Obama Children's Book Already A Hit

Barack Obama reads the "Polar Express" story book to children at the Richard England Clubhouse and Community Center in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 21, 2009.

/ Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

NEW YORK (CBS/AP) Few authors can sell a book like Barack Obama.

President Obama's tribute to 13 American groundbreakers, "Of Thee I Sing," was in the top 25 on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com as of Wednesday morning, less than two days after the children's book was announced and a full two months before its scheduled release.

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Random House Children's Books plans a first printing of 500,000 copies.

The book was written before Mr. Obama took office in 2009. Proceeds will be donated to a scholarship fund for the children of fallen and disabled soldiers, the publishers said.

Mr. Obama also plans to write a nonfiction book after he leaves office. Terms will likely be negotiated after his time in office end. President Bill Clinton was paid $15 million for his memoir, "My Life."

Both of Mr. Obama's previous works, the memoir "Dreams From My Father" and the policy book "The Audacity of Hope," are million sellers.

According to financial disclosure reports filed this week and first reported by Congressional Quarterly, the president took in $2.5 million last year in royalties from his two best-selling books.

[PhyllisAndrews]

President Obama's book comes out just in time for Christmas. Buy it along with another new book, "Who Am I? The Story of Barack Obama," which is a biography of Barack Obama for elementary school children. Using color photographs and text, it tells how Obama struggled to define himself as a black child in a white world. It can be read by children as young as seven but is appreciated as a photo biography by children in the upper elementary grades. The actual reading level is grade 3-4. This book can be found in more than 600 schools in the US. You can find information about both books on amazon.com.