Hey, you! Yes, you with the dazzling smile! The donkey wants your vote. So does the elephant. And each will do just about anything to win your support. Brag? Sure! Flatter? Absolutely! Exaggerate, name-call, make silly promises and generally act childish? Yes, yes, yes and yes. Soon, the tension mounts, and these two quarrelsome candidates resort to slinging mud (literally) and flinging insults. And what happens when the election results are in? Well, let's just say the donkey and the elephant are in for a little surprise --- and a certain bewhiskered, third-party candidate is in for a first term. Vote for Me! is a timely satire of American politics, but it's a story readers of all nationalities and ages will recognize. Comical, retro illustrations (in shades of blue and red, of course) are completely winning, and the duelling duo's insult-laden exchanges promise to have readers laughing out loud.
Ben Clanton is an up-and-coming author-illustrator from Seattle who describes himself as a “story scribbler, picture squiggler, book aficionado, child advocate, dragon tamer and avid sock wearer.”
Ben Clanton is an up-and-coming author-illustrator from Seattle who describes himself as a “story scribbler, picture squiggler, book aficionado, child advocate, dragon tamer and avid sock wearer.”
An ever-timely message, told in (two) primary colors.
- Kirkus Reviews
Obviously adults are going to get a kick out of this, but the Mo Willems-like presentation, clever coloring (when the candidates make up, the background becomes purple), and universal anti-arguing message will tickle future politicos, too.
- Booklist
Readers too young to vote will still recognize the pitfalls of bad behavior in this satire of unsavory political practices.
- School Library Journal
For children getting their first taste of presidential politics in 2012, this is a worthwhile testimony to the current state of political discourse.
- Publisher's Weekly