Click to buy from Amazon.com

Corduroy’s Fourth of July

by Don Freeman (Creator) and Lisa McCue (Illustrator)

Today is the Fourth of July, and Corduroy and his friends are having a fun- filled picnic. They eat tasty treats and play games in the hot summer sun. Then it’s time to cool down with a dip in the pool. Next they take part in an Independence Day parade! Scruffy Pup bangs the drum, Checkerboard Bunny plays the flute, and Corduroy carries the American flag. Once it’s dark outside, the friends gather to watch an amazing fireworks display.

This sturdy, brightly colored shaped board book is perfect for the youngest fans of Corduroy, one of the best-loved characters in children’s books for nearly 40 years.

Click to buy from Amazon.com

The Fourth of July Story

by Alice Dalgliesh (Author) and Marie Nonnast (Illustrator)

An accessible story of America’s birthday brings alive the history and spirit of the Fourth of July with an introduction to the fight for independence and the events and people that shaped American tradition. Reprint. H. AB.

Click to buy from Amazon.com

The Story of America’s Birthday

by Patricia A. Pingry

This little board book for children uses only 200 words that convey the story of the Declaration of Independence, the Revoluntionary War, and the freedom that was the result. It tells why we celebrate July 4th as America’s Birthday.

Patricia Pingry has written 14 children’s books for Candy Cane Press (an imprint of Ideals Publications) and lives in Nashville, TN. Her four grandchildren serve as critics of her stories.

Click to buy from Amazon.com

Hooray for the Fourth of July

by Wendy Watson

Author and illustrator Wendy Watson celebrates Independence Day in America with this cheerful book for preschoolers and early readers. Tracking a family through their summer holiday, Watson begins, “Crack! Pop! Snap! Wake up, everybody–today is the Fourth of July. It’s America’s birthday!” The next pages proclaim, “Everything is red, white, and blue, even breakfast,” and the lively illustration’s accompanying verse reads, “Strawberry, blueberry, cream of tartum, tell me the initials of your sweetheartum!” Young children will enjoy the silly, often quirky traditional poems and songs, as well as the colorful, cartoonish depictions of a small-town family’s Fourth of July romp.

Jefferson originally had written the phrase “our fellow subjects.” But he apparently changed his mind. Heavily scrawled over the word “subjects” was an alternative, the word “citizens.”

The correction seems to illuminate an important moment for Jefferson and for a nation on the eve of breaking from monarchical rule: a moment when he reconsidered his choice of words and articulated the recognition that the people of the fledgling United States of America were no longer subjects of any nation, but citizens of an emerging democracy.

The correction occurs in the portion of the declaration that deals with U.S. grievances against King George III, in particular, his incitement of “treasonable insurrections.” While the specific sentence doesn’t make it into the final draft, a similar phrase was retained, and the word “citizens” is used elsewhere in the final document. The sentence didn’t carry over, but the idea did.

Read the News from the Library of Congress.

In addition, read the article in the Washington Post which also shows some imaging of the document.

Advertisement

The Bleeding Hills

A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy iv. 7

The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. For Whelan this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland. [More...]

The Bleeding Hills is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Nobel, and any other good bookstore.

Weak on Background; G.W. Bush falls from 23

Today Worst Ever: A. Johnson, Buchanan, Harding, Pierce and G.W. Bush

For the fifth time since its inception in 1982, the Siena College Research Institute’s (SRI) Survey of U.S. Presidents finds that experts rank Franklin D. Roosevelt as the top all time chief executive. The 238 participating presidential scholars round out the top five in order with Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Teddy Roosevelt had, more than any other president the “right stuff”, and tops the collective ranking of a cluster of personal qualities including imagination, integrity, intelligence, luck, background, and being willing to take risks. Lincoln, according to the experts, demonstrated the greatest presidential abilities while FDR ranks first in overall accomplishments.

The current president, Barack Obama, while highly rated on imagination (6th), communication ability (7th) and intelligence (8th) scores poorly on background (family, education and experience) and enters the survey in the 15th position.

George W. Bush, had entered the survey at 23rd when the study was last conducted one year into his first term. Today, just one year after leaving office, the former president has found himself in the bottom five at 39th rated especially poorly in handling the economy, communication, ability to compromise, foreign policy accomplishments and intelligence.

Note: There have been 44 presidencies, but only 43 presidents are ranked in the survey. Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president, since his two non-consecutive terms were interrupted by losing the 1892 election to Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd president.

Click here to read the full survey result.

Advertisement

The Bleeding Hills

A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy iv. 7

The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. For Whelan this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland. [More...]

The Bleeding Hills is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Nobel, and any other good bookstore.