The Presidents Almanac

The Presidents Almanac
Justin Segal, author, designer & illustrator
Paula N. Kessler, co-author

Lowell House Juvenile, publisher
© 1996

The Presidents Almanac is an exciting journey through more than two hundred years of American history! From George Washington to Bill Clinton, it covers hundreds of amazing facts and unusual trivia about the presidents, including childhood stories, life on the campaign trail, family time in the White House, and much, much more.

· Guess which president once saw a UFO!
· Which president loved to mash potatoes?
· Which woman served as First Lady to 2 presidents?!
· Which president wore the same hat for 10 years?
· Who was America's real first president?

The answers will surprise you!

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Book excerpt:

"The Presidential Birdfeeder"
Many of our country's presidents have had a favorite pet, but there was one president who made sure his special companion received real "presidential" treatment. presidential pets illustration

Thomas Jefferson kept a mockingbird named Dick in the White House study, and let the bird ride on his shoulder whenever possible. President Jefferson even trained Dick to take bits of food that he held between his lips at meals! Jefferson illustration

When Jefferson went upstairs, his faithful companion would hop up after him, step after step, never far from his side.

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"America's First First President"
Everybody knows who America's first president was -- or do they? In 1781, while George Washington was still fighting the last battles of the Revolution, the thirteen American colonies joined together under the Articles of Confederation and decided the new country needed a leader.

The Continental Congress thus elected Maryland representative John Hanson as "President of the United States in Congress Assembled,' before America had actually won its independence from England. George Washington himself wrote a letter to President Hanson, congratulating him on his "appointment to fill the most important seat in the United States." President Hanson served the nation honorably for one year before ill health forced him to resign.

Once America was recognized as its own nation, Washington became the nation's first "real" president. However, not all Americans have forgotten this original president: every year, in Maryland, at least, April 14th is known as John Hanson Day.