Saturday, May 20, 2023

114. Pew! The Stinky and Legen-dairy Gift


Pew! The Stinky and Legen-dairy Gift From Colonel Thomas S. Meacham by Cathy Stefanec Ogren. Illustrated by Lesley Breen. 2023. 32 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: In late summer of 1835, Thomas Meacham wanted to give the President of the United States a gift to show off the talents of his farming community. A slice of an idea grew into a huge idea, a colossal idea...CHEESE!  

Premise/plot: Nonfiction picture book. This one is about a COLOSSAL cheese given to the President of the United States by Thomas Meacham, a dairy farmer. How colossal is colossal?!?! Four feet in diameter, two feet thick, and weighed 1400 pounds. Truly colossal! This gift was on display...but...as weeks turned to months turned to a year...well, this cheese got STINKY. What's a President to do except have a HUGE cheese-eating party?!?! Will the spirit of the cheese linger on in the White House?

My thoughts: I wish the book had just said WHICH president received this legen-dairy stinky gift! Instead of just repeating "President of the United States." True, kids might not care *which* president had to live with the stink. But I do. I believe that the President in question was Andrew Jackson who remained in office through March 4, 1837.

 I thought the story was entertaining and lively. It's nice to have a history lesson packed with fun.

© 2023 Becky Laney of Young Readers

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