Today on Election Day

Children's Literature - Carrie Hane Hung

In the month of November, general elections are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday. Learn general information about Election Day and what it means to vote. In addition, different characters in the story narrate and share their perspectives about Election Day. David tells how his older brother, Jake, is voting for the first time. David describes how Jake learns about the candidates and the ballot issues in preparation to vote on Election Day. Aidan narrates how he accompanies his grandfather to the polling place and watches his grandfather vote on the computer. Bailey tells how she helps her aunt who is campaigning for a seat on the city council. The illustrations help to determine who is narrating the story; in some parts of the story, the narrator is easier to determine. Some students may wish to probe deeper into the history of voting by researching the amendments and major people involved with the right to vote.

School Library Journal

Gr 2–4—This title shows children participating in the electoral process as "future voters" while their school is made into a polling location and their relatives participate as both new and veteran voters. Expressive watercolor sketches depicting cheerful students give the book flair. The text is readable and upbeat. Several students narrate, offering a brief history of voting rights, discussing what it means to be class president, and sharing stories about relatives who vote or run for office. The alternating narrators and the inclusion of a plethora of events make the text occasionally hard to follow. It is also printed in a small font size. Ultimately, though, this is a welcome purchase, especially in an election year.—Jenna Boles, Washington-Centerville Public Library, Hunterville, OH

Kirkus Reviews

A proudly buoyant tour of Election Day in the U.S.A. This spry salute to the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November generates a significant amount of positive energy. Only through active engagement in the process--informing yourself, going to the polling station--will you be tapping into the possibilities of the system. Everything else is just so much hot air. Stier neither belabors nor stints on the text. There is a decent amount of information to be imparted, if only to acquaint readers with political parties, campaigns, Congress, the history of the vote, Constitutional amendments, debates and voting, and it is done in an easy, if modestly didactic voice. It has the genuine ring of smart young students giving the oral presentation of their civics projects, sweet and serious. Stier situates the activity around the children's school, and Leonard makes the most of the setting, giving it the warm, watercolor cast of a small town, yet modern in its computer voting machines. And all ages are involved, young to old, with the finger squarely placed on the importance of 18-year-olds assuming this mantle of importance. Future voters of the world, unite. The vote, Stier makes clear, is a great gift we have given ourselves. (Informational picture book. 6-9)