Swanson, James L.
THE PRESIDENT HAS BEEN SHOT!
New York : Scholastic, 2013
IL YA
ISBN 0545490073

(3 booktalks)

Booktalk #1

Fifty years ago, John Kennedy was president of the United States and enjoying a visit to Dallas.  No one could have known what would happen on November 22, 1963.  In this book, we learn about the days that led up to that fateful day.  The assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, hadn't even planned on shooting the President until just a few days before.  But an article about the President's visit in a local newspaper caught his eye.  You will learn about Oswald's background and desire to do something extraordinary.  And you will learn about the details surrounding the President's assassination.

Booktalk #2

The President Has Been Shot goes back in time to November 22, 1963, the day America mourned the death of its young and charismatic leader, President John F. Kennedy. Through engaging text, diagrams, maps, photographs, and illustrations, this historical account describes the assassination of the president who was riding in a motorcade in downtown Dallas, Texas, when he was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald.
 
The President Has Been Shot provides an inside look at the heartbreaking loss of a nation’s hero. It touches upon Kennedy’s home life, his presidency, and the political issues of the 1960s. It also provides an inside look into the life and death of Lee Harvey Oswald. This attractive and riveting title brings history to life and gives its readers a firsthand look at the shocking events that unfolded on that tragic day in 1963.   (Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher award, 2015)

Booktalk #3

On a November day in 1963, a lone gunman stands perched inside an open window at the Texas School Book Depository, preparing his weapon for the perfect shot. Blocks away, a young president at the height of his career, waves to a crowd of onlookers from his open vehicle.

The shot is fired from the window. The world is never the same.

 James Swanson not only provides a thorough look at the early life and career of John F. Kennedy, a family man and charismatic political figure, but also gives a shocking glimpse into the mind of his killer, Lee Harvey Oswald.

This suspenseful thriller reaches a peak when it takes the reader on the exact motorcade path Kennedy took in the last moments of his life. Readers will discover little-known details surrounding the hours after the president’s death including Jacqueline Kennedy’s devastating airplane ride back home and conspiracy theories that hint that Oswald did not act alone. Swanson delivers an emotional and impeccable narrative that leaves the reader wanting more!  (Prepared by: Carmen Mangus, Pelion Middle School, South Carolina Junior Book Award)