Read Woke: A list

Cicely Lewis, school librarian at Meadowcreek High School in Norcross, Georgia, offers a Read Woke reading list for fall that is specifically themed to voting:

“Lillian’s Right to Vote: A Celebration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965” by Jonah Winter. illus. by Shane W. Evans. Random/Schwartz & Wade Bks. 2015. Grades 1-4 – The story of a 100-year-old African American woman on her way to vote who remembers all her ancestors dealt with to get to the polls.

“For Which We Stand: How Our Government Works and Why It Matters” by Jeff Foster. illus. by Julie McLaughlin. Scholastic. 2020. Grades 3-7 – The AP government teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, shares information about how voting works, the powers of the president and how young people can make a difference.

“We the People: The United States Constitution Explored and Explained” by Aura Lewis and Evan Sargent. Quarto/Wide-Eyed Editions. 2020. Grades 5-8 – The U.S. Constitution may be over 200 years old and full of oldfashioned language, but this vibrantly illustrated book shows how it is still relevant and confronts the challenges of interpreting it.

“The Voting Booth” by Brandy Colbert. Hyperion. 2020. Grades 7-10 – Marva Sheridan has always been interested in politics and has little time for anything else, until she meets Duke Crenshaw, a musician who just wants to get voting over with so he can get back to music.

“Votes of Confidence: A Young Person’s Guide to American Elections” by Jeff Fleisher. Lerner/Zest. 2020. Grade 8/Up – Fleisher wrote this book in response to misinformation throughout the election cycle, low U.S. voter turnout among young people and gaps in civics education.