Election Day (Ready-to-Read. Level 1) [Paperback]

Margaret McNamara (Author), Mike Gordon (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Ready-to-Read. Level 1

Today is election day in Mrs. Connor's class. The students will listen to speeches and vote for a new class president. Today is also Becky's first day at Robin Hill School. She thinks she would make a great class president, but she's new and has no friends yet. When Becky takes a chance and makes a speech, the whole class is surprised by the winner!

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

PreS-Gr. 1. This "Level 1" book from the Ready-to-Read series puts a bit of a spin on a classroom election. Becky walks into her new class just as the students are about to vote on class president. One child promises a candy machine, another no homework, a third that summer vacation will last six months. When the teacher asks if anyone else wants to speak, she looks right at Becky. Brand-new Becky hesitates. Finally, she does make a speech, which acknowledges that she can't guarantee candy machines or long vacations, but she promises to do her best. New readers will probably instinctively get the gently made point that politicians should pledge honestly rather than promise the moon. Along with the message, there's a suitably repetitive vocabulary and jaunty ink-and-watercolor artwork to help motivate kids. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Margaret McNamara is a writer and an editor who has spent many years working in children's publishing. She is the author of all the books in the Robin Hill School series, and gets many of her ideas from her own daughter's experiences at school. Margaret McNamara lives with her family in New York City, though she likes to spend as much of the summer as she can in Maine.

Mike Gordon has illustrated all of the Robin Hill School books, but his work covers a truly wide range, extending from educational and non-fiction books to entertainment and fiction. Mike's illustration now includes both design and illustration for major publishers such as Harper Collins, Headline, Ladybird, Longman, Penguin, Random Century, Reed International, Simon & Schuster, Walker Books, Western Publishing and Wayland. The international publication of many of the titles illustrated by Mike means his work is seen in over eighteen countries. In addition, Mike has produced more than 400 humorous greeting card designs for clients such as Hallmark, as well as the major UK companies, Hanson White and Gordon Fraser. He lives with his family in Santa Barbara, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Simon Spotlight; Original edition (August 10, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689864256
• ISBN-13: 978-0689864254
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #518,379 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #85 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Reference & Nonfiction > Politics & Government

More About the Author

Margaret McNamara is the pen-name for a children's book editor and literary agent. She is the author of more than two dozen books for young readers. Many of the ideas for her books, especially the Robin Hill School titles, come from her daughter's school days, or her own. Margaret and her family live in New York City, and spend as much time as they can during the summer in Maine.

The author says, "I chose the name 'Margaret McNamara' because it was my maternal grandmother's name. The real Margaret McNamara grew up a very long time ago in County Clare in Ireland, and was the only one in her village who could read."

Author Margaret McNamara is now at work on a book about George Washington's seventh birthday, and another book about the characters in "How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin," who this time solve a riddle. You can find out more about Margaret at her website, www.margaretmcnamara.net, which will be coming soon.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars More challenging than other level 1 readers, April 13, 2010

By 

Z Hayes (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Election Day (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) (Ready-To-Read Robin Hill School - Level 1) (School & Library Binding)

I feel that the "Robin Hill School" Ready-to-read books are somewhat advanced despite being categorized as Level 1 books. According to the description at the back of the book, Level 1 is "starting to read - simple stories, increased vocabulary, and longer sentences". Well, my 5-year-old is reading and can manage other readers at level 1 such as Barron's First Book series, e.g. A Mop for Pop (Get Ready Get Set Read) and also the Step Into Reading Ready to Read series, e.g. The Snowball (Step-Into-Reading, Step 1). She could not however read the Robin Hill School books fluently and independently (compared to the other readers I listed). I personally found them to be more advanced than other early readers categorized as Level 1 (sentences are much longer and the vocabulary used is also a bit more advanced, e.g. election, president, speeches). This is what confuses parents (as attested to by some of my friends) - some early readers appear to be too easy and some too difficult though they are labeled under the same level. However, I do understand that children also progress at different paces in reading.

Anyway, the stories in the Robin Hill School series are actually quite engaging and interesting. This particular story focuses on new student Becky who decides to run for class president despite being the new kid in class. I do like the series (we checked the entire set out from our local library) as the stories are engaging and visually appealing. I plan to reintroduce these books to my daughter in a couple of months as she builds her vocabulary and reading skills.

5.0 out of 5 stars Good for 1st grader not an early reader, March 6, 2007

By 

W. Fujimoto "Brett's Mom" (Honolulu, Hawaii) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Election Day (Ready-to-Read. Level 1) (Paperback)

This book was good for my son who is in 1st grade, but not an early reader. The story line, as in the entire series, is slightly different from other early readers. In this case, a new girl runs for class president. My son loved the campaign promises and the eyes covered secret vote. He was proud to be able to read the book and used it for an optional book report. The illustrations are good and there is a lot of detail worthy of discussion. At the same time, it is relatively simple and may not be one a child would want to read over and over. Get free shipping and share the book with other children or donate to the class. I highly recommend the Robin Hill School series by Margaret McNamara.