Children turn political pundits at Hillary Clinton book launch

Record ID: 111592

  • Title: Children turn political pundits at Hillary Clinton book launch
  • Date: 4th March 2016
  • Summary: POTOMAC, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES (MARCH 3, 2016) (REUTERS) STUDENTS ENTERING CLASSROOM LEVINSON PRESENTING BOOK / STUDENTS RAISING HANDS STUDENTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) MAYA SIEGAL, TEN-YEAR-OLD STUDENT, SAYING: "I think it would be really cool to have a girl president." (SOUNDBITE) (English) JONATHAN FAN, TEN-YEAR-OLD STUDENT, SAYING: "Because I would be interested in seei
  • Embargoed: 19th March 2016 14:26
  • Keywords: Hillary Clinton children's books Cynthia Levinson presidential election
  • Location: POTOMAC, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES / UNKNOWN
  • City: POTOMAC, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES / UNKNOWN
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
  • Reuters ID: LVA00447II0CN
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: As Hillary Clinton sets her sights on becoming the Democratic nominee and first female president of the United States, she has unwittingly found herself in yet another role - the heroine of children's books.
    In "Hillary Rodham Clinton: Do All the Good You Can", author Cynthia Levinson charts the Democratic front-runner's rise from her youth in Park Ridge, Illinois, to her work as a U.S. senator and secretary of state.
    On Thursday (March 3), she brought that story to fourth graders at Cold Spring Elementary School in Potomac, Maryland, whom she discovered are paying close attention to the presidential race.
    "I hope kids enjoy the book, and I hope that it's thought-provoking for them," said Levinson, who attended Wellesley College with Clinton and interviewed several mutual acquaintances - as well as Hillary herself - for the book.
    "One of the things that I said to the editor was that I wanted to create sort-of a hologram of Hillary right in front of kids, that kids could feel they have a dialogue about issues in American politics," she added.
    Levinson is not the only one. In fact, several new children's biographies on Clinton have recently hit store shelves, including "Hillary Rodham Clinton: Some Girls are Born to Lead" by Michelle Markel and Jonah Winter's picture book "Hillary", both for ages four to eight.
    While they all share a theme of female strength, Levinson said she was keen to highlight not only Clinton's successes but also her failures, which she cites as her vote for the U.S. war in Iraq and bungled healthcare initiative as first lady.
    However, while some students thought it would be "really cool to have a girl president" others weren't so certain Clinton was the woman for the job.
    "I'm more on Bernie Sanders' side. Hillary Clinton is less direct than Bernie Sanders," said 10-year-old Sudhish Swain, referring to Clinton's rival for the Democratic nomination. "I think she needs to say what she's actually going to do more."
    Many students said they got their news about the election from the radio or from political debates on the school bus; among their issues of concern: immigration, religious freedom, and social inequality.
    "We mostly agree on that Donald Trump would not be a good president," said Tianlai Yang, who said she had watched several of the Republican debates on television.
    "He lies, he's a hypocrite, he's a megalomaniac, and he's delusional. which really - those four qualities aren't good for a president," added 9-year-old Katherine Pease, showing off an op-ed she had recently submitted to "The Washington Post" urging Republicans to coalesce around one candidate to counter Trump.
    She hopes that candidate will be Ohio Governor John Kasich.
    Another student said he liked Clinton but still wouldn't vote for her if he were old enough.
    "The only thing I have against her is that she's already been a resident of the White House before, and I don't think she should be a resident again," said Kyle Baer.
    Classmate Lily Pang concluded that Republican and Democratic candidates "are all good in one way" and "all have negatives."
    Whatever their views, Levinson is just grateful to help stimulate the discussion.
    "I think the take-away is the one that Hillary told me when I interviewed her: get involved in politics," she said.
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