Bad Kitty for President

Bruel, Nick       Bad Kitty for President 

 Macmillan Books/ Roaring Brook Press      2012  142p  $13.99      978-1-59643-669-5    VG       elem        Animal stories

When Old Cat resigns as president of the Neighborhood Cat Club, Bad Kitty decides he would be a good replacement and runs on the platform of getting rid of stray cats in the neighborhood.  Bad Kitty hires a campaign manager, learns about garnering election money, enters debates, earns a party endorsement, and sets out on the campaign trail.  With the 2012 presidential election coming up in November, this is a perfect book to introduce young readers to the election process.  There is a nonfiction feel to the book that is heavy on facts and only uses Bad Kitty as a vehicle to explain the election process.  The mudslinging ads by rival candidates, the reason money is contributed to nominees, and the arduous process leading up to voting day is told by Kitty, his adversaries, and Uncle Murray.  Edna Prunelove is on hand in the appendix to explain election terms denoted with an asterisk in the text.  Children may miss some of the barbs embedded in the text, but adults will chuckle, especially at Edna’s definitions of words like "debate" and "delegates" and the split in values between the left and right sides of the street cats.  Uncle Murray and Edna provide many interesting facts about the election process, including the fact that North Dakota does not require people to register to vote and the origin of the word "ballot".  This is the perfect reading experience for children grades 1-5 to understand the upcoming political election.         

VG    Lois McNicol      Elections, Electoral politics