Who Has The Right to Vote?

Lillian's Right to Vote

2/22/2022

Information picture book, 40 pages. On the way to the polling station 100-year-old Lillian climbs a steep hill to vote remembering others' sacrifices for her right to vote. Published by Schwartz & Wade Books in 2015. Recipient of the Jane Addams Children's Book Award.

Recap & Review

Winter wrote this book in 2015 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1965 Voting Rights Act which ensured all citizens had the right to vote. The text and illustrations exquisitely illuminate Lillian's physical and metaphorical climb up a long hill to vote. I choose only the very best books for review in Stories Matter, but Lillian's Right to Vote is the best of the best.

"she can hear the voice of President Lyndon Johnson on her TV, saying to America: "Every American citizen must have an equal right to vote.... There is no duty which weighs more heavily on us than the duty we have to ensure that right.... All of us... must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice.
And we shall overcome.""

Learning Suggestions

Family Read Aloud Time
This is a must read for family time; the illustrations are stunning and will engage the youngest children while the text will prompt thought-filled talk around the dinner table. (Yes, there should be talk around dinner...)

Learning at Home
Study.com's US History for Kids includes a brief lesson about the 15th Amendment to the Constitution. Share My Lesson provides a resource-filled lesson for kiddos about the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Classroom Options
Lillian's Right To Vote is on the ADL Education's The Best Kid Lit on Bias, Diversity & Social Justice list and they offer a phenomenal lesson plan just for the book.

Jonah Winter

Winter writes children's books that promote social justice, artistic expression, nonconformity and baseball. His work has received numerous awards including three New York Times Best Illustration Book awards.

Shane Evans

Evans illustrates children's books, poster, CD covers and magazines for a wide range of authors and musicians, as well as clients such as Hallmark Cards, Nike, and the Food & Drug Administration.