Childrens Book Club

Barack Obama and John McCain want your children to know who they are and where they came from.  Check out this article in the New York Times that gives a run-down on the new trend in political literature aimed at kids.  I don’t want to go so far as to call it propaganda, but there is something fishy about the timing of the release of these books.

Take for instance “My Dad, John McCain” written by Meghan McCain, in which the candidate’s daughter tells her readers why she thinks her father should be the next president.  It tells the story of John McCain’s early life, his experience as a POW and his rise in the Republican Party.  It’s clear that this is a book written very lovingly by a devoted daughter, but it makes no sense that this book should be targeted at readers who are not old enough to vote.  Read more here:

“There are a few things you need to know about my dad, and one of them is that if he is elected, he would make a great president. But to know what makes him great, you have to hear his story first.”

It seems a bit transparent, don’t you think?

McCain is not alone, Barack Obama is hip to the trend, though the new children’s books about his life were not written by his daughter, the new children’s books about his life aim to give young readers a picture of a benevolent Obama and his humble beginings.

“Barack” written by Jonah Winter and “Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child Hope” written by Nikki Grimes, are books that glorify and lionize the presidential candidate.  There is something a little creepy about the way these books treat Mr. Obama as if he were the next Messiah.  You can read a couple of reviews here and here.

There’s no doubt that McCain and Obama want to reach everyone, but I have to wonder if children’s literature is the appropriate medium for campaigning.  Neither of these two men has become president yet, there is no historical relevance.  As the writer in the New York Times stated:

“Let’s perform a brief thought experiment. Let’s imagine the same saucer-eyed prose being written about Michael Dukakis, John Kerry or Al Gore — or for that matter, either George Bush. Nope. Doesn’t quite translate.”