Armstrong, J. (1961). Dear Mr. President, Theodore Roosevelt, Letters from a Young Coal Miner.

Dear Mr. President by Jennifer Armstrong is part of a series in which readers get to know a U.S. president through fictional correspondence between the president and a young person of the time period.
In this case President Theodore Roosevelt corresponds with a thirteen- year-old coal minder named Frank Kovacs, beginning on September 20th 1901. The introduction gives a very good explanation of the time and context of early 20th century America. Immigrants from Poland, Germany, Lithuania, Hungary and other countires often took the difficult and low paying job of coal mining, as they tried to make a life for themselves as new Americans. In the letters to the President, Frank Kovacs represents the voice of one immigrant worker, or actually, the son of Polish immigrants, since he was born in America.
The correspondences are actually very realistic and delightful. As it says in the note from the publisher: “Although the letters are fictional, the information in them is based on meticulous research.” Even the writing style and grammar from the young boy is realistically imperfect, what one would expect from a young immigrant. For example, in one of his letters to the President, Kovacs writes: “…I have some advice for you and that is don’t let no crazy men near you. They is almost always trouble.” (p. 12).
Everything that is said by the boy and by the President had a basis in historical reality. It is obvious that the author did her homework not only on the life and personality of Theodore Roosevelt on also on the lives of coalminers and immigrants living in 20th century America.
The only thing that does not come across as believable is the notion that the President of the United States would have enough time, energy, or willingness to devote himself to writing dozens of letters to one Coal Miner.
The values and attitudes are most definitely consistent with the time period, and the book as a whole shows a solid understanding of Roosevelt’s personal tastes, his relationship with his children, his wife, his pets, and his self awareness as President.
The pictures are a very significant aspect of the book. There are real pictures of immigrant families, children workers, Theodore Roosevelt, his horse, his children, his wife, etc. These pictures deeply enhance the quality of this excellent book, since actually come from that period of time.
Dear Mr. President is an extremely valuable piece of historical fiction for children. Instead of simply reading information about history from a textbook, readers learn history by reading the correspondences, albeit fictional, between an American President and a common American citizen. It is an extremely fun and unique way of learning about the American past. Although fictional, the author has done enough detailed research to ensure that the readers will have a deeper and more accurate understanding of the President and the life of many children as lived in the early 20th century.