RED, WHITE, AND BLUEBELLE

A donkey and an elephant vie for the presidency of a zoo in this political picture book.

Orange-haired, tie-wearing elephant Ronald Trunk asks his longtime friend Bluebelle, a flower-haired, skirt-wearing donkey, to vote for him for zoo president. But Bluebelle has other ideas and announces that she’ll run against him. He’s understandably irked (Martin shows a dark squiggle above his head), but instead of expressing his feelings, he immediately mocks her: “I’m the better choice. Besides, you’re just a…girl.” The two candidates deliver familiar campaign assurances. Bluebelle promises free rides to zoo guests and pledges to “shelter dreaming mice,” with no plan to pay for these programs. Trunk focuses on bringing in money to the zoo and vows to build a wall to keep out the mice. After Trunk wins the election, the two try to find some common ground—but Bluebelle proclaims she’ll run again in four years. Martin’s cartoon illustrations, like those in Ruby’s Button (2019), are comical and exactly match the tone of Burnam’s rhyming stanzas. But in an effort to be neutral, the author has made both parties’ positions look absurd. Adults and young independent readers familiar with current events will find these obvious analogs as frustrating as some news reports. But children in families that don’t regularly discuss politics may gravitate toward one of the candidates and be pleased by the two opponents’ attempts to mend bridges at the end.

A lively but uneven voting allegory for children.