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Posted November 10, 2014 by Amy in Books
 
 

If You Give A Donkey the White House (Book) Review

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“If you give a donkey the White House, he’ll want to expand the government…”

The elections may be over, but tensions are still high when it comes to matters of a political nature. What better gift to give your favorite Republican than a goofy little book that takes all of the political nonsense and puts it squarely where it belongs – in a children’s book. After all, few would argue against the idea that Congress often acts as though it belongs in kindergarten lately, and the added fun of a favorite bedtime story makes it all the easier to laugh at. Whether you’re looking to prank your favorite Democrat or give your Republican friend some laugh at their expense, If You Give A Donkey the White House is certainly a unique gift.

Playing off the tried and true formula of such childhood favorites as If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and If You Give a Pig a Pancake, the book examines all the trouble a donkey can get into if given the White House, starting with the idea that he’ll want to expand the government. Of course, all sorts of unintended but decidedly unsavory things result from that, ranging from raising taxes and implementing a federal health care system (the horrors!) to coming up with ideas in the bathroom and blaming the Republicans for everything that goes wrong.

In case you hadn’t picked up on it yet, If You Give a Donkey the White House is a heavily partisan stab at the Democratic Party, blaming their position in the White House for pretty much everything, while the Republicans are only to blame for going out golfing. Unless you’re intending it as a joke, your liberal friends are definitely not going to enjoy it, and Independents or third party supporters won’t either. That being said, your average card carrying Republican will likely find it hilarious, so it’s a good choice if you’re struggling for something to get the guy who has everything (who also happens to be staunchly Republican).

The book itself looks just like your average children’s softcover storybook. It features tons of colorful pictures of the donkeys gleefully destroying the country while the elephants are out for a round of golf. It’s a noticeable use of the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie formula as satire, and the wording is a good fit for the theme – catchy, even. It soft cover means it isn’t all that durable, but it’s more of a conversation piece than a book to be read over and over at bedtime, so it should hold up just fine for your average adult reader.


Amy

 
U.S. Senior Editor & Deputy EIC, @averyzoe on Twitter, mother of 5, gamer, reader, wife to @macanthony, and all-around bad-ass (no, not really)