Voting is Fun!

While the grownups are all stressed about the upcoming elections, the children here at Drexel just scratch their heads and ask why worry. Voting is fun! That’s because we have elections every year. We vote for books, however, not for people! We let the grownups worry about the ‘people’ stuff.

Every year the Missouri Library Association selects ten books from hundreds of titles that have been submitted for consideration. All the titles go through two separate acceptance processes until only 10 titles remain. Which will be the best of the best?

That’s where the preschoolers of Missouri come in! Only they can vote for the winner.

Starting in September each title is read to both the Drexel story hour kids and the local preschool classes. After reading the book the children are given a ballot which has a happy face, an okay face and a sad face. They then put a sticker next to the face that shows how they felt about the book. The ballot is then placed in the voting box to be tallied later. Moms are not allowed to vote, which really pleases the children! By December we have voted on all 10 titles. The Drexel winner is submitted to the Missouri Library Association and then we anxiously await the naming of this year’s winner.

The Drexel preschoolers have accurately picked the winner every year—that’s a heck of a voting record!

– Connie Allen, Drexel Branch Manager

Click here to see the schedule for story times at the Drexel Branch or in your branch this Fall.