America Votes, How our President is Elected

AUTHOR: Linda Granfield

ILLUSTRATOR:  Steve Bjorkman

ISBN#: 978-1553379898

PUBLISHER/YEAR: Kids Can Press, Ltd. (September 1, 2005)

SUBJECTS: Election, Government, Non-Fiction, Reference, The Presidency, United States, Voting

READER LEVEL: Picture Book

RATING: 

Review Highlights:

Laugh Meter	not a comedy	giggles	laugh out loud	can’t stop laughing
Fear Factor	no fear	needs explanation	cover the eyes	bad dreams
Subject Matter	light : “G”	mild concerns	caution ahead	needs supervision

America Votes is a great overview of the United States government and how our president is elected.  It covers a wide range of topics including the importance of voting, who gets to vote and the history behind the process.  It also explains how congress works, what the President does and what happens during a campaign. There are plenty of words (what is a ballot?) and concepts (multiparty system) defined and interesting facts (GOP stands for "Grand Old Party") highlighted along the way.

There is a lot of information here and it definitely requires a good attention span. Older children, aware of the government or even learning about it in school will find this book a good resource.  It is also a good choice to read aloud so that you can answer any questions that might come up.  For example, what is democracy or the constitution? Some controversial subjects are discussed like fraud in voting.

There is a lot of text but still plenty of white space and illustrations. Some facts stand out as they are highlighted outside the main body of text.  Don't forget to check out the glossary in the back.

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