November 1, 2024
Gr 3-5-Interesting and unusual facts about United States elections are presented in these six volumes. Readers learn that senate candidate Christine O'Donnell once claimed to be a witch, former movie star Ronald Reagan won the presidency, and Mr. Potato Head received four votes for mayor of Boise, Idaho. Other interesting tidbits include the 1804 presidential election when John Adams called Thomas Jefferson a coward and Jefferson's campaign called Adams a fool, a middle school teacher created the Breakfast-All-Day party, and Hillary Clinton used a personal email server for government business, costing her the election. The narratives employ simple sentences, however, little depth is provided; one is made aware of the events but that is all. Those desiring to know the reasons behind events, what happened to the people and political parties involved, and why animals were run as candidates (outside a humorous context) will be disappointed. In this election year collections will require more relevant works about campaigns. VERDICT Though the information in these volumes is interesting, the brevity of the texts and the need for more mainstream books on campaigns will render these titles additional purchases.
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