustrations show a fun and boisterous raccoon plus the rest of the story, including horrified staff, scared lion cubs, and chaos. The afterword gives more details about the “real-life menagerie at the White House.”