Product Description
Judson Moon won the presidential election of 2000 at age 12. Now, a year later, he's dodging assassination attempts and facing off with a crazed South American dictator! Sometimes, Judson wishes he was just a regular kid back in Madison, Wisconsin.
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 A GREAT READ ALOUD for 5th graders
As a Fifth Grade teacher, I was introduced to this book by one of my students. I felt that after reading the back cover of the book, "I offer you America: if you help me I'll help you," is great way to start guided reading and my read aloud, making predictions about this book. After, reading some of the other reviews, I see that others might have not appreciated the humor and introduction to young students' exposure to politics of and government. The author Dan Gutman, wrote the book during a time of elections, taking a view point, through the eyes of a child. So far the students in my class have not let me put down the book and if they could spend the whole day reading it they would.
1. Social Studies: I have incorporated Current events of the presidential election that is now going on. I have been giving my students themes to their friday current event homework assignments. One night, the focus question was on why do you think being famous is not great as it looks? Does it come with a huge responsibility, because everything you do is photographed and headlines for the newspapers. They were instructed to look to see if there were articles that happened to everyday people, and we know happens then bring in and discuss the 5 W's and How, a everyday event appears in the newspaper about famous people (i.e., Brittany Spears, steps in dog, poo.) my students brought in. So they are able to make the connections of the difference when you are rich and famous.
2.Oct 15th the homework assignment they had was to watch the Debate 20 days before the election. I gave out a work sheet, which they would have to write about two major issues the candidates discussed during the debate. Today as an assignment we went through the issues, I had my class split up into two groups the democratic party as well as the republic party. The groups new which party they belong to before watching the debate. I could not wait to see what the students walked away with from watching the debate and telling us what the issues were. I had a few students tell me they honestly were not sure because they argued alot about the bad commericals each party made about each other, and taxes.
3. The do take about the branches of government in this book which is a great way to allow them to which the 1970's video clips from SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK I was brought up on;"The three ring circus, I'm just a bill, the Preamble." This is a way to review for the NYS Social Studies Exam, while the students enjoy the humor that is incorporated.
4. Language Arts; their have exposure to new vocabulary, as well as terms that will be addressed on the Social Studies Exam.
5. This book as promoted my students to making connections, Text to Self, Text to Text, and Text to WORLD! We do recalling from chapters, making predications, as well as pair and share. Which has reinforce their comprehension strategies, the students also find the humor by making the comparisons of what a president might do and what is not exceptable.
6. As adults do we not realize the amount of money that is really spent in politics, campaigns, and how many candidates have to make sure they have spent their funding properly. A realistic point of how sometimes power can go to your head in any line of work, and when it does do we realize we abuse it.
7. As a conclusion to this reading I have had the studnets write what would they do if they were in Moon's position and became president. Would they keep all their promises? How would they do that if the three branches of government one is not more powerful than the other and it can be rejected?
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 Warning: This book is a spoof! ( judys-books )
Let me put it out on the table right now, right up front--this book is not to be taken seriously. Dan Gutman wrote the wildest, most implausible, fun book he could think of. Why? How have adult presidents done in office? Great? Really good? Horrible? Just to stir the waters a bit, Gutman published his book in time for the campaign season. Through the story he asks hard questions about presidential campaigns and candidates. Who do we elect as our President?
Gutman goes into the story with the proposition that even a kid could do as well as an adult in presiding over a country. Here are two give-aways that Gutman was spoofing: (These are obvious--I just wanted to have fun writing them)
1. What adult with even half a brain would vote for a 12-year-old kid, especially if that adult has a child that age or near it. Kids would put pressure on their parents to vote for Judson Moon? Parents would given in? Ya think?
2. Another wildly improbable idea is legally changing the age for president. It takes about nine months in the book. Congress is going to do this? No way. That's how you know that Gutman is pulling your leg.
That out of the way, we can examine the novel. I'm an old folk, a librarian to be sure, but still an old folk, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was fun to watch (in my mind's eye) a mere child--no less President of the United States-- who still has parents tell him to clean up his room in the White House. As Judson tells voters during the campaign, he doesn't know anything.
What do you think one of the first acts of a 12-year-old kid would be? Did you guess that he flies in all his friends from his home in Wisconsin over for the weekend in the White House? Can you imagine 30 unsupervised 12-year-olds roving all over the White House?
Because he does "not know anything," several local and international events occur, with one of utmost importance, involving a nasty, despicable South American dictator. Another of great discouragement is that Judson's Chief of Staff resigns and goes back home to a normal school life in Wisconsin.
His First Babe, uh, First Lady is beautiful (at 12?) Chelsea Daniels, who does know her etiquette, and style, and flair. Judson's style is light-hearted even though it makes him enemies (that South American dictator). One of my favorite scenes involves Chelsea morphing from a social butterfly into a worker bee--drab in sweatpants, ponytail, but devoted to helping hurricane victims--sincerely so.
Underneath the fun and work of being President, Judson, too, learns the seriousness (he ran as a lark), dedication (he did want to do good), passion (has it, does get to use it), and experience (a dead end). Gutman laces the story with civics and government mini-lessons, but only enough to clue in a reader who might not know this information yet. It's well-done and certainly not offensive.
How it ends is left for the reader to discover. Trust me, everyone is satisfied and even happy. A truly fun reading experience. Not to be missed. As an older woman friend would say, "A hoot!" As my fifth-grade niece would say, "Snap!"
As Judson Moon said in his inauguration: "Let's Rummmmbbblllee!!"
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The kid who became president
I liked most of the book because it showed a lot of the things that the president would have to do every day in the white house and all the people he would need to work with. When his friends were going wild I think that's exactly what would happen because my class acts the same way. It was a fun book to read and not boring at all. I'm just disapointed a little bit that in both stories he thinks about quitting.
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 Disrespectful language ( abendigkeit )
In reading this book aloud with my son I was alarmed at the statement that the reason the kid ran for president was because the "Democratic candidate was an idiot and the Republican was a jerk"...books like this are the reason we are having to teach the "Character Counts" and pillars of character in school ...it's not okay to call anyone names. While it may engage kids to want to read the further it's not what I want my son reading. We returned the book.
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THe kid who became president kurt s
In the fictional book The Kid Who Became President written by Dan Gutman a boy named Judson Moon becomes president. This is the sequel to The Kid Who Ran for President. In this book Moon learns being president is everything but an easy job.
During the beginning of his presidency, Moon is having a blast. He plays games, goes swimming, he has his friends come over. Then some of his friends pushed his body guard Agent Doe into the pool. Agent Doe couldn't swim. Moon saves him. Moon faces many difficult and annoying problems. For instance once he had to play an evil dictator in a video game instead of having a war. Moon would eventually win the game with a smart strategy. After Moon wins the dictator tries to kill him but Moon remembers the secret ninja death touch Agent Doe taught him. Judson would kill the dictator. Also someone once tried to shoot Moon but Agent Doe took the bullet. Agent Doe would eventually be fine. Moon learns that you can never make everyone happy.
I would definitely recommend this book because it's a lot of fun and its exciting. It has lots of jokes and action so everyone can enjoy this book. I enjoyed this book a lot more than the first book.
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