Granddaddy's Turn: A Journey to the Ballot Box

Gr 1-3--This beautiful picture book focuses on a special day. Granddaddy is wearing his suit, and Michael has agreed to put on a tie. Michael thinks they might be going to the county fair, but Granddaddy tells him that their destination is even better. African Americans have been granted the right to vote, and Granddaddy is going to the polls for the first time. Michael snaps a picture of his grandfather beaming with pride as he holds his first ballot, but the pair's happiness is short-lived: after Granddaddy is forced to admit that he can't read, a deputy sends him away. Granddaddy leaves in silent tears as Michael vows to vote for him someday. The narrative shifts to the years ahead as Michael grows and waits; when his own turn to vote finally comes, he brings his grandfather's picture along. The vocabulary and sentence structure will be accessible to readers of early chapter books, and the style evokes stories told in the oral tradition. Ransome's watercolors have a folksy quality reminiscent of Patricia Polacco's artwork. Occasional backlit silhouettes accent the bond between grandfather and grandson, and details like farm scenery, period clothing and hairstyles, and a decorative tablecloth create authenticity and atmosphere. Perhaps the most notable image comes toward the end, when a college-age Michael, immersed in school work, glances backward at the old photo of his grandfather that adorns his study space. A note at the end provides historical context about voting and the civil rights movement. VERDICT A visually detailed tale of patience and delayed triumph that highlights an important aspect of history.--Jill Ratzan, I.L. Peretz Community Jewish School, Somerset, NJ

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

In an emotional story that begins in the South during the height of voter suppression, a boy named Michael joins his grandfather as he prepares to vote for the first time. Yet when the time comes, a deputy rips up his grandfather's ballot, turning them away. Years later, as an adult Michael casts his own vote, "I knew that--just like my granddaddy--I would never take it for granted." Bandy and Stein succinctly explore a close family bond, set against historical injustice. Ransome's emotive watercolors strongly convey the grandfather's dignity and Michael's quiet pride as he reaches a milestone that was kept from his forebear. Ages 6-9. Authors' agent: Spencer Humphrey, Rocky Hill Group. (July)

Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

The accomplished illustrator James E. Ransome renders the story in warm, realistic watercolors...It's a message so crucial it almost can't be delivered with too much sentiment, and the authors and illustrator of "Granddaddy's Turn" spare none.
—The New York Times

This seemingly simple read-aloud to introduce young readers to the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act achieves complexity in its images.
—Kirkus Reviews

A visually detailed tale of patience and delayed triumph that highlights an important aspect of history.
—School Library Journal

The plainspoken text offers a slice-of-life example of the injustices endured by African Americans during the mid-twentieth-century.
—The Horn Book

Bandy and Stein succinctly explore a close family bond, set against historical injustice. Ransome's emotive watercolors strongly convey the grandfather's dignity and Michael's quiet pride as he reaches a milestone that was kept from his forebear.
—Publishers Weekly

This engaging picture book demonstrates how the legal right to vote was derailed for many African
Americans in the mid-twentieth century...Ransome's beautiful, lifelike watercolors show important,

accurate period details, and the faces of onlookers telegraph the prevailing attitudes of the time.
—Booklist

...the story is straightforward and Ransome's paintings offer literal support for the text...
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

The poignancy of the story is enhanced by the warm, earth tones of the watercolor illustrations, as readers experience the lives of the grandfather and the child.
—Literacy Daily

Certain to spark a lively discussion on the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
—School library Connection