Duck for President by Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Betsy Lewin

1. Bibliography
Cronin, Doreen. 2004. DUCK FOR PRESIDENT. by Betsy Lewin. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0439671442.

2. Plot Summary
Doreen Cronin's Duck for President displays the levels of governmental power achieved by the book's protagonist, Duck. Duck goes from being voted farmer to governor to eventually becoming President of the United States. Despite these accomplishments, Duck expresses discontent with the responsibilities that each of these titles require. He constantly laments about the hard work that each job entails and eventually decides to move on to something else. By the book's end, he returns to the farm and begins working on his autobiography.

3. Critical Analysis
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Cronin's language in Duck for President is its satirical tone. For example,  it repeatedly mentioned in Duck's election campaigns for governor and president that "He gave speeches that only other ducks could understand." This could easily be seen as a satirical jest made at how often politicians tend to use language and words that are often misunderstood by the lay public in their speeches and debates. Another satirical twist to the story was when Duck was playing the saxophone on late-night television. This was obviously a jest made toward President Bill Clinton who played the saxophone on the Arsenio Hall Show when he was a presidential candidate in 1992. It is quite clear that Cronin was trying to illustrate the following theme to her readers: Many politicians work hard to campaign and be elected to higher-ranking positions, but once they obtain these positions, they realize the responsibilities that these positions entail are more than what they bargained for and many of them end up leaving politics to write memoirs or autobiographies.

Betsy Lewin's illustrations in Duck for President show great consistency with the events of the story and how it is told. Any good picture book contains pictures that could very easily tell the story if there were no words written at all. The shocked expressions of Farmer Brown and the governor after learning that they were defeated by Duck in elections were well-demonstrated. Most of Lewin's illustrations throughout the book are of a cartoonish nature, however, there were some realistic-looking pictures displayed in the book. An example of this were the pictures of the voting poll numbers between Duck and Mr. President. These pictures highly resembled an actual television news broadcast.

Overall, I think that Duck for President is an ideal children's literature book because it could very well be used to help children learn about the campaigning process, what takes place during elections, and the levels of power within national government. It may also appeal to adult audiences because of its satirical nature.

4. Review Excerpts
School Library Journal- "Lewin's characteristic humorous watercolors with bold black outlines fill the pages with color and jokes. Cronin's text is hilarious for kids and adults and includes a little math and quite a bit about the electoral process."
Publishers Weekly- "Lewin's chunky-outlined watercolors continue to cater to the younger crowd with her usual dashes of humor and dafty sweetness. Her depictions of the campaign trail motorcades, parades, and town meetings are a hoot."
Kirkus Reviews-"The comedy flows freely on more levels than one, and there's sufficient hilarity for all."

5. Connections
Related books may include:

• Cronin, Doreen. CLICK, CLACK, MOO: COWS THAT TYPE. by Betsy Lewin. ISBN 1442433701.
• Cronin, Doreen. GIGGLE, GIGGLE, QUACK. by Betsy Lewin. ISBN 1416903496.
• Cronin, Doreen. DIARY OF A WORM. by Harry Bliss. ISBN 043969745X.