Book Review: Don’t Be Like Trump: The Smart Kid’s Guide to President Trump
Katie 
When the author’s young daughter started asking questions about Trump becoming President, she wasn’t sure how to explain things to her. That is how “Don’t Be Like Trump” came to be. This book tells all the ways Trump is a horrible person – but in a way that can easily be explained to school age children. In addition to talking just about Trump, there is a lot of American History included in this book as well – like about how the electoral college was set up and why the founding fathers wanted it in place. As an adult who often slacked off in history classes growing up, I do tend to like the books geared towards children because it explains things in a simple enough manner and usually also a FUN manner that helps me actually learn and retain information even if I am not the intended audience. However, with this book, I think adults and children alike will enjoy it (provided they agree with the topic. If not, you might not enjoy it quite so much).
Throughout the book there are also some puzzles and quizzes – and even a list from A-Z of ways to NOT be like Trump – Don’t: Attack the Free Press, Kill wildlife, Reject Science, Zone out in intelligence briefings, etc! I also really enjoyed the “color by number” of Trump’s face – but to make it just a bit more educational, each number was associated with a trivia question – the number of Pets Trump had was one color, number of wives was another color, etc. So in addition to having some fun coloring you are also learning some “fun facts” about the President.
While going into this book I knew how awful Trump was, I enjoyed reading it and actually did learn some things about American History and how it works in the process, so I consider that a win. (And I did really great on the quizzes!)
I received a free e-copy of this book as part of Reedsy Discovery!
About the Book
Don’t Be Like Trump explains to kids aged 8-14 what infuriates and worries adults about President Donald Trump. Unlike the traditional juvenile biographies, Don’t Be Like Trump explains what’s wrong with Trump’s treatment of women, minorities, dictators, the environment, and the Constitution. Don’t Be Like Trump explains Trump’s policies in the broad sweep of U.S. history, how voting started small but keeps growing wider. The authors, two journalists and parents, explain Trump’s worrying deference and similarities to world dictators. Larger life lessons come through in DON’T BE LIKE TRUMP such as the perils of offering simple solutions to complex problems and ignoring imminent danger. DON’T BE LIKE TRUMP shares important context about everything from the history of voting to border walls that complements other civics and history education. Trump’s more disturbing personal behavior is framed in DON’T BE LIKE TRUMP in language that kids can understand—and that parents can feel good about them reading. 12 activities in DON’T BE LIKE TRUMP help kids learn vocabulary words, debunk disinformation, make fun of the president as is their Constitutional right, and more via crossword and word search puzzles, drawing and impersonation tips, and other games