Colleen

>I see your point about the current events curricula but man - wait three more months and you have books that can be reissued for years because they finally have endings! (Do the books for the runners-up even stay in print? Are there John Kerry bios still running around the classrooms? Or Michael Dukakis? hmmmm)

Posted : Aug 25, 2008 08:54

Roger Sutton

>I think S&S routinely publishes picture book biographies of the candidates, and such books are also regularly published by school-series producers. Those books are published for current events curricula and reports; the S&S books are published, I think, for the faithful, and at least there is some attempt to give the books individuality rather than sticking to boilerplate. Meaghan McCain is a great choice for the John McCain book, giving it an intimacy--however faux--that supporters will respond to. People are buying the book because it's a warm and fuzzy portrait of McCain, and the fact that his daughter wrote it makes it all the fuzzier.

Posted : Aug 25, 2008 11:46

Colleen

>You know I've been wondering who buys these books. There are new picture book bios of McCain, Obama and Hillary Clinton all coming out this fall - and interestingly all are from S&S. Kathleen Krull wrote the Hillary book and I love her stuff, but is there really any value to these books being published right now? Presidential bios after a presidency I can understand and maybe even the Hillary book right now as she has done something fairly historic and is out of the race, but the Obama and McCain? They don't make sense for any reason other to make money from supporters.

I also find it just bizarre that McCain's daughter wrote his book. Has she done anything that wasn't connected to her father's campaign? At least Jenna Bush traveled on her own and worked as a teacher.

Anyway, I'm interested to see the sales figures on these, and more importantly, if they are only being bought in bulk.

Posted : Aug 25, 2008 06:59

another good parent

>or that it was okay to like reading. i bought, like, ten copies of that Bush book and gave them to all my friends.

Posted : Aug 21, 2008 05:09

Good Parent

>Well, I wouldn't buy it unless it taught a good lesson about how it's okay to be different.

Posted : Aug 21, 2008 03:03

Roger Sutton

>I dunno, gooey celebrity picture books get bought all the time; why not these?

Posted : Aug 21, 2008 02:27

Anonymous

>of course they aren't READ. they are bought in bulk orders for distribution to supporters. didn't you see the fuss about the new anti-Obama book?

Posted : Aug 21, 2008 02:07

Anonymous

>Do people really buy these books? I can't imagine reading it to my kids.

Posted : Aug 21, 2008 01:30

Anonymous

>these campaign bios are fund-raising devices - for the candidate and the publisher - never intended to be read.

Posted : Aug 21, 2008 01:17

Roger Sutton

>Rest easy, Jane, the Obama picture bok is just as gooey.

Posted : Aug 21, 2008 10:23

janeyolen

>One to miss. I mean--I'm from Massachusetts. And besides the fact that I am voting Obama, I would vote against a celebrity book just on
principle. And a gooey celebrity book? Double vote against.

Jane

Posted : Aug 21, 2008 07:22

Kelly

>IMHO, as an American, I think it's both--the fightin' words and the truth. (Although this particular book looks terrible...and, not discounting his merits, McCain is not warm and fuzzy, so I doubt Meghan's picture book will have any effect at all.)

Posted : Aug 21, 2008 01:16

miscellany

>Me too! Wait, I'm American, perhaps it's because I'm from New York!

Posted : Aug 21, 2008 01:14

Anonymous

>ugh. It does make my stomach turn. Oh yeah, I am Canadian.

Posted : Aug 20, 2008 07:52