Becoming a Citizen

July 1, 2005
Gr 3-5 -Straightforward explanations of how our government works and the rights and duties of citizens. Each book has an interesting assortment of vintage and recent color photos, all well captioned, and is logically arranged. "Citizen" includes facsimiles of a birth certificate, resident card, application for naturalization, sample questions from the citizenship tests, and the text of the -Oath of Allegiance. - "Bill" focuses on passage of federal laws, and the narrative is enhanced by a spread that graphically indicates the steps in passing legislation. "Office" shows the various stages in a campaign and discusses basic differences between Republicans and Democrats. All of these books refer readers to the publisher's Web site, which contains links to information about the subjects in each title. Mike Bonner's "How a Bill Is Passed" and "How to Become an Elected Official" (both Chelsea House, 2000) are more detailed accounts for slightly older readers. Hamilton's books are solid purchases where basic civics books are needed." -Lynda Ritterman, Atco Elementary School, Waterford, NJ"

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