If you were old enough to vote for president, who would you vote for? Would you vote for the Democratic Party candidate, the Republican Party candidate, or the Green Party or the Constitution Party or the Libertarian Party candidate? Did you know that there are many parties and candidates? We hear about Barack Obama (Democratic Party) and John McCain (Republican Party) but many others are running for president also. At Project Vote Smart you can see all the candidates that are in the race. Anyway, if you’ve gotten election fever (who hasn’t?), here’s a few books that may be fun to read:
Easy books:
Cronin, Duck for President : When Duck gets tired of working for Farmer Brown, his political ambition eventually leads to his being elected President.
DiPucchio, Grace for President : “Where are the girls”? When Grace’s teacher notes that the United States has never had a female president, Grace decides to be the first, starting her career in the upcoming school election.
Krosoczka, Max for President : Max thinks he would like to be class president. But so does Kelly. Who will win?
Pass, Vote for SpongeBob! : Well, of course.
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Chapter books:
Roy, Capital Mysteries :Some pretty strange things happen in our capital. The first book in this series is called, Who Cloned the President? and the newest is called The Election-Day Disaster. Need I say more?
Dowell, Phineas L. MacGuire–gets slimed! : When his new best friend decides to run for class president, science whiz Phineas MacGuire reluctantly agrees to be his campaign manager in exchange for help with his latest experiment–cultivating exhibits for a mold museum.
Edwards, Mom for Mayor : Eric’s favorite playground is about to be destroyed by developers. He is convinced his mom would make a great mayor and starts on her campaign. Trouble is, he forgot to tell his mother about her campaign.
McDonald, Changes for Julie : Julie decides to run for student body president so she can make changes to the very unfair detention system in her school.
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Non-fiction: (324s)
Goodman, See How They Run: campaign dreams, election schemes, and race to the White House : Using funny anecdotes and clear explanations, the author starts at the birth of democracy and covers other topics like third parties, the campaign trail, the electoral college and a lot more.
Gorman, Why are Elections Important? : Voting gives Americans a voice in how the government is run. This book explains why voting is such an important right and answers questions such as “Who can vote?” and “What leaders do we elect?”
Thomas, How Do We Elect our Leaders? : This book covers elections from the president of the United States on down to the mayor of small town USA.
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Other great election web sites:
Scholastic News Online
Weekly Reader
The Democracy Project
Time for Kids
So, did you see the movie? The City of Ember? I haven’t gotten to just yet but I know people who have seen it and the reviews are mixed. Did you like it? What’s better, the book or the movie? I just read the newest and last book in the Ember series called The Diamond of Darkhold. I thought The People of Sparks was okay but I really didn’t like The Prophet of Yonwood at all. I decided to give the series one more chance anyway. Happily, I can say that I really enjoyed The Diamond of Darkhold. It had more of the original excitment of The City of Ember. We get to see Ember again but it’s very different.