Photographs from Barack Obama's Inspiring and Historic Presidency (Young Readers)

Based on the brief description that I read and the few sample pictures that I saw, I assumed this was primarily a photographic book featuring fun pictures of President Obama with children. And yes, while there are a lot of those -- and yes, they are fun and charming and very well photographed -- there is a whole lot more beauty and power and substance to this book, which I would easily recommend to children and their parents.

"Dream Big Dreams" is an inspirational book that offers some basic but valuable life lessons, beautifully illustrated through photography by the former Chief Official White House Photographer Pete Souza. For example, in the section "Be Kind and Respectful," we see captioned images of President Obama with Pope Francis, the Dalai Lama, Native Americans, and regular folks (adults and children) around the country. The "Work Hard" section provides some basic insight into what a president does, and it includes the famous image of the president and Hillary Clinton watching the special-ops mission that killed Osama bin Laden. That is a powerful photograph that I did not anticipate finding in this children's book, but the caption is well written and especially meaningful in this section. There are also many photos of family, triumph, and tragedy, providing a well-rounded and surprisingly personal journey through the Obama years. I am very pleased to share this book with my two daughters, and I think everyone, regardless of their political beliefs, can find something to appreciate here.

If you’re considering this book for a young person in your life don’t waste time, just order it and then come back and read reviews. The pictures are gorgeous, you truly get a sense of Mr. Obama’s humanity, his dedication to his family and his country. Pete Souza is a presidential photographer for the ages. I already own the “grown-up” version of Pete Souza’s book but I was excited to get this one to share with my sons. It does a wonderful job of showing some of the President’s best characteristics (being kind, working hard, having fun, etc.) There are also several moving photos of Obama in historical places that really help deliver a sense of history to younger readers. I can not recommend this book more highly.

Dream Big Dreams is the children’s version Pete Souza’s book Obama: An Intimate Portrait. It includes some photos that are not in that book. Souza was the official White House photographer for all eight years of Barack Obama’s presidency. In this book, he includes photos of Obama interacting with children and other happy photos. There are a few sad photos, like Obama comforting the parents of the children killed at Sandy Hook. However, these types of photos are meant to show Obama’s compassion and the captions do not go into great detail about the events. I don’t think it will be too much for most kids to handle.

I have loved looking at Souza’s photographs of Obama on Facebook over the years. He is a truly gifted photographer. Check out his Instagram page. He has been posting photos of Barack Obama that relate to events involving our current president. For instance, he posted a photo the other day with a picture of Obama with his hand over his heart and the caption, “Yes, he knew the words.” You know what he was referring to, I’m sure!

Dream Big Dreams is a nice, quality hardback coffee table book. It would make a great gift for any child interested in a photographic history of our 44th president’s compassion, sense humor and accomplishments.

This book for young readers portrays the President as human, playful, serious, in love with his wife and family, and yet still, presidential. The photos range from the seriousness of meeting with world leaders or monitoring secret missions to wearing a “princess” tiara with a group of Girl Scouts. One of my favorite is of Pres. Obama writing a note to a teacher to excuse a kindergarten student from school since she was visiting the White House. There are also pictures of his signature on historical documents and items on his desk.

The delightful photos are rich in color and professional and most of all, say so much. But there is commentary to indicate the what is happening in each picture. The chapters include: Be Kind and Respectful, Work Hard, Make Time for Family, Show Compassion, Have Fun and Dream Big Dreams.

The author/photographer captured President Obama from the viewpoint of one who spent a great amount of time with the president in both a professional and personal relationship. The only picture in the book not taken by the author is a picture of the author taken by President Obama. A classic!

This is an awesome historical book to be “read” by students who desire to understand the history or life in the White House or by the student who aspires to be one day be living and/or working in the White House. Even as an adult, I enjoyed this book immensely. It is oversize. My guess would be it is 12” X12.”

The only thing about the book I would change is that the cover is a typical hard cover material, not the picture on the book jacket; however, this is not unusual in library quality books.

These intimate photos can help children understand what kind of person it takes to stand up for the rights of all people in a nation as diverse as ours. And understanding an individual's values through the way we seem him interact with people from different religions, different cultures, different jobs and backgrounds? I think that experience speaks to how others might judge us based on how we carry ourselves through this world. Great choice.

