“Dear President Obama: Letters of Hope from Children Across America”
Every other day of the week, Lincoln, Nebraska, pop. 250,000, is the pride of the Central U.S. On Wednesday, April 22, 2009, however, Lincoln was the pride of the nation.Coverage of the event, which was broadcast statewide, included CNN affiliate KETV in Omaha. CNN will also feature the story nationally in a special segment of “CNN Weekend News,” hosted by Betty Nguyen.
Footage of the coverage can be viewed at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgVbIFltvbQ
http://www.ketv.com/news/19255091/detail.html
“Dear President Obama,” a full-color, large-format trade paperback published by Beckham Publications Group, Inc., was compiled and edited by New York journalists Bruce Kluger and David Tabatsky, and features nearly 200 letters and drawings created by 178 children, ages 4 through 18, from 29 states.
But on Wednesday, the Lincoln dozen were arguably the stars of the book. Clinton Elementary principal Mona Manley arranged a 2:00 PM assembly in the school’s gymnasium, where the young author-illustrators proudly read their letters and described their drawings before a packed and often emotional crowd. After the event, the media swarmed around the children to conduct interviews and meet five-year-old Jason Phan, who drew the picture of the president that appears on the book’s cover.
“I’m going to show [the book] to all of my friends and all my family,” said Anthony Nguyen, 9, who contributed a letter and drawing to the book. Taylor Lengel, 7, was more than happy to repeat a line from his letter that has now become the book’s slogan: “Dear President Obama. You are the best president on Earth. You should be on all the dimes in the world.”
Clinton kindergarten teacher, Trisha Hoppmann, looked beyond the excitement of the day to ponder the impact it could ultimately have on the children’s lives. “Sometimes, all it takes is one positive event like this,” Hoppmann said, “to move a child toward a positive and enduring goal.”
Visit the “Dear President Obama” web site at http://www.obamakids.us./
