Obama’s New Book Is for a Younger Audience

The president reportedly wrote “Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters” before he was inaugurated. The illustrated children’s book, proceeds of which will benefit the children of wounded and killed soldiers, profiles 13 famous Americans and lands on store shelves Tuesday.

And because nothing this man does can go down without a whine, there is what the Wall Street Journal refers to as “some rumblings,” apparently from the fans of General Custer. — PZS

Wall Street Journal:

The choice of Sitting Bull has already produced some rumblings since USA Today first wrote about the book over the weekend. The book calls Sitting Bull a man “who healed broken hearts and broken promises. It is fine that we are different, he said.” It notes in the appendix that Sitting Bull “spoke out and led his people against many policies of the United States government. He is most famous for his stunning victory in 1876 over Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer in the Battle of the Little Bighorn.”

The book’s publishers, Alfred A. Knopf, say that the book was written by Mr. Obama before he took office in January 2009, and subsequently illustrated by Loren Long — who happens to draw charming pictures of children with protruding ears. Proceeds from the book are going to a scholarship fund for the children of fallen and disabled soldiers.

Read more