Show Up and Vote

by Ani DiFranco, Rachelle Baker (Illustrator)

Overview

From the Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter, political activist, and feminist icon comes a story of connectedness and collective responsibility, as told through the eyes of a young child going to vote for the first time.

Singer-songwriter, activist, feminist, and best-selling author Ani Di Franco has penned a lyrical narrative for her youngest audience: a picture book about the eye-opening act of voting. A young girl accompanies her mother to their local polling station and pays witness to the commonality of this experience. Her mother gently reinforces the great responsibility and importance of this act, while the girl moves through feelings of excitement, nervousness, and ultimately, invigoration. Rachelle Baker adds an authentic neighborhood feel in a range of bright, bold colors and familiar faces, establishing a realistic and relatable setting. An age-appropriate call-to-action for all young citizens.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593383773
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	08/27/2024
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	80,546
Product dimensions:	10.30(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	NP (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Ani Di Franco is a Grammy-winning musical artist and feminist icon recognized for her poetry and songwriting, which pierces social convention and challenges the status quo, as well as for her social activism and political engagement. One of the first artists to create her own record label in 1990, she has sold over 5.5 million albums through her own Righteous Babe Records, and recently released her twenty-second studio album. While she has been known as the "Little Folksinger," her music has embraced many genres and collaborators ranging from Pete Seeger to Maceo Parker to Chuck D to Prince. She lives in New Orleans with her family.

Rachelle Baker is a multi-disciplinary artist from Detroit, MI with a background in Relief Printing, Illustration, Comic Art, and Music. Her work centers cultural infusions of women. She is inspired by Shoujo manga, anime and comics bad girls, stoic women dancing in the backgrounds of late 90's/early 2000's R&B videos, and the sound cats make when they're yawning. She has been voting since 1998, when she ran for 2nd grade student council secretary, and believes that it is important that people have both a voice and a choice.

Editorial Reviews

07/15/2024

Speaking in flashback, a narrator recalls how “i learned what it meant/ to show up and vote” in this work that offers a pulsing message of empowerment and collective action. Though a child is reluctant to head out to the polls on a rainy November day, their “mama said listen,/ we’re on a mission/ that, by definition,/ no one can do for us.” At the polling place, a neighbor helps voters sign in, and the presence of friends and acquaintances inspires a key observation: “looks like the whole neighborhood’s/ got the same job to do.” Musician and activist DiFranco takes a conversational approach to voter education, centering feelings of belonging, pride, and excitement, and describing voting as “where it all starts/ where us people/ have a say.” Baker’s stylized, poster-like digital illustrations amplify the narrative’s we’re-in-it-together vibe, visualizing a vintage polling place and its operations (including a curtained booth) as part of community care. The protagonists read as Black; background characters are portrayed with various abilities and skin tones. Ages 3–6. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

⭐ "A powerful primer on citizenship." —Kirkus (STARRED REVIEW)

"[A] lively, engaging introduction to voting." —Booklist

"Musician and activist DiFranco takes a conversational approach to voter education, centering feelings of belonging, pride, and excitement." —Publishers Weekly

"A thoughtful and rousing conversation starter." —The Horn Book Review

From the Publisher

07/01/2024

K-Gr 3—It's an important day in November, rainy and cold, but a young girl's mother tells her that they must go out because they have a "mission" to fulfill. Her mama explains voting is where all people have a say about improving their communities, but only if they vote. It's a huge decision that every person should take seriously. When they enter the building, a lady looks up Mama's name and Mama signs her signature next to it. Then, the girl is excited because they are "invited" into a booth with a curtain. She watches as her mother chooses each name. As they walk back home, the girl sees the same neighborhood, but through new eyes. Now she sees how each person cares for the others by voting. The author's note at the beginning of the book shares that her own mother taught her it was a duty and honor to vote. It is a learned behavior and must be taught to children by their parents or other adults. The note explains how the author's mother and the mother in the book show by example—a far more compelling lesson than simply telling a child to vote. Baker captures the moments inside the voting building and neighbors on the street. Readers will connect to the rhyming prose about an important topic, which makes the lesson fun rather than preachy. VERDICT An important, accessible read for young readers and a must for all collections.—Pamela Thompson McLeod

School Library Journal

★ 2024-08-26
Musician Di Franco and illustrator Baker emphasize the significance of doing one’s civic duty in this story of a Black mother and child heading to the polls.

It’s Election Day, and despite the terrible weather this November day, Mama has a “very important job.” Accompanied by her young child, who narrates, Mama sets out to cast a ballot. Mama and her little one line up, enter a booth, and pull the curtain. Mama makes her selections, while the child pushes the buttons. Di Franco’s language reflects the magnitude of the day while remaining accessible to curious readers. The youngster’s pride and sense of belonging are palpable as Mama explains why everyone votes (to “have a say / about laws and rules / about parks and schools / about who’s gonna run them / and in what way”). The well-deployed internal and end rhymes make for a read-along as whimsical as it is civic-minded. Baker’s thickly outlined, earth-toned artwork is charmingly realistic, with a pleasingly retro vibe. Author and illustrator portray the electoral process as simultaneously familiar, momentous, and joyous. As our narrator identifies the ways voting can connect us to the people in our communities and beyond, the illustrations depict a whole world of diverse faces and engaged, smiling citizens. Sporting their “I voted” stickers, mother and child return home that evening, thoughtfully aware that voting is “how it all starts.”

A powerful primer on citizenship.(Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews