Katzman, Rebecca. Your Vote Matters: How We Elect the US President. Illustrated by Ellen Duda. Scholastic, 2024. 978-1-339-04649-5. 112 p. $9.99. Grades 2-5.

Your Vote Matters contains large print, interesting fast-facts, and colorful illustrations about electing the next president of the United States. Did you know that George W. Bush created the U.S. Department of Homeland Security after September 11, 2001? Or that Teddy Roosevelt was the youngest elected president to-date? How about how so-called poll taxes interfered with voting in the southern United States? Even adults can learn a lot by reading this title cover-to-cover. The book remains totally nonpartisan and is easily accessible to elementary-aged students. It easily will be readable by students looking for fascinating stories, new vocabulary, and a great primer on the U.S. presidential election. This title also covers subtopics like the presidential primary voting process, advertising campaign rules, and etiquette at presidential debates. Even historical voter suppression and gerrymandering are explored using elementary-friendly language. Finally, this title shares ideas for how young people can get involved in the democratic process without being able to vote (yet!).

THOUGHTS: The bottom line is this is a timely and extremely worthwhile addition to all elementary school library collections.

324.973 History and geographic treatment of elections