
That book you see up there? Not a children’s book. John-John’s Greatest Gift looks like it might be some guide to coping with a parent’s death through the story of John Kennedy Jr.—-hey, stranger kids’ books are out there. But it is, in fact, the creepiest thing ever.
Written by North Potomac resident John B. Arnett Sr., the book speculates about the fate of John F. Kennedy Jr. after he died on July 16, 1999. (To be fair, it also speculates about the fate of his wife, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, but her gift clearly wasn’t good enough to make the cover.) What happens? They enter a magical cloud-filled land populated entirely by Kennedys: “‘It’s Mom!’ I saw, and almost froze. ‘There’s Uncle Bobby, Grandma Rose!'”
Right. It rhymes too.
I’m struggling to figure out who the market for this might be. I suppose there are Kennedy followers not unlike the folks who obsess over British royalty, and those people might be wishing for more drawings of Jackie O with a halo. Perhaps you’re somebody who’s finished collecting every issue of George magazine and needs a little something more. Are you one of those people? Have at it.
