Editorial Review

This entry in the well-written ‘Our Presidents’ series provides an overview of Rutherford B. Hayes’s life, early years in Ohio, his lengthy involvement in the Civil War, and the disputed contest between Tilden and Hayes that caused an election commission to determine that Hayes was the next president. The text also covers his role in ending Reconstruction and his support of immigration and working-class Americans. A variety of photographs show his family, his wife and children and official government activities. Other outtake pages include one about Carpetbaggers, Hayes’s attitude about his Civil War days, and another about his wife’s daily schedule-keeping relating to order in the White House. Sidebars include interesting facts and picture captions are informative and lengthy enough to inform casual browsers. Each book in the series ends with a glossary defining highlighted words in the text, a timeline specific to the president’s life, a complete table of presidents through George W. Bush with their home states, life spans, presidential spans, political party and the name of their first ladies. Also included are a page of ‘Presidential Facts,’ numerous web sites and relevant suggested other resources, as well as an index. All in all, it’s a strong, informative and very readable contribution to the literature about presidents for upper elementary and middle school readers.