PICTURE BOOK: Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio

When Grace realizes our country has never had a woman president, she announces that some day she will be president. Her teacher thinks that is a great idea and a school election commences between Grace and a boy named Thomas. Grace realizes that winning the election (with electoral votes, campaign speeches and rallies) will be more difficult than she thought.

I had never heard of Grace before election week when one of the teachers at school asked if we had her story in the library. Even though election fever is likely "over" until 2016, I ordered a copy for the library anyway. I really enjoyed the story. The way the teachers in the book structured the election helps explain the electoral votes process. Grace is a great role model for political candidates (she fulfills some of her promises BEFORE the election). In some cases, the story could lead to some polarizing between boys and girls, but that can be addressed in a classroom discussion of the ending of the story.

4.5 out of 5 stars
AR reading level of 4.6

Recommended for: teachers looking for material to talk about elections, politics, and government.

BOOK FAIR preview -- Travel Sized Pups AND Bad Kitty for President

Highlights several small dog breeds, telling where they're from and even how to pronounce their names! Fun book for dog lovers. I think my students will love this one!


4 out of 5 stars
No AR rating at this time

Bad Kitty has decided to run for President of the neighborhood kitty group because she is annoyed by the stray cats in the area. Uncle Murray tries to teach Kitty about politics and election rules, but she has to learn some lessons the hard way.


This is a well-timed release with the presidential election coming up later this year. The election information may be better geared to third or even fourth graders and older. This will likely disappoint Bad Kitty's younger fans. There are also at least two incidents where the author includes a group of symbols to replace a curse word. Kids will ask what those symbols are supposed to mean (and some adults may ask themselves why the author didn't choose some other way to express those particular thoughts).


4 out of 5 stars
AR level of 4.5