Canada Votes: How We Elect Our Government

Laurence Steven is Chairman of the English Department at Laurentian
University and author of Dissociation and Wholeness in Patrick White’s
Fiction.

This accurate, interesting, and informative book explains how and why
Canadians democratically elect a government. Children who read it will
learn about the founding of political parties and about words and
phrases used during an election campaign. How many adults, let alone
children, realize that the term “lame duck” refers to a prime
minister who voluntarily resigns from office, already knowing that he is
on his way out?

Terlson’s illustrations complement and clarify Granfield’s
information. Granfield’s historical tidbits are supported by
Terlson’s imaginative and sometimes comical sketchings, especially
those depicting Brian Mulroney. The book progresses from offering a
simple understanding of who has the right to vote to exploring the more
complex issues of why certain people (for example, women and the
Chinese) were once not allowed to vote. Granfield is able to achieve
this through simple diction and interesting comparisons to unrelated
topics. Who would have made the connection between gerrymandering and
“cutting around those icing roses [on your birthday cake] to make sure
your best friend gets plenty of them”? Granfield also avoids
stereotypes. People of both sexes from various cultural backgrounds are
shown in various economic situations. Having a man as a prisoner and a
woman as a judge is one example.

Granfield adds pizzazz to the potentially dull subject of elections.
This book will probably serve best in a classroom unit on the electoral
process, but it will also be a good research source for school projects
and should be available in every elementary-school library. For children
ages 10 and up, Canada Votes is recommended because of its unbiased
attitude toward the sexes and because of its informative and descriptive
content.