I thought the concept was interesting, however I felt that this was... too hard to enjoy. The idea of the two candidates bickering for votes and being cruel to each other is SO spot on, but the whole lesson felt lost to me.

My Thoughts
This book is one of those that evoked mixed feelings for me. I truly loved the artwork, the timeliness(though based on what I see, this is a timely reprint), and the concept of the book. So while we could possibly use the book to introduce younger readers to the bitter side of politics, and the words used in the mudslinging contest between the donkey and the elephant here are sure to get some giggles, I am not too sure if the book is intended to be a truly children’s picture book (because the political undertones can go over their heads) or if it should be a political satire book for adults in picture book format.

Conclusion: It is cute and giggle-inducing, and the illustrations are simply adorable! I would lean towards it being political satire for adults who have young kids so they could use it to read to their young ‘uns(after they have read it)!

Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the digital review copy of the featured books. These thoughts are my honest opinions of the books.

'Vote for Me!' with words and pictures by Ben Clanton is truthfully hilarious book about a donkey and an elephant who want your vote.

The reader is urged, on alternating pages, to vote for either the donkey or the elephant. Their pleas get more urgent and eventually lead to name calling and mudslinging. Who will the readers vote for?

Ben Clanton writes hilarious books for young readers, and even though young readers might not get all the meanings here, it's still a fun read, and grown ups should be laughing right along with them. The drawings are cute and it's the perfect book for an election year.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Tundra Books, Penguin Random House Canada, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

This is a great picture book to teach children about political elections.

In this story, Donkey and Elephant are both running for president. They want to convince the reader to vote for them. They use promises and bribes to try to convince you. Then they have a fight and call each other names. In the end, they realize they don’t want to be mean to each other. The election results were a surprising twist at the end.

This story introduces the idea of elections to children. It is based on the donkey and elephant representations of American political parties, but the same idea can be applied to any political parties. The two animals display the same behavior of name calling and bribes, so it doesn’t favour one party over the other. I especially liked the surprise ending.

I really enjoyed this children’s book.

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The idea of this children’s book is great! I love children’s literature that promotes life experiences. However, my four sons and I read this together, and we all found it hard to follow.

The elephants and the donkey are running in an election, both throwing slurs and competing for the number one vote. No matter who’s hurt in the process, their voice should be the only one heard.

I think the meaning behind the book is wonderful, it needs to be heard, but this book we had trouble with. I wish the mouse had been brought in, in the beginning, It seemed all over the place, and maybe it was the format. I wouldn’t read it again, unfortunately.


*thank you to the publishers for providing me with a copy for an honest review.

I was hoping this book would have a little more insight about the voting process, but instead it was just another book of bickering candidates.

This book teaches kids one of the worst parts of politics, the mudslinging. However, in this book it is literal. Elephant and Donkey both want your vote as the reader. Instead of talking themselves up they focus on tearing each other down. While children will find the name calling with silly words funny adults will know this as reality all too well. The lesson comes at the end when a character (Mouse) you didn't see the whole book wins the election. Even after they have lost the two characters continue to bicker. Children ages 5 - 10 will laugh out loud with this story.

This was a very cute book with a political underlying theme. Great to get children involved at an early age.

Can't wait for more from this author and illustrator.

A perfect book to feature in branches during election time. This caters mostly to American audience but it can definitely be a thing when our Federal elections are back on. I need to keep it in mind till then.

A donkey wants you to vote for him. An elephant wants you to vote for him. How far will these two go to persuade you to vote in their favor? How awful will they be to each other to win your vote?

A great book for parents looking to introduce their children to election year politics. It could stand to be slightly more subtle, but I think with a little discussion, kids can glean some important lessons from this book.

This was an interesting picture book that came off as a little dated. While I enjoyed the fact that it exposed children to the manner in which the US two party system functioned. However, we've had a lot of turmoil between our two parties and I really wish that this book exposed our parties in a more positive light.. I think that it was just hard to read since it's something that we're currently experience as a nation. I thought that the artwork was phenomenal and this could possibly be a book that has a better outcome in a few years once the issues between the two parties calms down a bit.

I love Ben Clanton and this is a great, well-timed book. It gives a light hearted look at politics.

Hey, you! Yes, you with the dazzling smile! The donkey wants your vote. So does the elephant. Can you imagine? Each will do just about anything to win your vote. They boast, name call, make dumb promises, exaggerate and act like ill behaved children? As the tension mounts, and these two annoying candidates resort to slinging literal mud balls and tossing insults. Suddenly, the election results are in! Our mud slinging candidates are in for a little surprise as an unknown rises to the position.


While this picture book is a timely satire of American politics, I don’t see an audience among children. Although neither elephant or donkey get what they wanted, is it okay to act as they did?

Put this one on the quirky adult satire shelf.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Unfortunately, I just did not love this one. I see what the author was trying to do, but I think their message will just fly way over children’s heads. I’m also personally just not a fan of children’s books that consist entirely of dialogue? I want a story, not a script! Oh well, that’s probably personal preference. As a Ben Clanton fan, I really wanted to love this one, but sadly, it just wasn’t for me :(

While I think this topic is a fantastic idea for a picture book, I’m not sure it quite encompasses it clearly. I love Ben Clanton’s work in general. Perhaps seeing the text in the illustrations would make the story clear.

Not what I was expecting... This could've been a funny story for kids while still being educational, but the content/satire will go over their heads. I normally read children's ARCs with my kids to gauge their reactions but didn't even bother with this one.

A cute and very quick read on voting. Not at all what I expected but still a cute book. I think kids would enjoy it but as a parent you would still need to explain the demographic of voting to your little ones. Garnered more towards preteen instead of little kids

This book isn't sure if it wants to be a satire book for adults or a children's picture book and thus falls flat in both categories.

I'm not sure kids will find this funny for the same reasons I did, but it does a great job of pointing out how ridiculous politics can be at times.

I received a copy of this arc from NetGalley for an honest review. Political satire for kids, though kids won't get it.