Barack Obama · empowering girls · giveaway · mentor texts · picture book · Read Aloud

President Obama’s Book + the Final Giveaway of 2010

Stacey Shubitz
To enter the giveaway to win a copy of this book please scroll to the bottom of this post.

Last month President Barack Obama published a picture book, of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters, which is illustrated exquisitely by Loren Long.  I received a review copy of it while I was at NCTE.  Since my husband was with me, I shared the book with him.  We were both impressed by the message of this text, which is essentially that all children are special, have talents, and can grow up to be anything they want to be if they work diligently to attain their hopes and dreams.

As a teacher of writing, this book can be used as a mentor text in your classroom in several ways.  First, you can use it to teach strong leads and conclusions.  Obama begins and ends of Thee I Sing with a questions.  In fact, there are three questions  on the first page of the book, as well as on the last.  Each of the three questions on the lead and ending pages of the book are poignant.  They may seem like they have straightforward answers, but I believe each of the questions is meant to make the reader think more deeply about the true meaning of each question.  Second, each of the left-hand pages of the book (see samples below) lists an attribute or a trait.  Showing students these strong words (e.g., brave, creative, healer, kind), with a description of a great American, on the right side of the page, who possessed these qualities helps children to understand the true meaning of a word, which they can in turn use in their own writing.  Third, the power of three comes into play on the second to last page of the text.  Three sentences in a row start with the word “people,” which is trying to drive home the idea that the United States of America is made up of diverse people from different backgrounds, geographic regions, and who have different strengths.  It’s by far one of the most powerful examples of the power of three since it makes the reader realize the meaning behind the entire story.  Regardless of one’s politics, I think it would be quite incredible to show a student some of Obama’s craft moves and then be able to go back and check-in (either later that day or the next time you confer with that same student) and say, “You write like President Obama!”

Here are a look at some of the interior spreads of the book:

This image, which was obtained from http://www.randomhouse.com/oftheeising, can be enlarged if you click on it.

This image, which was obtained from http://www.randomhouse.com/oftheeising, can be enlarged if you click on it.

This image, which was obtained from http://www.randomhouse.com/oftheeising, can be enlarged if you click on it.

Giveaway Information:

  • Thank you to Random House for agreeing to sponsor a giveaway of of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters.

  • To win a copy of the book please leave a comment about this post, in the comments section of this post by Thursday, December 30th by 11:59 p.m. EST A random drawing will take place on Friday, December 31st.  The winner’s name will be announced in a blog post later that day.

  • Please be sure to leave a valid e-mail address when you post your comment so I can contact you to obtain your mailing address and have my contact at Random House ship the book out to you.  Please note: Your e-mail address will not be published online.

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Published by Stacey Shubitz

Stacey Shubitz is a K-6 literacy consultant and former elementary teacher. She is the author of CRAFT MOVES and other professional books on writing workshop. Her forthcoming book, MAKE THE SCHOOL SYSTEM WORK FOR YOUR CHILD WITH DISABILITIES (Guilford Press, 2026), empowers parents to navigate the special education system.

44 thoughts on “President Obama’s Book + the Final Giveaway of 2010”

  1. Pingback: of Thee I Sing: Giveaway Announcement « TWO WRITING TEACHERS

  6. I will definitely add this book to my Read aloud basket. It will make an excellent mentor text. I feel proud of my president. He is knowledgeable and capable on so many levels. He appeals to every citizen; young and older. This book is relevant because the children can relate to the author,and it also serves as a picture walk through history!

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  8. Students appreciate that a book is written to children, in this case his daughters, and it seems to touch them personally. I look forward to reading it to my class.
    Too bad some would overlook it because of political affiliations, which both liberal and conservatives do. Even worse would be to pass our feelings on to our students.

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  9. Wow! I loved watching the video clip, hearing how Loreen Long was inspired to draw the illustrations. My kids often ask about how a book is made.
    They will enjoy the video clip.
    Thanks for sharing ideas about how to use the book as a mentor text. My mind is already starting to think about the many ways my kids at school could use this text to write like President Obama.
    Even if I don’t win, your comments about the book has made me want to buy it!!

