Book Nook: Voting with a Porpoise

Just in time for election season, the voting process is brought to life for children of all ages when a charming underwater community comes together to illustrate the importance of participating in your community in the book Voting with a Porpoise by Rock the Vote board member Russell Glass and children's author Sean Callahan.

A pod of dolphins can’t find enough food in the reef where they have always lived and are faced with an important decision: stay in their long-time home or move on to more fruitful waters. Looking to the group to vote on what their future would hold, the pod’s leader, Finn, doesn’t want Petey to vote because “he’s just a porpoise.” However, when Finn finds himself with a 6-pack ring wrapped around his beak, which Petey helps him remove, he has a change of heart. With Petey’s vote, the pod swims off for a new reef where they happily find plenty of food and a prosperous new life.

I had a chance to interview the authors to learn more.

·       Why did you decide to write this book?

We were both troubled by the lack of Americans going to the polls, especially young people. Russ took action by joining the board of Rock the Vote. He also founded Votergy, an organization that created an app designed to get more Millennials voting. Sean helped out by helping write blog posts for Votergy. After being involved with Votergy and Rock the Vote, Russ began to think big picture and beyond just the 2018 or 2020 elections. He saw an opportunity to change the culture around voting in the United States to get more people casting ballots. So Russ approached Sean with an idea of writing an illustrated children’s book about voting. This was in the spring. Russ and Sean (who had written a handful of children’s books before, including The Leprechaun Who Lost His Rainbow), collaborated on a what became Voting With a Porpoise. (Russ and Sean had previously co-authored a very different book, titled The Big Data-Driven Business). Getting Daniel Howarth, a gifted artist, to do the illustrations took Voting With a Porpoise to another level. Ultimately, we hope Voting With a Porpoise becomes regular reading for young Americans and makes them begin to understand how important making their voice heard can be — and how important their vote is to making the U.S. political system work the way it is supposed to.  

·       How can parents help their kids understand politics at their own level?

Of course, we think reading Voting With a Porpoise can begin to teach kids about how voting works and how it’s important to make your voice heard. Kids definitely understand the inherent fairness of voting. Parents can help develop this understanding even further by holding votes in the household — for what dessert to eat or what to watch on TV, for example. We also encourage parents to talk about the election and even about who they’re voting for and why. It’s also a good idea to take your children to the polls, so that they can see not only their parents but the broader community taking part in the election. 

·       How can kids who are fired up about politics get more involved?

While kids can’t vote until they are 18, there are plenty of ways to get involved in elections. One of the best ways is to volunteer for a local candidate they support. Candidates can also use help with get out the vote efforts such as canvassing, phone calls, and social media.