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CORTLANDT, N.Y. Childrens books enliven history through collages and stories, foregoing the often told moral tales of presidents and cherry trees, and speaking about more relatable topics like toothaches.
According to Terry Jersey, childrens librarian of Hendrick Hudson Free Library, children look for books that have something they can relate to in their own mind, like the presidents teeth book, they can relate to what the president was going through when he had a toothache.
The book George Washingtons Teeth by Deborah Chandra and Madeleine Comora discusses how Washington never actually had a set of wooden teeth. He had dentures made of plenty of other uncomfortable natural materials however, including ivory.
Its a picture book, but it shows how uncomfortable he was with his teeth his whole life, Jersey said.
Jersey also recommends a picture book called What Presidents Are Made Of by Hanoch Priven, a book of collages depicting the presidents. Abraham Lincolns beard, for example, is made of chain, his nose, a tiny l-square ruler.
For adults looking to learn more about historic leaders of the U.S., adult reference librarian Elise Landesberg recommends American Creation by Joseph Ellis, John Adams by David McCullough and Lincoln at Cooper Union by Harold Holzer.
She said one of the most popular presidents to read up on is Lincoln. I think Abraham Lincoln is very appealing to people because he had very human qualities that we can all share, and we was a very compassionate president, I think people will always want to read about Lincoln, she said.
By searching the Westchester Library System catalogue, patrons can find loads of other historical materials and can borrow books from other libraries.
For those wishing to relax in front of the television, you might look into the HBO series John Adams starring Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney can be found on Amazon for less than $20.
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