3.+Literature+List

Literature List

Christine Perrucci: **Title:** //Just One Vote//
 * Author:** Katherine Blanc
 * Summary:** //Just One Vote// is a picture book about a baker who spends his whole life simply baking bread. When an election comes around, he decides that he isn’t going to vote. He figures that he is just one person, with one little vote. His one vote couldn’t possibly make a difference. This book tells the story of just how important his one vote could be.

**Title:** //Senator: In the Company of Connie Mack, US Senator from Florida//
 * Author**: Richard Sobol
 * Summary:** This book is a biography of previous US Senator, Connie Mack. It gives information about Senator Mack’s life. It also gives an inside look into his days as a Senator. It shows what his job entailed and how he worked as a Senator. Although the biography itself is a little outdated, it still gives valuable insight into what is required of Senators.

**Title:** //What’s a City Council? (First Guide to Government)//
 * Author:** Nancy Harris
 * Summary:** //What’s a City Council?// is a children’s picture book that explores the idea of local government. It first explains what a city council is and what exactly they do. It then talks about the process that a city council goes through to create laws for the city. It also discusses how city councils work with local groups to make sure that the city runs well.

**Title:** //The Kid Who Ran For President//
 * Author:** Dan Gutman
 * Summary:** //The Kid Who Ran For President// is a fictional chapter book that follows the story of twelve year old Judson Moon who decides he is going to run for President of the United States. This fun story explores the challenges that one might face when running for President. Judson has to figure out how to run his campaign, who he would take on as his Vice President, how he is going to raise the money needed, and what issues he is going to stand for. He has to do all of this, while still trying to be a normal kid who goes to school. While silly and unrealistic, this story truly gives a great look at the challenges of running for office.

Gabriella Valone Literature List



· Title: //Vote!// Author: Eileen Christelow Summary: I really liked this book because it used a campaign for mayor as the story line. The book takes the reader on a journey with the main character through important milestones in the campaign process. I think it was a great way to discuss campaigns because the reader learns about factors such as rallies and fundraising as well as the actual election day. The book also more information at the end pertaining to political parties. The author also provides numerous websites for the reader to use that provide more information about voting. This book had fun illustrations that can help capture the attention of students. Overall, I found this book to help teach about the election process in a fun way.



· Title: //Vote// (DK Eyewitness Book) Author: Phillip Steele Summary: //Vote// is a great nonfiction book that teaches students about the history of voting. The text takes the reader on a journey to learn about the many things that led to the election process we have today. For example, in addition to sections about Election Day and how elections work, the text also discusses important content such as how much women had to fight to get their right to vote and why people vote. Also, the reader learns how voting takes place in other parts of the world. This text provides the reader with many great images to aid in comprehension and the text is easy to follow and interesting. I really enjoyed this text because it contained information both regarding the election process as well as information about the history of voting.



· Title: //Susan B. Anthony: Fighter for Women's Rights// Author: Deborah Hopkinson Summary: This biography provides the reader with more background information about the history of voting. From the book the reader will learn about Susan B. Anthony’s struggles to gain equal rights for all people in her fight to earn women’s suffrage. The author takes the reader through the life of Susan B. Anthony and describes the fight she went through to achieve such an important feat. This will help students gain a better understanding of the importance of voting. The book also contains a timeline of important events throughout Anthony’s life. Overall, I found this text to be a good resource because it presented the information in a way that would students could understand it and it also contained colorful pages to keep students engaged.

-Title: //What’s the State Judicial B////ranch? First Guide to// Author: Nancy Harris Summary: //What’s the State Judicial Branch? First Guide to Government// is a book that helps students gain a better understanding of one of the three branches of government. In this text, students will learn about how a state’s court system works. Also, the book contains information such as how a case is brought to court. The author also wrote //What’s the State Legislative Branch?// which can be used to help the students better comprehend how the legislative branch works within a state. These books contain a great deal of information that is very helpful to students learning about state and local governments.


 * __ Leslie Klaczak - Literature List __**

**Title**: The Florida Senate Handbook for Kids **Summary**: I found this to be interesting because it is not an actual book but more of a workbook for the students to put together that has information regarding Florida’s senate. The workbook discusses Legislature leaders and officers, state symbols, having the right to vote, how a bill becomes a law and many more things that can help the students understand Florida’s legislature. After the student does the reading then they get to complete activities such as puzzles, read comics, or different activities such as counting, mazes or crossword puzzles. The entire workbook is very effective because the students can color it to make it feel theirs and learn information that is vital to know.

 **Title**: //Time for Learning States//  **Author**: Lynne Blanton  **Summary**: This book is a great book about all the states but it can be used to specifically look at one state. When discussing Florida’s government the teacher can use this book to have students focus on the Florida section. However, the teacher can also use compare and contract skills to have students look at other states and see how Florida is different or alike. The pictures are of actual landmarks and scenery so it has the students get the feel of what the actual state looks like. 

**Title**: //Historical Photos of Tallahassee// **Author**: Andrew N. Edel **Summary**: This book has many great pictures about Tallahassee and gives information about the history of it for children. The pictures are all in black and white which captures how it truly looked back in the day when Tallahassee first started out. It is a pretty big book so I would recommend picking out certain things to show the children or have them use it to simply learn from what they see. 

**Title**: //Senator: In the Company of Connie Mack, U.S. Senator from Florida// **Author**: Richard Sobel **Summary**: Even though this book is a little bit out dated I feel the information in it would be interesting for children. It discusses what the daily life would be for a senator with attending meetings and conferences, giving speeches and voting on legislation. I felt the book did a good job at telling about legislation from a different perspective and most children are curious as to what a senator does and this book help them get a mental picture of it. 

Hillary Weaver

1. //From Sea to Shining Sea://

Author: Barbara A. This book covers general information about Florida. It covers the capital, state information, landmarks, and different regions of the state. This book would be a great way to introduce the general topic of Florida and then go into detail about information in the book. There are many topics that could be taught based off of the information in the book. Many students would find this book other informational and interesting.

2. //So You Want to Be President?//

Author: Judith St. George and David Small This book is the winner of a Caldecott Medal and does a wonderful job of illustrations. The illustrations and like cartoons and are colorful and enticing to children. This book lists random facts about the different presidents, explains their position and role, and gives background and history about presidents. This book does include a little information about Florida and other states throughout the book and would be a wonderful way to introduce the topic of elections and then could be brought down to the state level of governors, state representatives, and mayors. 3. //The Settling of St. Augustine//

Author: Janet Rieheky This book is an excellent way to introduce the history of Florida. This book goes into detail about the first city or settlement in Florida. From learning about St. Augustine students can go into detail about war, settlement, and the government of Florida. This book is also geared toward children at the upper elementary school levels.