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
