Like most people in the United States, the political events of the last few weeks have left me feeling bruised, occasionally battered, and extremely tender. This is the mood in which I found myself as I headed in to be a reading volunteer for the African-American Read-In, organized by the Oakland Public Education Fund at Oakland Unified School District. 

I had been assigned to read to two classes, kindergarten and fifth grade. I was excited about the kindergartners. I’m an early childhood educator who works with the littlest of learners, and I had lots of ideas about what to read. Not only had I picked my books out days ago, but I had also received my four-year-old’s seal of approval.  

Fifth grade, though, was uncharted territory. I had many questions, including whether fifth graders even liked being read aloud to and what I could possibly read to them hold their attention, and I was nervous. With the help of a wonderful librarian at my local public library, I settled on three candidate reads: Grace for President, a picture book that I personally liked, but worried would seem babyish to fifth graders; a short chapter about Michelle Obama’s school days from a biography; and a poem by Maya Angelou. 

As I walked from Lake Merritt BART to the school, I noticed that the neighboring streets were all named for presidents. This gave me an idea and I made a game time call to read Grace for President. When I was in the classroom, I started off my reading by listing these streets and asking the students what they noticed about the names. Students responded with: “They were presidents;”  “They were all white;” “They owned slaves;” and, finally, “They were all men.” 

Given the hook I was looking for, I launched into the book. If you have not come across it yet, Grace for President is about an African-American girl, Grace, who reacts to the fact that American presidents have all been men by deciding to run for president herself, starting with the school’s mock election. It’s a fun, accessible introduction to the American electoral system but it is also a book about hard work, courage, and independent thought. 

The fifth graders were delightful. They listened attentively. They asked good questions: “Why do we have an electoral college?” “How do you decide how many electoral votes a state gets?” “How many electoral votes does California have, and why?” They grappled thoughtfully with important issues: Should we vote for our friends or the best person for the job? How do we know someone is the best person for the job? It was the best half hour of my day, and I could not have asked for a better salve for my soul. 

If you, like me, are troubled by the times we live in, here’s some advice: find yourself a young child and go read Grace for President with them. It may be exactly what you did not know you needed.