Middle grade readers will adore this action-packed book about two contemporary presidential kids who travel back in time to meet President Teddy Roosevelt. I love how the author takes us to so many places - the White House, Yellowstone, and Yosemite.

This book was a cool mix of a fun time travel story, a historical biography, and a look at how hard it's always been to stop colonizing forces from burning this country down in the name of progress. I really enjoyed it, and I learned a bunch that I'd forgotten about Theodore Roosevelt.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the ARC for this title!
I was intrigued by the synopsis: history, adventure, time travel… Seems like an equation for a solid and popular read for my middle grade students. While I did enjoy moments, this one just didn’t quite land for me. I wanted more connections between past and present - not only historically, but also there seemed to be gaps and lapses where the time travel jumps seemed lacking or clunky. It would be a good pick for upper elementary more than middle school readers.

This was such a fun action packed read. I love that they go back in time and meet Teddy Roosevelt. This will be a great new series for middle graders to get a look into how the White House functions and what it's like to be a kid growing up there.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

Middle grade readers will adore this action-packed book about two contemporary presidential kids who travel back in time to meet President Teddy Roosevelt. I love how the author takes us to so many places - the White House, Yellowstone, and Yosemite. I enjoyed reading about these places during the early 20th century and could tell the author did a ton of research to get the historic places and people just right. President Roosevelt’s gregarious personality comes through, and his impish children were a delight. Kids will find one of the children to relate to and will learn history while reading something fun! The book does a great job at inspiring kids to realize that one person, even a child, can make a big difference. I can’t wait to see where the White House Clubhouse takes us next!

Fun kids (middle grades I think?) book about life as a child of a President. The kids find a secret passage back in time to hang out with the Roosevelt children. It is a lot of fun but as an adult reading it there are so many logical questions. The biggest is the basic premise—how would the secret service not know about secret rooms in the White House?? Also things come together too neatly at the end with a blanket showing up at different points in history. It’s sweet but come ON! Not necessary to the story and detracts from my ability to believe it. That said, I really enjoyed these kids and their bravery. I will recommend it to librarians and to kids in the appropriate age group!

White House Clubhouse is a delightful caper back into the time of Teddy Roosevelt. It reminded me of the Magic Tree House series of books. It should appeal to upper elementary students.
It will be interesting to see how this series develops.

I was not so sure I wanted to read this when I first got started it. But as the book went on, I was rooting for the children to succeed in saving the trees. I was delighted to meet the other presidential children. I loved being able to go back in time and see through the eyes of the children what it was like and how they felt. I liked the action and adventure that the children got into. I also liked meeting the characters that were actually in history. I laughed at some of the pictures that the author painted of their mishaps. I hope that he writes more so I can meet more of the presidential children!

Sisters Clara and Marissa are slowly settling into life as the daughters of newly elected president Julia Suarez, but doing so is not as easy as they would hope. Being followed by secret service and being treated differently by everyone they meet becomes tiring, not to mention trying to fit into their new home at the White House. When a chance discovery leads the girls to a secret room inside the walls of the White House, they find that previous presidential children have created a space where they can support one another from one administration to the next. After adding their names to a document alongside signatures of famous names from decades past, the girls go to return to their home, only to open the door into the year 1903, when President Theodore Roosevelt was leading the United States. In order to return home, however, the girls must team up with Roosevelt's children to complete an important historical mission that will take them from sea to shining sea.

This first in the White House Clubhouse series introduces readers to sisters Clara and Marissa, who are in third and fifth grades, respectively. While they respect their mother's position as President, the girls are having difficulty residing in the spotlight and being followed and protected everywhere they go. Thus, the concept of a clubhouse wherein previous first children can help and support one another becomes a desirable idea, especially since there have not been a large number of these children throughout history. Using true historical events and people as a foundation, this book transports readers back in time to experience events from the past through an accessible and enjoyable lens. And, as the books are written by a previous White House staff member, the details included are thorough and accurate.

Younger middle grade readers who are comfortable with chapter books–especially series like The Magic Treehouse–will fall easily into this book. Ample white space and occasional black and white illustrations break up the text, and the action and dialogue included in the narrative keep the plot moving forward at a pleasant pace. No matter whether readers have a strong understanding of history or not, this book does an excellent job of incorporating historically relevant details within the context of a novel that will be readily enjoyed by middle graders. Alongside the historical mission the girls must complete are contemporary struggles of climate change and the destruction humans have wrought on the environment over the centuries, inspiring bigger ideas that children will contemplate both as they read the book and long after it ends. This is a high-quality series starter, and it promises a collection of books that will be excellent additions to libraries for younger middle grade readers.

