MADAM PRESIDENT

With uncommon brio, Thimmesh traces the course of women in the modern international political arena, profiling with even-handed admiration pivotal figures, from Susan B. Anthony to Condoleezza Rice and Benazir Bhutto, who have left, or are leaving, “a lasting footprint—whether it be pointy-toed and spike-heeled or rubber-soled and loosely laced—on the very bedrock of America” and the world. Jones debuts with a gallery of freely drawn, but recognizable portraits, alternating with a running subplot involving a circle of adults and children in exaggerated, theatrical poses unsuccessfully trying to persuade a child to give up her stubborn determination to become president of the US. Capped with a timeline, and a stunning mosaic of the White House made from thousands of microscopically tiny photos of girls and women, this natural follow-up to Lynne Cheney’s more populous but US-focused A Is For Abigail (2003) offers a spectacular mix of entertainment, information, and inspiration. (source list, index) (Nonfiction. 9-11)