Synopses & Reviews
In third grade, Barack Obama wrote an essay titled, “I Want to Become President”—and he is, to this day, determined to show the world that, yes, he can.
Born in the U.S.A., the son of an African father and an American mother, a boy who spent his childhood in Indonesia and Hawaii, Barack Obama is truly a citizen of the world. His campaign for the presidency is powered by a fierce optimism, an exuberant sense of purpose and determination, and, above all, a belief that change can happen.
Garen Thomas takes us through the life of Barack Obama, from his struggle to fit in with his classmates and concern about not knowing his biological father, through his term as Illinois senator, to his historic and momentum-building run for president of the United States.
Barack Obama is a man who uses his words to inspire us. We can have a better future. We can be whatever we want to be. Yes. We. Can.
Review
Praise for Yes We Can: “Its a smoothly written account of the candidates life...” -- People Magazine “Thomas describes Obama as a ‘new leader who seems to be granting Americans a renewed license to dream, and maintains an admiring tone throughout…Thomass clear prose will help students learn more about the first African American to gain a major party nomination for the presidency.”--School Library Journal “Yes We Can” is an intelligent, teen-friendly book that not only gives kids an Obama overview, but also gives important insight into Obamas background, his wrestlings with racial issues, and his drive for change. What I liked best about this book is that author Garen Thomas lays bare the angst that young Obama had, his unusual male role models, and the fact that he wasnt always a “good boy”. Obama was an angry young teen once and he overcame it, which may make him even more of a role model for kids today…. “Yes We Can” is a can-do.”--The Bookworm "A nice, fast introduction to the nations current president for those who want more than an encyclopedia article and less than the autobiographical volumes and speeches."--VOYA
Synopsis
“Yes, we can.
Yes, we can heal this nation. Yes, we can seize our future. And as we leave this great state with a new wind at our backs and we take this journey across this great country, a country we love, with the message we carry from the plains of Iowa to the hills of New Hampshire, from the Nevada desert to the South Carolina coast, the same message we had when we were up and when we were down, that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we will hope.
And where we are met with cynicism and doubt and fear and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of the American people in three simple words—yes, we can.” —Barack Obama
About the Author
Garen Thomas worked as an editor in children's book publishing for more than a decade, editing numerous notable childrens picture books and novels, including Carole Boston Weatherfords Caldecott Honor Book Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom, illustrated by Kadir Nelson; Nelsons We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball; and the Coretta Scott King Award-winning novel Day of Tears: A Novel in Dialogue, by Julius Lester. She continues to act as a consultant and children's books editor on a freelance basis while working on her own writing and film projects. She holds an A.B. from Harvard University.