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THE CAMPAIGN

Leila Sales

Veep meets Parks and Recreation in this hilarious illustrated middle-grade political comedy about a 12-year-old who runs her babysitter's campaign for mayor.
For 12-year-old Maddie Polansky, the only good part of school is art class. And though she's never paid much attention to politics, when she learns that the frontrunner for mayor of her city intends to cut funding for the arts in public schools, the political suddenly becomes very personal. So Maddie persuades her babysitter, Janet, to run for mayor against Lucinda Burghart, art-hating bad guy. Soon, Maddie is thrust into the role of campaign manager, leading not only to humor and hijinks, but to an inspiring story for young readers that talks about activism and what it takes to become an engaged citizen. Maddie and Janet's adventures on the campaign trail are illustrated by copious black-and-white drawings throughout the book. Leila Sales grew up outside Boston, where she attended an all-girls high school similar to the school in Mostly Good Girls. She went on to the University of Chicago, where she won the Ol- ga and Paul Menn Foundation Prize for fiction writing. Since graduating in 2006 she has lived in Brooklyn and worked at Penguin Young Readers Group. Her humorous essays have ap- peared in the New York Press, Boston's Weekly Dig, The Chicago Maroon, and elsewhere.
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Published 2020-08-01 by Abrams

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Sales says she wanted her new book to be a fun and entertaining way to bring kids into the conversation about politics... Many adults would shy away from conversations concerning politics. However, Sales stresses the importance of explaining the concepts of government without 'dumbing it down.' With THE CAMPAIGN she does just that. She takes readers on the long journey down the campaign trail from start to finish. All in an effort to spark a love in her readers for activism and local government. Read more...

The latest book by author Leila Sales, The Campaign, is equal parts funny and inspirational. Sales' plot not only makes kids laugh, it provides a relatable example of a young person getting personally involved in a cause she's passionate about. 'The Campaign is a political comedy for kids about a 12-year-old girl who encourages her babysitter to run for mayor and goes on to manage her campaign,' says Sales. 'I wrote this book to show kids the power that they have, to show them that government isn't something that just affects grown-ups. It affects all of us, and therefore we should all have a say in it.'

A perfect pick for an election year, this novel will have readers rooting for the "little guy" and waiting on tenterhooks for all the ballots to be counted and the next mayor announced. Read more...