Not many people know about President William Howard Taft, except that he was a big man with a big smile. But did you know that he was the first president to throw out the first pitch at a baseball game, and that he invented the “seventh inning stretch?” Did you know that Arizona and New Mexico became states while he was President? He is also the only president to hold the job of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. In this historical fiction, however, we see President Taft in a more comical light as his nose leads him on the ultimate quest: for mom’s apple pie!

When it comes to food, this U.S. President never lets his size get in the way, all 350 pounds of it! It’s 1909, and a young boy’s town is abuzz with excitement. President William Taft is coming to dedicate the new flagpole. But when Taft arrives, he is distracted by a delicious aroma. Forgetting the flagpole, the pudgy President is led by a boy to find the source of the wonderful smell. On the way, he samples all the cuisine that the town has to offer, including the boy’s mother’s apple pie.

More entertaining than educational, The President and Mom’s Apple Pie, by Michael Garland, is a funny story based on an actual historical figure.