(3) 4-6 Eleven-year-old orphan Audacity Jones longs for the kind of adventure she reads about at Miss Maisie's School for Wayward Girls. She gets more than she bargained for, though, when she's mysteriously shuttled to Washington, DC, to help prevent a revenge plot against President Taft. Evocative descriptions, lively characters, and well-integrated historical details make this a sure bet for genre fans. Author's note included.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Chris Van Dusen. The apocryphal story referred to in the title is what most people know about Taft. Whether or not it's based on fact, it's a good subject for a picture book, and Van Dusen's gouache cartoons suit the escalating silliness detailing progressively more absurd proposals of methods to dislodge the portly Chief Executive from the tub. A refreshing look at presidential indignity.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(4) 4-6 Presidential Leaders series. Six presidents--from Warren Harding, whom historians rate one of the worst, to Theodore Roosevelt, whose popularity resulted in a stuffed animal being named for him--are profiled in these laudatory biographies. Report writers will find the basic facts here but will need to look elsewhere for more comprehensive coverage. Black-and-white period photos and reproductions break up the dull texts. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. Review covers these Presidential Leaders titles: William H. Taft, Andrew Johnson, Warren G. Harding, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, and Theodore Roosevelt.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(4) K-3 This is a farcical account of a visit by President William Howard Taft to dedicate a new flagpole in a small town. The young narrator leads, then follows, the three-hundred-pound president as he postpones the dedication to consume spaghetti, barbecue, steamed vegetables, and, finally, the narrator's mother's apple pie. Nostalgic cartoony pictures illustrate the anemic story.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian