I was completely surprised when the six 2nd and 3rd graders picked this as their favorite of our three election books with four votes. I find the pictures to be static and flat and the story to be a little cloying, although perhaps they liked it because this is clearly geared to a younger audience than Grace for President and Madam President. Then again it could be that this was the only one of the three in which a boy ended up being President and we had more boys than girls. Who knows? Wells' look at a class presidential election could easily be used for 1st graders and even possibly kindergarten students and provides a nice lesson in civic responsibility along with some humor.

Used for October "Vote for Your Favorite Book/Election Theme" Tons of Fun. ( )

Before reading:
We are going to read the book Otto Runs for President. Have you ever voted in an election at your school? What about your parents, do they vote? Why do people vote for things? This story is about three dogs at Barkadelphia School who are running for class president. To become the class president they must win an election at the end. Three dogs run in the school elections and this is their story.

This is a great book for introducing if you are having a class election for the first time or anytime or studying government in the younger grades. It is geared toward children in third grade and under since the illustrations feel young. The stereotypical cheerleader and popular jock (dogs) are running in the election and begin a smear campaign. It brings out the issues that we speak of in politics, when is it for show and fame and when is there someone trying to make a difference to the people. Otto wins the election because he listens to the other students on what they want.

After reading:
Why do you think the author chose Otto to win the election? Do these type of situations happen in real life elections? This could be discussed in small groups and then shared.

When Charles and Tiffany run for President based on the popularity, they do not even ask what the other students want. When Otto decided to run against them, he asks everyone what they really want to see happen in the school. When the results come in on election day, who will become President of Barkadelphia School? ( )

In Otto Runs for President, Rosemary Wells writes about three different dogs taking place in an election for class President. The three candidates are Tiffany (cutest and smartest), Charles (sports jock), and Otto (caring). The This book does a nice job of introducing the idea of campaigning and voting for a person based on their beliefs instead of their popularity. This book could be useful in my classroom because it is a nice way to introduce selflessness and the imiportance of considering others. Also, the idea of campaigning is presented well and students can understand one way an election process may work. ( )

Otto decides to run for president against two "popular" kids. He uses some unique campaign strategies (some questionable in terms of integrity) and ends up winning because he had great ideas.