Presidential Politics by the Numbers

Name: Presidential Politics by the Numbers
ISBN: 9781491482384

by Mary Hertz Scarbrough

For children curious about how US elections work, this book uses numbers and facts to explain the presidential process. It demystifies politics for young, inquiring minds.

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About This Book

A parent would reach for this book when their child, sparked by a school lesson or news on TV, starts asking pointed questions about how a president is chosen. This book masterfully demystifies the U.S. presidential election process by grounding it in numbers, charts, and digestible facts. It avoids partisan politics and instead focuses on the mechanics: primaries, the electoral college, and historical data. This approach fosters a sense of curiosity and fairness by explaining the rules of the system. For kids 8-12 who are concrete thinkers, it builds confidence by making a complex, adult topic feel understandable and manageable.

Curiosity & Wonder History School Life Justice & Fairness

What Parents Should Know

Sensitive Topics

This book maintains a strictly secular, factual, and non-partisan approach. It focuses on the mechanics of the political process and avoids sensitive or controversial social issues, specific political platforms, or critiques of historical figures. Its purpose is to explain the 'how' of elections, not the 'why' or the societal impact of the outcomes.

Ideal Reader

The ideal reader is a 9 to 12-year-old who is a concrete thinker and thrives on facts, data, and understanding systems. This book is perfect for a child who loves nonfiction like the Guinness World Records or books about 'how things work' and is beginning to apply that logical curiosity to the social world around them.

Parent Prep

No specific preparation is needed to read the book itself, as it is very straightforward. However, a parent should be prepared for the book to spark follow-up questions about current political parties, specific candidates, or controversial issues, which the text deliberately avoids. The book provides the 'what', and parents may need to provide the 'now'. A parent has just heard their child ask a specific question like, "Why don't we just count all the votes to see who wins?" or "What does it mean that a state is 'red' or 'blue'?" during an election year.