The 31-page book, for ages three and up, is filled with lyrical questions to his daughters Malia, 12, and Sasha, 9, opening with, “Have I told you lately how wonderful you are?” A series of two-page spreads asks one question, such as “Have I told you that you are creative?”, across from short tributes to the appropriate person.

Some of the president’s selections were predictable: revered national figures such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King and Neil Armstrong.

But others reflected the eclectic tastes and liberal inclinations of the country’s 44th president, and were likely to raise questions about whether the president is attempting to indoctrinate children.

Most likely to raise eyebrows was the inclusion of Sitting Bull, the American Indian chief whose ability to unite different tribes against US forces led to the stunning victory in 1876 at the Battle of Little Bighorn that claimed the lives of Gen George Custer and many of his officers.