Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 2-5. It's hard to imagine a more accessible introduction to voting. The words are straightforward, the art whimsical and creative, and two darling dogs provide color commentary on the action. The frame story is a mayoral election in which the mother of a young, African American named Angela Johnson is one of the candidates. The book follows the action from political rallies, fund-raisers, and debates through the election, ending with a successful recount. Along the way, all the pertinent questions are asked and answered: What is voting? Why doesn't everyone vote? Who decided who can vote? The latter question could have taken a book of its own to answer, but Angela explains in a few short pages, with the help of flashback art featuring colonialists, suffragettes, and minorities, how universal suffrage came about. The art, which mixes a deceptively simple comic-book style and more traditional full-page pictures, crackles with excitement, and the humorous asides by the doggie commentators not only help explain the action but also add extra bits of information. A glossary, a time line, and a resource list are appended. Vote aye on this one, and use it in the run up to next year's election. --Ilene Cooper Copyright 2003 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
With two wisecracking pooches and the candidate's daughter as pint-size commentators, "this book effectively explains the nuances of the election process using a small-town mayoral campaign as an example," according to PW. "A well-executed book that could serve as a strong kickoff to the 2004 election." Ages 6-10. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-5-Using a fictional mayoral election as an example, the author clarifies the entire voting process from campaigning to casting ballots. Humorous comic-strip-style cartoons, featuring a running dialogue between Elmer and Sparky, one of the candidate's dogs, support the text and keep the tone light. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Humorous cartoon panels with art and dialogue balloons follow the mayoral campaign of Chris Smith and explain in friendly, accessible language how campaigns and elections work. The story of SmithÆs campaign (her daughter and her two dogs lead the discussions on voting) adds tension and pertinence to the explanations. Timeline, websites. Glos. From HORN BOOK Spring 2004, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
After the sorry example of the 2000 presidential election, it's good to be reminded of the simple beauty--and hard-won right--of voting for a candidate. And Christelow goes farther in this primer on the process of electing a candidate. Simple language, gay color, and humorous subplots make for an appealing introduction to electoral politics, and she wisely complements her somewhat dry explanatory text with a typically funny word-bubble story of one woman's mayoral campaign. Readers learn about political parties and polls, voter registration, to be wary of campaign advertising, the right to recounts, and are urged to conduct research into the candidates. There's also a very handy timeline of voting rights that conveys the eye-opening evolution of democracy in the US. Impressively, Christelow gives to each individual vote a sense of importance--an act of participation that nestles in the heart of democracy. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
