Madam President by Lane Smith - review

Madam President by Lane Smith
Here's a good idea: pretend you are the president, and see how that makes you act. In Madam President, Lane Smith (who must be the hardest-working, most civic-minded dude in children's literature) lays out all the qualities the president needs to exhibit. Wisdom. Diplomacy. Friendliness, sympathy, humility, toughness, calm.

His noble little girl, in her tailored, flared pantsuit, demonstrates how each of these exemplary traits plays out during an action-packed day that starts at 7am with an executive order, politely delivered ("More waffles, please") and ends at 8pm, when she delegates a visit from the cat to her vice president, a friendly-looking rag doll.

It's fun. It's informative. It has tons of little jokey details (Katie keeps a copy of Profiles in Courage under her bed). And it teaches about integrity without being preachy.