So I already think Pete Souza is very talented so that probably makes me a somewhat biased reviewer so take that for what you will but I did find this book absolutely beautiful and very inspiring! It is organized chronologically and also by theme, so for example the table of contents has the qualities that Souza feels Obama's time in office embodied such as "Be Kind and Respectful"; "Word Hard"; "Make Time for Family"; "Show Compassion"; etc

Souza did such a good job of capturing candid photos of Barack and the rest of the Obama family and you can almost feel the energy in each photo. There are also nice descriptions that go along with the photos. This is by no means an exhaustive history of Obama's presidency but rather a nice glossy overview for young readers who are interested in Obama and also what it means to be President. I think this would make a great gift for the young readers in your household, highly recommend!

My grand child has announced to the world that she intends to be president of the United States some day. Whether that will ever come to fruition or not is beside the point, what is important is having great role models for her to aspire to be. This book is full of pictures of the great President Obama not only going about his business of running this great nation, but of him being a great role model and wonderful human being. It is a book the displays pictorially what a man of the people President Obama truly was and how he interacted with so many young people. Whether my grand daughter keeps good on her promise, I hope she is inspired by the pictures in this book. I highly recommend this for all children.

What a great picture book! This book shows the humanity, dignity, and kindness of President Barack Obama. The pictures offer a variety of scenes from his Administration. The captions give great background. The book is a visual reminder of what a wonderful man and leader Obama was and still is.

I highly recommend this for children and adults. I think this book serves as a good reminder for dreamers of how to reach high, but also to be compassionate. It is also a reminder to be frail and fun: even the president did not take himself too seriously!

This is a short, photographic time capsule of the Obama the man and president. Wonderfully presented and highly recommended!

I loved the photographs of the Obama administration. Some of it was the President, some of it was a photographer catching beautiful moments. I especially enjoyed the pictures of the President and the first family and the President with the Vice President. These are beautiful images, with short descriptions that tell a story. If you miss the wholesome and class that this family brought to the White House, this book is for you. If you like meaningful beautiful photos, this is for you. If you like presidential history, this is for you. This really is a nice book full of inspiring and emotional photos.

Beautiful book with large pictures and lovely captions - a nice way to convey a story or talk about a variety of subjects while focusing on the role President Obama played in these events. He was a man of many eloquent words, and these pictures also tell a compelling and powerful story. I feel this is a more friendly format for younger children who can follow along with the short captions and pictures. Makes for interesting talking points and conversations with kids. Best suited for ages 5-10, IMO.

This book is the children's version of Pete Souza's photography book about his time spent photographing former President Obama. The chapters of the book are separated by photo essays dedicated to portraying one value like "Be Kind and Respectful" or "Word Hard". This a great learning tool to inspire your kids no matter your political affiliation. The values learned in this book ascend age and every person, not just kids, can benefit from knowing them.

A classy collection of photos and life lessons for the whole family. This book is an important and timely reminder of what leadership looks like. Souza's photos show the care, courtesy, and compassion that President Obama and his family brought to the White House. A great holiday gift for young and old alike.

This is a lovely pictorial tribute to Barack Obama. To be honest I would be more receptive to a puff piece on Satan and his demon minions than a politician of any stripe, but this book is very well done. it is more about the man than his politics. the principles highlighted - genuine family values, the value of kindness, compassion and respect, working hard, having fun and dreaming big=should resonate no matter where one is on the political spectrum. I liked the photos of the family best and was glad to see the inclusion of the stressed faces after the bin laden mission. It powerfully presented the fact that being president is not all fun and games. Each photo is accompanied by a short blurb explaining the context. An affectionate look at the 44th president.

Pete Souza, former Chief Official White House Photographer, took over two million photos in the eight years that he was with President Barack Obama. In this book he shares some of the best photos from that time. We enjoyed looking at the photos, and the kids found the photo of Obama with the LEGO statues especially unique.

LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!! Everyone in our family and friends who visit have spent hours pouring over the adorable, sweet photos in this book. Pete Souza is a national treasure, and his subject is so very missed that it's great to have this book sitting around to look at whenever we're missing him particularly badly. Fantastic collection of photos!

Beautiful book with large pictures and lovely captions - a nice way to convey a story or talk about a variety of subjects while focusing on the role President Obama played in these events. He was a man of many eloquent words, and these pictures also tell a compelling and powerful story. I feel this is a more friendly format for younger children who can follow along with the short captions and pictures. Makes for interesting talking points and conversations with kids. Best suited for ages 5-10, IMO.