#WhyIVote - Kid Lit Writers and Illustrators Collaborate To Encourage Voting in the US Presidential Election!

#WhyIVote is a gathering of kid lit bloggers (and a tweet hashtag) to encourage voting in Tuesday's US election.

A round-up list with links, compiled by Colleen Mondor at her Chasing Ray blog, #WhyIVote has different  members of our children's book community chiming in on the theme, like:


Joy at Joy's Book Blog: "I vote because when my grandmothers were growing up, women couldn't vote. I asked Grandma Weese about it once. She was apparently a bit of a rabble-rouser - "I told them at the high school that I didn't know what made men think they were so smart."

And

Katy K at A Library Mama: "I vote because even if democracy isn't perfect, it's the best thing we've hit on so far, and a democracy where people don't vote, isn't. I vote so that my kids can see me take an active role in our government and believe that one person can make a difference."

And

Tanita Davis at fiction, instead of lies: "Voting is both privilege and gift, and obligation, for someone whose ancestors were slaves, and whose chattel status prevented them from being thought of even as human."

And

Jone has a Walt Whitman poem at Check It Out: "It seems to me that each political season stirs up more divisiveness than the earlier. It's stunning the amount of money spent to get elected. In "For You, O Democracy," I found hope in the lines."

And

Greg Pincus at Gotta Book: "As I watch the devastation of hurricane Sandy, I'm reminded again how we all pull together... how we are, despite vast spaces between us, all part of something bigger than just our own smaller communities. To me, a Presidential election is about that, too."


There are many more... so go check out the roundup list and read the posts.  You can add a link to your own blog post about why YOU vote.

#WhyIVote is a great example of the power and impact of the Children's Literature community.  So be part of it.

Illustrate and Write On... and Vote!
Lee