Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Washington, DC : Regnery Kids, an imprint of Regnery Publishing, [2018]
Description
Meet Marlon Bundo, the family pet of Vice President Mike Pence, his wife, Karen, and his children, Michael, Charlotte, and Audrey. Written by the Vice President's daughter, and illustrated by his wife, Karen, the reader gets to follow the Vice President through his day, from the White House to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. A busy day for the BOTUS (Bunny of the United States).
User reviews
LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26
Marlon Bundo, the cute little black and white bunny companion of the vice presidential family, narrates this sing-song narrative about a day in the life of his 'Grandpa,' Vice President Mike Pence. From waking up at their home in the Naval Observatory, through many meetings in various important
I would in all likelihood never have picked up Marlon Bundo's Day in the Life of the Vice President were it not for the subsequent publication of A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo, a satirical picture-book dreamt up by television host John Oliver (written by Jill Twiss) as a parody of Charlotte and Karen Pence's book. Objecting to (among other things) the Vice President's beliefs surrounding LGBT issues, Oliver decided to create a cute bunny book celebrating same sex marriage, using the Pence family pet as the eponymous main character. Because I had ethical concerns about the nature of the Oliver project, as a political act - I mentioned in my review of that other book that I do not care for attacks on political opponents by means of their families - I was inclined to be sympathetic to the mother-daughter team who created this original Marlon Bundo book. I was also curious to see how their story stacked up against the parody, when judged independently (so far as such things are possible, in this day) from politics. After all, I found A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo quite charming, when examined solely as a picture-book. With this in mind, I tracked down a copy of the Pences' book from my public library system.
My conclusion, after reading through it, is that it is a disappointing, rather lackluster tale. Although I do agree with many other online reviewers, that illustrator Karen Pence's watercolor artwork here is quite lovely, that is really the only thing I enjoyed about the book. Charlotte Pence's text is clunky, with an awkward rhythm and forced-feeling rhymes: "We pull up to the White House West Wing. / This is where the vice president works. / And I hop down the hall to his office. / To see which meeting is first." The story itself is boring, which seems astonishing to me, given the subject matter. I don't think I've ever really considered just what it is the vice president does (other than serve as a tie-breaker in the Senate), but if appealed to, I might have come up with the idea of having lots of important meetings all by myself. Surely a book specifically about the role of the vice president can come up with something a little less vague than the events chronicled here? Unsuccessful, both as a poetic narrative meant to entertain, and as an informational book meant to clarify the vice president's job, this is not really a title that I would recommend. I suspect that its sole interest for readers, in years to come, will be as an artifact illuminating the way that politics and children's literature intersected, in this era.
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government buildings - the West Wing of the White House, the EEOB (Eisenhower Executive Office Building), etc. - to the evening reading of the Bible, Marlon Bundo follows the Vice President from dawn until dusk...I would in all likelihood never have picked up Marlon Bundo's Day in the Life of the Vice President were it not for the subsequent publication of A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo, a satirical picture-book dreamt up by television host John Oliver (written by Jill Twiss) as a parody of Charlotte and Karen Pence's book. Objecting to (among other things) the Vice President's beliefs surrounding LGBT issues, Oliver decided to create a cute bunny book celebrating same sex marriage, using the Pence family pet as the eponymous main character. Because I had ethical concerns about the nature of the Oliver project, as a political act - I mentioned in my review of that other book that I do not care for attacks on political opponents by means of their families - I was inclined to be sympathetic to the mother-daughter team who created this original Marlon Bundo book. I was also curious to see how their story stacked up against the parody, when judged independently (so far as such things are possible, in this day) from politics. After all, I found A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo quite charming, when examined solely as a picture-book. With this in mind, I tracked down a copy of the Pences' book from my public library system.
My conclusion, after reading through it, is that it is a disappointing, rather lackluster tale. Although I do agree with many other online reviewers, that illustrator Karen Pence's watercolor artwork here is quite lovely, that is really the only thing I enjoyed about the book. Charlotte Pence's text is clunky, with an awkward rhythm and forced-feeling rhymes: "We pull up to the White House West Wing. / This is where the vice president works. / And I hop down the hall to his office. / To see which meeting is first." The story itself is boring, which seems astonishing to me, given the subject matter. I don't think I've ever really considered just what it is the vice president does (other than serve as a tie-breaker in the Senate), but if appealed to, I might have come up with the idea of having lots of important meetings all by myself. Surely a book specifically about the role of the vice president can come up with something a little less vague than the events chronicled here? Unsuccessful, both as a poetic narrative meant to entertain, and as an informational book meant to clarify the vice president's job, this is not really a title that I would recommend. I suspect that its sole interest for readers, in years to come, will be as an artifact illuminating the way that politics and children's literature intersected, in this era.
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LibraryThing member varwenea
For full disclosure, I read this book only because of a disagreement with a friend who called John Oliver a douche for writing a parody book. In any case, I agreed to read both and to give a fair assessment.
This book has the most straightforward plot ever. It is literally wake up, go to White
The artwork is pretty good, and the bunny is fairly cute. Can’t get that part wrong, right?
This book has the most straightforward plot ever. It is literally wake up, go to White
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House, go to Capitol, go to Eisenhower Executive Office Building, go home, phone sync with the Cheeto, read the bible, and some eating and tail-wagging in between. I have no reason to question the legitimacy of such a dry and dull plot. It is quite literally a day in what should be not-a-boring life but is nonetheless presented as a boring life. If anything, this reminded me of another recent read of “Oh! The Meetings You’ll Go To”, from meeting A, to meeting B, to meeting C, blah, blah. Even if this is a children’s book, there should have be more substance and engaging elements.The artwork is pretty good, and the bunny is fairly cute. Can’t get that part wrong, right?
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LibraryThing member Maydacat
Marlon Bundo is a bunny with an important job. As “Bunny of the United States,” he helps out whenever he can, accompanying his grandpa, the vice-president. But an even more important job is teaching children a bit about the vice-president’s job, and what a day at work is like. Told in rhyme
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and illustrated with lovely watercolor drawings, children will get a glimpse of what the vice-president does, charming told by a beautiful bunny. This is a book that children will like and adults will appreciate. Show Less
LibraryThing member MuuMuuMousie
I enjoyed this book very much. Told from the point of view of a bunny rabbit, Pence presents a believable animal voice. It's common to find children's books where the animals talk like people, but this bunny maintains his light tone throughout. Marlon Bundo doesn't understand all the workings of
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political office—he doesn't need to—and he narrates the things he sees. This technique works very well for the topic: the vice president's job would be a difficult concept to explain to small children, but this story avoids getting bogged down in unnecessary detail. We follow "Grandpa" as he meets different people and moves from place to place. Kids can get a sense of the vice president as someone who is active, who is a liaison between the president and other politicians, who works with the press, and who—in this case—loves animals. Although it works a little hard for the rhyme in some places, the book is sweet without being saccharine, and the beautiful illustrations add a great deal. Extra information in the back is a nice plus. Unexpectedly charming. Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2018
Physical description
40 p.; 23.6 x 23.5 cm
ISBN
9781621577768