News

Obama takes daughters book shopping

by Kristina Wong - 11/29/14 12:52 PM ET

President Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha did some shopping on Small Business Saturday at the Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C.

{mosads}According to some tweets, traffic heading northbound on Connecticut Avenue towards the store was temporarily shut down.

The president and his daughters also visited the bookstore last year, chatting with customers and purchasing 21 books. This year he purchased 17 titles, including, “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End” by Atul Gawande, “Brown Girl Dreaming” by Jacqueline Woodson, among others.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving has become known as “Small Business Saturday” to champion economic benefits that small businesses bring to communities, in contrast to Black Friday and Cyber Monday which is geared towards big retailers.

Obama drew applause from shoppers in the store Saturday as he picked up a baby.

“Do I get a discount for that?” he joked, according to press traveling with the president. The clerk joked back that he would get a “neighbor’s discount.”

Another shopper asked when the president would close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, and the president responded, “We’re working on it.”

Full list of books Obama purchased:

“Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End” by Atul Gawande

“Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus” (Junie B. Jones Series #1) by Barbara Park

“Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business” (Junie B. Jones Series #2) by Barbara Park

“A Barnyard Collection: Click, Clack, Moo and More” by Doreen Cronin

“I Spy Sticker Book and Picture Riddles” by Jean Marzollo

“Nuts to You” by Lynn Rae Perkins

“Brown Girl Dreaming” by Jacqueline Woodson

“Redwall” (Redwall Series #1) by Brian Jacques

“Mossflower” (Redwall Series #2) by Brian Jacques

“Mattimeo” by Brian Jacques (Redwall Series #3)