Barack Obama releases children’s book
Of Thee I Sing
President Barack Obama on Tuesday became the first sitting US president to publish a book for children when he released Of Thee I Sing, a tribute to 13 ground-breaking Americans whose traits he sees in his own two children.
Some of the president’s selections were predictable: revered national figures such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King and Neil Armstrong.
But other choices reflected the eclectic tastes and liberal inclinations of the president, a Democrat raised in Hawaii who barely knew his Kenyan father. Critics are likely to ask if the president is attempting to indoctrinate children.
Most likely to raise eyebrows was the inclusion of Sitting Bull, the American Indian chief whose ability to unite different tribes against US forces led to the stunning victory in 1876 at the Battle of Little Bighorn that claimed the lives of Gen George Custer and many of his officers.
"Though he was put in prison, his spirit soared free on the plains and his wisdom touched the generations," he wrote.
The 31-page illustrated book, for ages three and up, is filled with lyrical questions to his daughters Malia, 12, and Sasha, 9, opening with, "Have I told you lately how wonderful you are?" A series of two-page spreads asks one question, such as "Have I told you that you are creative?", across from short tributes to the appropriate person.
To the question "Have I told you that you are inspiring?", Mr Obama wrote about Cesar Chavez, a liberal icon who co-founded the United Farm Workers trade union after leading aggressive but non-violent demands for better rights among Hispanic labourers in the west.
His slogan of "Si se puede" or "Yes We Can" was adopted to great effect by Mr Obama during his 2008 campaign.
Billie Holiday, the pioneering jazz singer who struggled with drug addiction throughout her short life, was Mr Obama’s choice for asking his daughters to recognise "their own song".
"Her voice, full of sadness and joy, made people feel deeply and add their melodies to the chorus," he wrote.
Another unorthodox inclusion is Maya Lin, the designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington. She is the only American of east Asian descent included.
The list is completed by Albert Einstein, Georgia O’Keefe, the artist, Jackie Robinson, the first black American to play professional baseball, Helen Keller, the advocate for the disabled and Jane Addams, an anti-poverty campaigner.
Mr Obama completed the book, which has a print run of 500,000, before he took office in January 2009, and will contribute the profits to the families of injured military personnel.
Alfred Knopf, the publishers, has stressed that the president will conduct no publicity for the book.
Two previous presidents published books for the young after leaving office. Theodore Roosevelt published Hero Tales from American History and Jimmy Carter wrote The Little Baby Snoogle-Fleejer.