Fair Elections and Voting Rights: ISBN 978-1-6782-0692-5 / eBook: 978-1-6782-0693-2
Freedom of Speech and the Press: ISBN 978-1-6782-0694-9 / eBook: 978-1-6782-0695-6
Individual Rights and Liberties: ISBN 978-1-6782-0696-3 / eBook: 978-1-6782-0697-0
Rule by the People: ISBN 978-1-6782-0698-7 / eBook: 978-1-6782-0699-4
Separation of Government Powers: ISBN 978-1-6782-0700-7 / eBook: 978-1-6782-0701-4
School Library Journal, November 1, 2023
Gr 6-9–With a primary focus on the amendments to the United States Constitution, these five volumes explain the rights and freedoms of American citizens. An examination of two tenets of the First Amendment is provided in Freedom of Speech and the Press. Individual Rights and Liberties explains the meanings of the other amendments, such as the right to bear arms and the abolition of poll taxes. Rule by the People and Fair Elections and Voting Rights cover voting information and requirements for candidates. Separation of Government Powers discusses the three branches of government and the differing responsibilities of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The narratives employ simple, straightforward sentences making these easy reads, and the accompanying photographs complement the texts. Additionally, these volumes have an advantage of currency as they include events of the past few years and one contains a photograph of the current United States Supreme Court.
VERDICT Informative if not exciting, these volumes will be suitable for reports and selectors should consider purchase where collections need refreshing.
Fair Elections and Voting Rights: ISBN 978-1-6782-0692-5 / eBook: 978-1-6782-0693-2
Washington State Young Adult Review Group (WASHYARG), March 1, 2025
RECOMMENDED
Fair Elections and Voting Rights, by Sheryl Normandeau, is part of the Understanding American Democracy series published in California. This book covers many facets of election and vote-counting issues in a neutral tone. The text is broken up into easy-to-read chapters with large double-spaced font, and photos feature non-majority citizens often portrayed in COVID masks. The explanations of the history of democracy in the United States do bring up slavery, the Civil War, the 15th Amendment, the Civil Rights Movement, the fight for the voting rights of women, the 19th Amendment, and the long-time efforts toward the voting rights of Native Americans. Additionally, the book draws attention to the difference between a popular vote, a caucus, and the electoral college. Additional time is given to “the concerns” of some, such as voter fraud and the use of mail-in ballots, mentioning a few notable elections in 2016 and 2020 by name. While the language is not inflammatory here, it is clear that the author does have confidence that these issues do not detract from the validity of elections.
Recommended Audience: HS & MS
Reviewer: Sam Carterby