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Close Calls: How Eleven US Presidents Escaped from the Brink of Death by Michael P. Spradlin
teenlibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
Arc provided by the publisher for an honest review.
I loved the topic of this quick 100pg middle
Grade nonfiction book. That said, it felt like they were stretching to fill content in the earlier chapters (later chapters had more interviews, witnesses, and primary documents to pull from to better flesh out a story).
This is an unfinished copy, so I hope they figure out the format of the side stories/where to put the minutes box story amidst the near death experience. It was weird to read a side story that Davy Crockett talked about his later life and he died at the Alamo, before we heard about this role saving the president. Jimmy Carter’s story was interesting but needed more filling out.
Why didn’t they include Gerald Ford’s 2 near assassinations; they only included him almost going overboard. Good potential, but. Need more
Flesh in out.
I loved the topic of this quick 100pg middle
Grade nonfiction book. That said, it felt like they were stretching to fill content in the earlier chapters (later chapters had more interviews, witnesses, and primary documents to pull from to better flesh out a story).
This is an unfinished copy, so I hope they figure out the format of the side stories/where to put the minutes box story amidst the near death experience. It was weird to read a side story that Davy Crockett talked about his later life and he died at the Alamo, before we heard about this role saving the president. Jimmy Carter’s story was interesting but needed more filling out.
Why didn’t they include Gerald Ford’s 2 near assassinations; they only included him almost going overboard. Good potential, but. Need more
Flesh in out.
kateteaching7and8's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books for the review copy of Close Calls: How Eleven U.S. Presidents Escaped from the Brink of Death. This book will be released on January 7, 2020. All opinions are my own.
We're all aware of the presidents who have met tragic fates. However, few of us probably know about the many close calls our former presidents have also faced. Spradlin recalls the close calls faced by 11 U.S. presidents. These close calls include both assassination attempts and near-death war experiences. Some of these occurred during their presidencies while others occurred before they became president.
I found this book to be extremely interesting. I learned about the assassinations of Lincoln and Kennedy in school, but I wasn't aware of how many other presidents had survived assassination attempts or that Lincoln survived an assassination attempt before the one that ended up killing him. This book is told in chronological order and I enjoyed the fact that Spradlin also included sidebars providing additional information on topics related to the close call. For example, I learned about the life of Davy Crockett. I had no clue that he was a congressman and that he helped to thwart an assassination attempt on President Jackson. I also didn't know that Teddy Roosevelt was shot and then proceeded to deliver a 90 minute speech before seeking medical attention. These stories were completely enthralling. The narrative voice was easy to fall into, and I think this is a perfect nonfiction book for middle grade readers. The title will draw their initial attention and the narrative voice will hook them. I hope to get a copy of this for my classroom library in the new year.
We're all aware of the presidents who have met tragic fates. However, few of us probably know about the many close calls our former presidents have also faced. Spradlin recalls the close calls faced by 11 U.S. presidents. These close calls include both assassination attempts and near-death war experiences. Some of these occurred during their presidencies while others occurred before they became president.
I found this book to be extremely interesting. I learned about the assassinations of Lincoln and Kennedy in school, but I wasn't aware of how many other presidents had survived assassination attempts or that Lincoln survived an assassination attempt before the one that ended up killing him. This book is told in chronological order and I enjoyed the fact that Spradlin also included sidebars providing additional information on topics related to the close call. For example, I learned about the life of Davy Crockett. I had no clue that he was a congressman and that he helped to thwart an assassination attempt on President Jackson. I also didn't know that Teddy Roosevelt was shot and then proceeded to deliver a 90 minute speech before seeking medical attention. These stories were completely enthralling. The narrative voice was easy to fall into, and I think this is a perfect nonfiction book for middle grade readers. The title will draw their initial attention and the narrative voice will hook them. I hope to get a copy of this for my classroom library in the new year.
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