This picture book by Chilean creators Claudio Fuentes and Gabriela Lyon is a necessary and accessible introduction to civics for young readers.
A group of Chilean students engages in animated, conscientious civic discourse when developers looking to improve their school (new classrooms and science labs) threaten to cut down an endangered monkey puzzle tree at the center of the yard. The millennial tree--so named because it reportedly lives for a thousand years--is part of a species indigenous to the area and is beloved by the children. Students who want to preserve the tree organize themselves into a group called the "Millennials" and begin protesting and advocating for the tree's existence; another group of students in favor of the renovation call themselves the "Developers." Demonstrations, posters, stumping and debates ensue.
Never didactic, the energetic prose expertly translated by Elisa Amado matter-of-factly presents the election process, beginning with forming a position and finishing with casting a final vote. When their election results in a tie, they come up with a compromise because "good ideas could come out of... disagreements." The bustling art pairs well with the student's passionate protests, and Lyon's limited palette of browns, blues and whites with pops of red give the work a classic feel reminiscent of the three-color printing process used in early picture books. Small details, like a sign by the voting booth stating, "Your vote is secret," pack a punch and add an extra layer of meaning. --Shelley M. Diaz, reviews editor, School Library Journal