History With A Whimsical Twist
A new book, The White House ABC: A Presidential Alphabet, written by John Hutton and published by the White House Historical Association, brings the extraordinary 200-year history of the White House to life in this positive, cheerful and highly intelligent multilingual look at the presidency.
The White House ABC is history with a whimsical twist. It is the result of much good-natured research and thinking—chock full of White House wonders and personalities,” said author/artist John Hutton.
Definitely not your average children’s book but a classical approach which delightfully bridges the interests of children and adults. Each letter of the alphabet is featured individually, with the names of the presidents and words associated with the White House listed in five languages, English, French, German, Spanish, and Latin. Accompanying the lists for each letter are numerous, humorous drawings, large and small, which bring the words to life.
Readers are encouraged to exercise their vocabularies and increase the fun by creating their own accounts, adding to those words on the lists. Presidents, first families, famous visitors, and a myriad of objects from the White House collection may thus be transformed – and alphabetically assembled – into a series of pictorial stories. Historical notes are provided to guard the sharp-eyed reader, in the hope that nothing should be missed. The avowed purpose – both to amuse and teach.
John Hutton is a professor of art history at Salem College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He was born in Pound Ridge, New York, and educated at Princeton, the University of London, and Harvard. Hutton’s illustrations have appeared in several Thornwillow Press Publications, most recently in Alphababel: An Illustrated Tower of Languabets.
The White House Historical Association was established in 1961 as a non-profit organization to enhance the understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of the Executive Mansion. Proceeds from the association’s trusts, publications and other items are used to fund acquisitions of historic furnishings and artwork for the permanent White House collection, assist in the preservation of the public rooms, and further its educational mission.
Design and typography created by Thornwillow Press, Ltd., printer and publisher of hand-crafted, limited edition books.
ISBN 0-912308-88-5
Pub date: April, 2004
$19.95 plus $6.00 for packing and delivery
Hardback 10 ¼ x 10 ¼
72 pages.
Order from: White House Historical Association
P.O. Box 96586, Washington, D.C. 20090-6586
Call toll free: 1-800-555-2451
Website: www.whitehousehistory.org
