I’m definitely partial to vintage, classic children’s picture books, but there are some new ones out there worth reading. While browsing our local library I came across The President of the Jungle, a funny story about animals peacefully uprising against the King Lion by agreeing to hold an election for a president instead. It was published in 2020 and features some familiar protest slogans and candidate personalities that adults can appreciate. It was written and illustrated by Andre Rodrigues, Larissa Ribeiro, Paula Desgualdo, and Pedro Markun.
My children enjoyed it and requested multiple re-reads. The bright colored illustrations are a little reminiscent of folk art and often rather abstract, so part of the interest among my little ones is trying to decipher what some of the animals are supposed to be.
The story gives the overview of creating and maintaining an election process: The animals are weary of the King Lion’s heavy hand and decide they will all unite to choose a president for themselves instead. They make an agreement to adhere to certain rules, including that each animal is allowed one vote (one candidate eventually gets disqualified for violating the rule against bribery). Several animals run for president (interestingly the former King Lion tries his hand at getting duly elected himself). They debate, hold rallies, and on election day patiently wait for the votes to be tallied. The book ends with the realistic, peaceful conclusion that not everyone is satisfied with the outcome of the election, so it’s good that they will have another election the following year.
The President of the Jungle is worth checking out at your local library or buying (a hardback copy is available for $10.43 on Amazon) to read aloud while children are learning about the basics of democracy.
Note: My oldest, age 7, made one criticism that lions don’t live in jungles.
I realized after recording the episode that I had forgotten to list the names of the authors and illustrators. I have included them above in the text.
