Kid in Chief

Kid in Chief by Paul Maguire

Genre: Middle Grade 

4 Stars

When third-grader Bobby Barton visits Washington, D.C. on a class trip, he doesn't know he will walk away with a chance to become the leader of our nation. It's on that trip that Bobby finds a missing part of the United States Constitution telling him how he could become President! Soon after making this discovery, Bobby moves into the White House as the youngest American President in history. With his friends Maria Cagney (Bobby's Vice-President) and Kevin Sawyer (his Chief of Staff), Bobby is faced with many important decisions, confusing situations, and exciting adventures. Bobby quickly finds out that being President is a very tough job. Join him as he and his friends learn all about how the government works, having loads of fun along the way!

Kid in Chief was so much fun!

Third grader, Bobby Barton, discovers a line in the Constitution that states that anyone who challenges the current President in a game of checkers and wins will become the next President of the United States.  So he challenges and so he wins, becoming the youngest President of the United States to date.

Again, this was so much fun. I thought that the author did an incredible job capturing a third grader’s voice. The author also did an incredible job making this read a real page turner, one that you just couldn't put down until you read every single page.  It was fun, light and exciting yet you still understood the importance of the process used to pass laws, maintaining international relationships, and how perhaps not everyone is cut out to run a country at the age of 10.

However, I wouldn't be quick to think that a 10 year old or anyone under the age of 18 wouldn't be an impressive President.  People this young are not corrupted by politics and view things very differently. Something tells me the laws they would pass are not the ones passed in this book. 

I would definitely suggest this book be included in a curriculum as it is a wonderful way to learn about White House politics as well as a great discussion starter!

ARC provided by Dog Ear Publishing via NetGalley.