V is for Voting

Written by Kate Farrell, illustrated by Caitlin Kuhwald

Henry Holt and Company, 2020

A is for active participation.

Moving through the alphabet, in rhyming couplets, the poem talks about reasons for voting, including citizens rights and diversity. With everyone engaged in the process and a free press reporting facts, we choose those who lead us and protect our country. Together, we work to create the change we want and trust in our judges to be fair. We start locally, casting votes that matter and remembering the leaders that came before us. We ask questions to stay informed and expect our leaders to represent all of us. We raise our voices and if we don’t win, we keep working for change. We all have to take part and show up with our votes and our voices.

I checked this out of the library at the same time as Peaceful Fights for Equal Rights, which I read first. After seeing it was an alphabet book, I thought I might not review this one, since I didn’t need two alphabet books, but then I read it. Yep, I needed two alphabet books. First time picture book author Kate Farrell’s rhymes are delightful to read aloud but packed with depth and meaning, in letters like H, which stands for “homelands that we’ve occupied.” Two pages of extras are included in the back of the book, including a timeline of voting rights and a directory of some of the people who are depicted in the book’s illustrations, with an encouragement to learn more about them. (I did, as there were some I didn’t know!)

I love that so many picture books point to our country’s diversity as what makes us strong AND beautiful.

This book is also the first picture book of illustrator Caitlin Kuhwald, who uses digital illustration to show our unstoppable main character being an active part of her community, marching for causes and always learning more about those who came before her. In one of my favorite images, we see her planting flowers in a garden with others and then later, we see that everyone else’s garden has died and she is still working in hers, with a determined look on her face. This appears on the W page, where “W is for working for change, win or lose.” It is sometimes hard to keep going when things go badly, but that’s when it’s most important. This is an outstanding book to get your kids fired up to vote and become an informed and dedicated citizen. I’m excited to see what other books these two have in store.

And what did we learn?  What I take away from this book is that being a citizen comes with responsibilities as well as privileges and we need to live up to our part.