Three former First Ladies from Texas are included in the new children\u2019s book, Have You Heard About Lady Bird? Poems About Our First Ladies by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Nancy Carpenter (Disney\/Hyperion, $17.99 hardcover).<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

By Glenn Dromgoole<\/p>\n

Three former First Ladies from Texas are included in the new children\u2019s book, Have You Heard About Lady Bird? Poems About Our First Ladies by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Nancy Carpenter (Disney\/Hyperion, $17.99 hardcover).<\/p>\n

The poem about Lady Bird Johnson, who is featured on the cover, deals with beautification: \u201cShe loved things that flew. She loved things that grew.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barbara Pierce Bush, Singer writes, \u201cMade fun of her weight, her age, her looks. Strongly believed in the power of books.\u201d<\/p>\n

The verse about Laura Lane Welch Bush notes that she loved libraries and books and promoted family literacy while in office, as did her mother-in-law.    <\/p>\n

Every First Lady, from Martha Dandridge Curtis Washington to Melania Knauss Trump is portrayed in verse as well as in a biographical summary at the end of the book.<\/p>\n

Barbara Jordan: Acclaimed Austin children\u2019s author Chris Barton reflects on the life of the late Barbara Jordan in his new picture book, What Do You Do With a Voice Like That? The Story of Extraordinary Congresswoman Barbara Jordan (Beach Lane Books, $17.99 hardcover, illustrated by Ekua Holmes).<\/p>\n

He begins with her growing up in Houston\u2019s Fifth Ward, reciting poetry and memorizing speeches, and follows her as she becomes a lawyer,  runs unsuccessfully for political office, gets elected to the Texas State Senate, then to the U.S. Congress where she makes a name for herself during the Nixon impeachment hearings, and finally becomes a college professor.
\nBarton \u2014 who writes that he sometimes asks himself, \u201cWhat would Barbara Jordan do?\u201d when dealing with contemporary issues \u2014 concludes the book with a biographical time line from her birth in 1936 to her death in 1996.<\/p>\n

He recommends several other books about her, especially the adult biography by Mary Beth Rogers, Barbara Jordan: American Hero.<\/p>\n

Nutcracker: A Texas writer and a Texas artist \u2013 Jennifer Coleman and Wade Dillon — teamed up to produce The Texas Nutcracker (Pelican, $16.99 hardcover), a tale set in Fort Davis in the late 1800s.    <\/p>\n

The Texas version of the popular holiday story includes rattlesnakes, a Bluebonnet Fairy, chili con carne, horned toads, and dancing the \u201cCotton Eyed Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holiday Break: I\u2019m taking a short break from the Texas Reads column but will be back in January with more Texas books.<\/p>\n

Glenn Dromgoole\u2019s latest book is \u201cBook Guy: One Author\u2019s Adventures in Publishing.\u201d Contact him at g.dromgoole@suddenlink.net.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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