Find more great Horn Book content at these links:

Interviews with authors and illustrators
Recommended books: reviews and themed booklists
App and e-book reviews
Movie reviews
Event news and recaps
Events calendar

Susan Katz on The President's Stuck in the Bathtub

by Jennifer M. Brabander
Jun 27, 2012 | Filed in Articles & Opinion
In the May/June 2012 issue of The Horn Book Magazine, Jennifer Brabander asks The President's Stuck in the Bathtub author Susan Katz about writing presidential poetry. Read the full review of The President's Stuck in the Bathtub here.

Jennifer Brabander: Which president was the hardest to write a poem about?

Susan Katz: James Monroe. The incident I used for his poem was the only unusual detail I was able to unearth, even after reading four or five biographies. One historian dubbed him “dull as a stone.” I’d have to concur. (The easiest to write a poem about, I unofficially add, was George W. Bush since he wrote half the poem for me!)
Jennifer M. Brabander

Jennifer M. Brabander is former senior editor of The Horn Book Magazine. She holds an MA from the Center for the Study of Children’s Literature from Simmons University.

1 COMMENT
Comment Policy:
  • Be respectful, and do not attack the author, people mentioned in the article, or other commenters. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
  • Don't use obscene, profane, or vulgar language.
  • Stay on point. Comments that stray from the topic at hand may be deleted.
  • Comments may be republished in print, online, or other forms of media.
  • If you see something objectionable, please let us know. Once a comment has been flagged, a staff member will investigate.
Fill out the form or Login / Register to comment:
(All fields required)

mary anjali

This sounds like a great book to introduce and launch a poetry unit with. Not only poetry, but you could connect what sounds like simple poems of the presidents lives to a biography review. Students could pick a poem and president and research that president, come up with another topic idea that the author Jennifer M. Brabander did not suggest or address in her poem and then add their own spin on a poem. You could have them follow the model of the poem written by the author, or pick their own style, haiku, cinquain, rap, limerick etc. of poetry that they prefer.

Posted : Jul 07, 2012 06:32

RELATED 

OUT OF THE BOX

Week in Review, April 7th-11th
by Horn Book
OUT OF THE BOX

National Library Week
by Horn Book
OUT OF THE BOX

G-O-T T-O G-O, It’s Almost Passover!
by Shoshana Flax
OUT OF THE BOX

Laurie Halse Anderson "Salon" with Porter Square Books
by Elissa Gershowitz
OUT OF THE BOX

Week in Review, March 31st-April 4th
by Horn Book
OUT OF THE BOX

May/June 2025 Horn Book Magazine starred reviews
by Horn Book
More
RECOMMENDED
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?