Show Up and Vote

K-Gr 3--It's an important day in November, rainy and cold, but a young girl's mother tells her that they must go out because they have a "mission" to fulfill. Her mama explains voting is where all people have a say about improving their communities, but only if they vote. It's a huge decision that every person should take seriously. When they enter the building, a lady looks up Mama's name and Mama signs her signature next to it. Then, the girl is excited because they are "invited" into a booth with a curtain. She watches as her mother chooses each name. As they walk back home, the girl sees the same neighborhood, but through new eyes. Now she sees how each person cares for the others by voting. The author's note at the beginning of the book shares that her own mother taught her it was a duty and honor to vote. It is a learned behavior and must be taught to children by their parents or other adults. The note explains how the author's mother and the mother in the book show by example--a far more compelling lesson than simply telling a child to vote. Baker captures the moments inside the voting building and neighbors on the street. Readers will connect to the rhyming prose about an important topic, which makes the lesson fun rather than preachy. VERDICT An important, accessible read for young readers and a must for all collections.--Pamela Thompson McLeod

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Speaking in flashback, a narrator recalls how "i learned what it meant/ to show up and vote" in this work that offers a pulsing message of empowerment and collective action. Though a child is reluctant to head out to the polls on a rainy November day, their "mama said listen,/ we're on a mission/ that, by definition,/ no one can do for us." At the polling place, a neighbor helps voters sign in, and the presence of friends and acquaintances inspires a key observation: "looks like the whole neighborhood's/ got the same job to do." Musician and activist DiFranco takes a conversational approach to voter education, centering feelings of belonging, pride, and excitement, and describing voting as "where it all starts/ where us people/ have a say." Baker's stylized, poster-like digital illustrations amplify the narrative's we're-in-it-together vibe, visualizing a vintage polling place and its operations (including a curtained booth) as part of community care. The protagonists read as Black; background characters are portrayed with various abilities and skin tones. Ages 3-6. (Aug.)

Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.