Children and teens interested in learning more about Sen. Barack Obama will get a wealth of information about the man who could be the next president of the United States by reading children's book editor and writer Garen Thomas' new book, Yes We Can: A Biography of Barack Obama.
The book is intended for middle-grade and teen readers about 10 to 16 years old, and it is the only new children's biography of Obama that is currently available.
Yes We Can gives an educational glimpse into the life of the Illinois senator as he was growing up a child of mixed race in Hawaii and Indonesia all the way up through the groundbreaking speech, A More Perfect Union, which dealt with racial matters in the U.S. that he delivered on March 18. Updated reprints of the book will be made available after the Democratic National Convention next month and the presidential election in November.
The overall tone and language of the biography are simplified for a younger readership who may not have an interest in reading Obama's memoirs Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope but want to learn about the Democratic nominee and why his candidacy is so important.
Throughout Yes We Can are photos of Obama from his childhood, his college years and, more recently, with his family and during his campaign trail, as well as quotes from his famous speeches. The author also provides sidebars with further explanations of facts, like the results of state primaries and caucuses, laws Obama helped pass and a map displaying Obama and his extended family's travels and residences and his family tree.
The book is enjoyable for the targeted audience, if only to gain a basic understanding of Obama as a person and potential United States president. It is a great publication to give young readers background about the man who has ultimately changed the view of politics in America.
[Author Affiliation]
by Frances Moffett
DEFENDER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
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