"One Monday morning in September, Mrs. Barrington rolled out a big poster with all of the presidents' pictures on it..." And on the book's very first page, an African-American girl asks an inconvenient question: "Where are all the girls?" This book was written in 2008, when Hillary Clinton looked like she could become the first woman ever elected to the Presidency of the United States. But Grace might be happy to learn that instead, the country elected its first African-American president.
On page two, Grace sits at her desk making a sour face as she contemplates the state of the American electorate. ("No girls? Who'd ever heard of such a crazy thing...") Then she raises her hand, and announces that she'd like to be president. The teacher proclaims that to be "a star-spangled idea," though Grace actually ends up running for the presidency of her own elementary school. And the next day another candidate joins the competition - a skinny little boy with a charming smile who'd already won a slew of awards for spelling, science, and soccer.
"Becoming president wasn't going to be so easy, after all, Grace thought."
That's actually the problem that Hillary Clinton ran into - a long and difficult primary struggle, in which she was ultimately defeated by a skinny male candidate with a lot of awards and a charming smile. And the book even acknowledges the reality of America's electoral college, saying that the winning elementary school presidential candidate would still need 270 electoral votes - with each student in two classrooms representing one of America's 50 states. "You might be wondering what the Electoral College is and how it works," the author explains to children in a note at the back of the book. "You're not alone! Many adults have a hard time understanding the process..."
Grace's campaign slogan is "Make history," while in one illustration, her arch-rival seems to be using code words to appeal to the electorate's secret biases, calling himself "the best MAN for the job!" But Grace listens carefully to the concerns of the other students, taking notes with a clipboard and then addresses them with a series of campaign promises. ("No bullies...! Better hot lunches. No more fishstick tacos!") It's fun to read this book as a cheery celebration of the realities of America's political system.
Author Kelly DiPucchio dedicates the book to a real-life girl named Grace, "who asked the question, 'Where are the girls?'" (And illustrator LeUyen Pham dedicates the book to a girl named Angelic Ruiz, "who I expect to be president in 32 years.") Pham worked as an animator for Dreamworks, and her drawings seem sophisticated and witty. Some of the book's text is even written in an elaborate seraph font - like the kind that's used for the words on U.S. currency!
The book touches on a real-world concern - that the male voters wouldn't vote for a female candidate. But in a climactic scene, the final vote count remains close, with 268 electoral votes racked up for Thomas, and 267 votes for Grace. The final student to vote is a yellow-haired boy named Sam, representing the state of Wyoming's 3 electoral votes. But he stuns the auditorium by throwing his votes to Grace, and offers an inspirational reason for his decision.
"I thought you were the best person for the job."
And the book ends with a picture of Grace in the future - as a grown-up - being sworn in as America's president by the chief justice of the Supreme Court.