ARC provided by the publisher

Marissa, who is in fifth grade, and Clara, who is in third, are not thrilled that their mother was elected president of the United States and they've had to leave their home in California. Even something as simple as getting picked up from school involves the secret service and code names, and when Clara wants to climb trees on the White House lawn, tourists have to be moved away from the fences! Not only that, but President Suarez usually requires them to appear at certain state functions. When an errant ball almost takes out a table full of wine glasses right before a reception but instead goes under a table, it ends up leading Marissa into a hidden area of the basement that former White House kids used. She and Clara try on some of the dusty clothes they find there and even sign an invitation of sorts, saying that they will band together with other White House kids... and before you know it, they have gone back to 1903 and meet Teddy Roosevelt's children! Archie is sick, and Quentin is conspiring to get his horse into his room. The older Alice is getting involved with presidential business, but also carries around a small snake! When the children all decide to go along with their father on a train trip to California, it becomes clear that Marissa and Clara's mission in 1903 is to stop Arnold Wendell, a property developer, from cutting down the last of some giant redwoods. Roosevelt's secretary, Mr. Loeb, is in cahoots with Wendell, and is trying to persuade the outdoorsy president that destroying natural resources is the only way to move the country forward. Marissa and Clara manage to stowaway on the train, with the help of Ethel, and have quite a number of adventures on the train, especially since Allan Pinkerton is aboard, providing security for the president. Mr. Loeb thinks that the children merely distract the president from his duties, so doesn't want him to spend much time with them. Marissa knows that she has to stop all of the development in her home state; if all of the trees are destroyed in the Sierras, there will be no getting them back. Relying on Roosevelt's love of the outdoors and of his children, and emphasizing the importance of preserving the natural resources of the US, will Marissa be able to win the president over from the influence of Wendell and Loeb so that she and Clara can return to their own time?
Strengths: This had a lot of action and adventure, and the idea of being able to travel across the country on a train is such an appealing one. It also lends itself to a lot of derring-do, although hanging on to a ladder on the outside of a speeding train does NOT sound like a good idea! Seeing the young Roosevelts was a lot of fun, and seeing details about Teddy Roosevelt (he didn't wear his glasses while exercising!) will appeal to readers who have seen him appear in books (Seiple's fantastic Death on the River of Doubt) and movies (A Night at the Museum). I loved the environmental issues in this and did not realize that the policies of the early 20th century were so horrible! Reveling in cutting down trees that were a thousand years old... thank goodness those practices have stopped! Marissa and Clara are positive and well meaning characters who through themselves whole heartedly into their adventure but are also glad to get back to their own places in history once they get a little perspective. O'Brien was a speech writer for Bidens, and since his children were frequently at the White House, he offers a fresh perspective.
Weaknesses: This will probably appeal more to elementary readers than middle school ones. Making Clara older rather than young would have helped (she and Alice could have gotten into hijinks then), but as much as I love time travel books, I've had a hard time selling them to middle school readers.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who liked Lergangi's Throwback series, Martin's Glitch or Gutman's The Flashback Four, and like to imagine that they could travel in time and change the past!

I recieved this arc via NetGalley!
White House Clubhouse is a fun read! it has two courageous heroines and delves into America's past and what live is like for the children of presidents in a magical way which was a big appeal for me. I think however, this book does bank on how interested a middle grade reader is in the Roosevelt's history and while it does focus on the Roosevelt Children alongside our main leads, I could see a kid starting to lose interest when the book leans a bit too heavily into presidential history instead of moving the plot forward.

I really enjoyed this story. It got bogged down in the middle for me, as I felt there was one too many close calls with the train possibly leaving the girls,but I felt it was still full of adventure and is a great book for kids (and adults.) It definitely picked back up towards the end and I know children would love all the action and adventure the story takes you on.

I really enjoyed reading about Teddy Roosevelt and his children (and all their animals!). I definitely want to read more about him, his children and how he helped implement the National Park Service. I especially loved the nod to some of the Rough Riders and John Muir.

I felt like this was great introduction for kids, and adults, who don't know much about either of the above subjects. I also appreciated how the author researched everything that went into this book. He really did a wonderful job incorporating actual historical events and personalities.

I'm definitely looking forward to more in this series!