The Leadership Journey: How Four Kids Became President

Gr 8 Up–This adaptation of Pulitzer-winner Goodwin’s title for adults struggles to meet the needs of a general tween audience. The original book, Leadership in Turbulent Times, inspired a documentary on the History Channel and has now been adapted into this compiled biography for young readers. Some of Goodwin’s other titles were also adapted for inclusion, but it appears Leadership was the main source of material. It covers the early lives and careers of Presidents Lincoln, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt before they were elected to the presidency and is supplemented by various drawings in Bates’s cartoon style. Although the title and illustrations are meant to attract young readers, it is hard to imagine this title capturing their interest or inspiring their leadership development. Despite the title, the subjects’ childhoods are only briefly discussed. The text only compares the presidents and presents overarching themes about their leadership methods in the epilogue. Without these scaffolds, the information included may seem irrelevant or boring to readers who are waiting for coverage of their presidencies. For young people doing research on these presidents’ early lives, however, this book is essential.