The President’s Stuck in the Bathtub: Poems About the Presidents

Katz takes playful swings at U.S. presidents in poems as funny as they are informative, while Neubecker provides careful caricatures. Her entry for Jimmy Carter details his encounter with a “swamp rabbit”: “Jimmy Carter fished on his pond./ The day was fair, the water calm,/ When suddenly nearby something splashed./ Nostrils flared. Teeth flashed.” The titular poem stars William Howard Taft (“In the midst of his bath,/ Poor President Taft/ Discovered the tub didn’t fit him”), and a closing poem about Obama addresses his opponents’ tendency to joke about his name: “He jested that some even called him Yo Mama.” An unexpected and diverting look at presidents past and present. Ages 6–9. Agent: Linda Pratt, Wernick and Pratt Agency. (Feb.)