School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-4-A glowing portrait of Michelle Obama, delivered in quiet, straightforward prose. Beginning and ending on Inauguration Day 2009, the story of Obama's life, from her childhood growing up on the south side of Chicago to her years working at the law firm where she met her future husband, is laid out. The focus here is not so much on the details, but more her strength of character and the important role that family has always played in her life. Ford's colorful paintings are uncannily accurate portrayals and have the feel of near-snapshots from various stages of Obama's life. While the style of painting pairs well with the text, there is a static quality that somehow pervades the book and sets a more formal tone. Pair this with Nikki Grimes's Barack Obama as a way to introduce the First Couple.-Jody Kopple, Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
With a cover design that echoes that of Jonah Winter's Barack, also illustrated by Ford, this streamlined picture book-biography of the first lady feels tailor-made to pair with that title. Writing with obvious admiration for the first lady, Hopkinson (Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek) touches on Michelle's childhood years in a loving working-class family, her academic accomplishments, courtship, marriage, careers and role as devoted mother and active supporter of her husband's presidential campaign. The straightforward, accessible text at times assumes dramatic overtones, as when, on Barack Obama's election night, "this night of new beginnings, Michelle stood ready to keep working hard, to help her own children, and children and families across America, make their big dreams come true." Ford's paintings offer likenesses of Michelle and her family, often capturing facial expressions and nuances of posture and gesture with uncanny realism. This warm, respectful portrait succeeds in presenting its subject as both inspirational and relatable. Ages 4-7. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
There is no doubt that Michelle Robinson Obama's life story is truly inspiring, from her childhood in a supportive working-class home on Chicago's South Side to her present role as the first African American First Lady. Unlike his illustrations in Jonah Winter's Barack (2008), some of Ford's portraits here are overglamorized and sometimes awkward. It is Hopkinson's well-told story of Obama's life of hard work and brilliant success that will grab young people. The pages follow the future First Lady from her years as a gifted high-school student who studied on her long bus ride to her time at Princeton and Harvard Law School, her job in community service, and life as a devoted mother to her children. The Obamas' romance is also covered: Michelle's first meeting with Barack in a Chicago law firm, their courtship, and their wedding. A long author's note that fills in more fascinating facts about the First Lady closes this timely title.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2009 Booklist