If You Want a Friend in Washington

April 15, 2020
A highly entertaining catalog of presidential pets and other White House animals. An apocryphal remark by Harry S. Truman observes, "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog." Why? Because, "As the president you are in charge of the WHOLE of the United States of America," and "Citizens might not agree with your opinions, ideas, or political party." While there have been over 100 dogs belonging to presidents and their families, an astonishing variety of other animals have been quartered at the White House. Both Calvin Coolidge's wife, Grace, and Theodore Roosevelt's family had quite a few. The names of members of presidential menageries are entertaining, from Boston Beans Coolidge (dog) to Misty Malarky Ying Yang Carter (cat) to Mooly Wooly Taft (cow) to Emily Spinach Roosevelt (snake). Andrew Jackson's foulmouthed parrot makes an appearance along with the tigers given to Martin Van Buren (they were confiscated and given to a zoo). A gift of elephants to James Buchanan never arrived, but both John Quincy Adams and Herbert Hoover supposedly had alligators. The dozens of expressive, brightly colored, shaggy, scaly, toothy creatures in McGill's charming cartoon illustrations seem to radiate good humor and cheerfulness. Backmatter names the pets belonging to every president (only James K. Polk and Donald Trump had no animals at all) and offers additional facts. Endpapers feature black-and-white photos of animals belonging to eight former commanders in chief. Great, fascinating, lighthearted fun. (additional facts, selected sources) (Informational picture book. 3-9)

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Starred review from June 1, 2020

K-Gr 3-This funny and informative book about the pets of U.S. presidents begins with a famous quote attributed to President Truman: "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog." Of all the U.S. presidents, only James K. Polk, Andrew Johnson, and Donald Trump did not have pets, while Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, and John F. Kennedy had some of the most unusual and largest menageries. Rather than moving from president to president and listing the pets each owned, the book organizes the pets into categories, with a cute illustration and the name of the creature and the presidential surname. A humorous spread shows all the dogs owned by the presidents, with the largest number of dogs owned by George Washington. Plenty of presidents have had dogs, cats, horses, and birds, but many also had farm animals (including goats, sheep, and chickens) and more exotic creatures (bear cubs, alligators, a wallaby, and a pygmy hippo). The final pages list all the presidents in order with the names of their pets, and end pages include vintage photographs. VERDICT Although the ending is a bit abrupt, this story contains fascinating facts with charming illustrations-perfect for conveying historical tidbits to young children.-Sally James, South Hillsborough Elem. Sch., Hillsborough, CA

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 1, 2020
Grades K-3 *Starred Review* As Harry S. Truman (may have) said, If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog. And indeed, many presidents found a friend in Fido, McGill writes, following a spread positively teeming with tiny, individualized doggy portraits?all named, or at least labeled, from Drunkard Washington to Bo & Sonny Obama. But other First Families went for cats, horses, birds, livestock of various sorts, or even alligators and other wild animals, all of which are likewise laid out in populous galleries between pages of anecdotal commentary that is at least, as the author puts it, rooted in fact. Alligators? Yes, John Quincy Adams had one, and Herbert Hoover's son Allan owned two. Billy Coolidge was a pygmy hippo, Martin Van Buren received two tiger cubs from the Sultan of Oman, Andrew Jackson owned a foul-mouthed parrot, and Thomas Jefferson used to harmonize on the violin with his mockingbird Dick. Celebrity cow Pauline Wayne Taft posed for one of the 17 photos on the endpapers. A closing tally of presidential pets (only two officeholders, including the current one, have had none) highlights the fact that the White House was often as much a menagerie as a residence. A fetching sidelight on U.S. history.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

July 6, 2020
Showcasing the madcap menagerie of pets that U.S. presidents have kept, this picture book employs an entertaining refrain based on a Truman quote (“If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog”), that ends here with “and is what many presidents got.” Offering whimsical, if sometimes immediately uncontextualized, facts about animal companions (“George H.W. Bush’s dog, Millie, wrote a book for the First Lady, Barbara”), the book also includes more unusual pets, such as John Quincy Adam’s bathroom-bound alligator. Childlike mixed-media art provide a fitting complement to the buoyant text. The spreads might be more enlightening if catalogued in sequential presidential order, but this book is a treat for anyone with an affinity for pets, presidents, fun facts, or all of the above. Back matter includes a note about the text and art, as well as a consolidated list of each president’s respective pets. Ages 5–9.