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  11. I was immediately in love with this book. I can see myself using it in my 3rd grade classroom as well as with my own children (someday) 🙂

    Thinking lucky!!

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  14. I’m always looking for new books to add to my collection of mentor texts. Thank you for offering this book and including ways in can be used with students!

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  15. Love this beautiful book! I choose it for our family book this Christmas. One of our long standing traditions is a new picture book for the family collection. Most year’s it has been a holiday book, but a few pages into President Obama’s words and Loreen Long’s illustrations I was sold. I can’t wait to sit down and reread it with your post in mind. As always, thank you for the wonderful writing applications! ~Theresa

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  16. How wonderful that you have a president who also writes children’s books! It looks to be beautifully written and illustrated. I love that he includes Georgia O’Keefe for whom my daughter was named.

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  17. Wow! The illustrations and messages of this book are amazing. I will be adding this to my mentor text library! Thank you for making me aware of this inspiring and beautiful resource.

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  18. I think this would be a great book to have not only for writing, but as well as reading. I can totally see how I could use this in our morning meeting to build a community and also how we could answer the questions that he poses and craft our own book.

    **Fingers crossed that I might win!

    Love the illustrations! My kids would compare the one picture of the face in the background with Lynn Plourde’s books about the four seasons.

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  19. Hoping for a lucky number. I read this at the book store and was amazed at the possibilities this book had to offer. How does a president have time to develop such a thoughtful text? Wish I had that talent.

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  25. I am writing my lesson plans at this very moment for the first week back in January. Even if I don’t win, you’ve convinced me to get a copy of this book. Thank you for all you do!

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  26. I saw this book in the bookstore, but didn’t have time to look through the pages. I appreciate how you posted sample pages on your site. I have two daughters. This book would be perfect at home and in the classroom. What a postive message! BTW- I have followed your site for years, and look foward to reading your posts every Saturday morning with a cup of tea before my daughters wake up!

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  27. I would love to share this book with my students. What a wonderful way to start of the new year. I was thrilled to hear about Obama’s new book from these two amazing females.
    Thanks again for the work that you do!

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  30. I can’t wait to share this with my second graders after we return from Winter Break! President Obama, we greet you every single morning when we do our Yoga stretches. Can you hear us?

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  35. Sounds like an inspirational book! Love the ideas about strong word choice and it would be great for the kids to use President Obama as a mentor author!

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  36. It’s wonderful that a sitting president models positive learning and writing traits for students. And, even more impressive that the book can serve as a mentor text to inspire developing writers as well!

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  37. This is a lovely book – inspirational in Obama’s quiet way. Each story leaves you filled with admiration for these admirable people. As for Stacey’s point about Republicans not wanting to buy this book – she’s absolutely right! This is a book about great Americans…period!

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  39. Looks great! Did you know that Joel was born just 4 days after Obamas’s inauguration? I really wanted to go, but really didn’t want to give birth on the National Mall!

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  40. I really enjoy this book! I plan on using this text in a literacy coaching model mini-lesson in January. There are many ways to approach using this text, from highlighting character traits, main idea and supporting details, lines of well crafted writing, citizenship, and more. I recommend it! 🙂 (Note: I do not own the text yet. I did borrow a colleague’s copy and happen to post about it for my teachers on my literacy coaching blog on Monday. I would love a copy to promote with my teachers at school!) Thank-you for your wonderful blog! I’ve enjoyed reading your new text over the holiday break as well.

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  41. @Zinnia: Thanks.
    I have some close friends who balked at the book saying they wouldn’t buy it because they were Republicans. This book is NOT political. I think it’s one of the most tender stories I’ve read in a long time. And, I, too, look forward to sharing it with my daughter (though she needs to get out of the womb first!).

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  43. I love this book. Believe it or not, it was it’s subtitle that first caught my eye. I have have two daughters as well and when I read it I knew I wanted to share thsi with my daughters not just once but for many years to come. I wish people could put their politics aside and see the richness in this book’s writing and illustrations. It’s a great book to inspire children and even adults. I like the suggestions you gave and plan on sharing that with the teachers at my school. Thanks!

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