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Books and activities to build background knowledge — from Reading Rockets

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Our Democracy: A Book-Based Exploration of Civics

Our civics and social justice-related toolkit is all about our government, voting, voting rights, and active citizenship.

mosaic of kids doing music-related activities

Welcome to Our Democracy!

Woodrow Wilson said, “Democracy is not so much a form of government as a set of principles.”

Dive into the layers of democracy and justice by making a mobile to show the balance of power among the three branches of government, celebrate heroes like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and John Lewis who fought for the right to vote, create a plan complete with events, speeches, and proclamations to be president for a day, learn about the power and responsibility that comes with the right to vote, make flyers to post in your community that say “Everyone is welcome here!” in different languages, and make a kindness jar to better understand the importance of small acts for the greater good.

Our Democracy gives kids a chance to learn more about what their local, state, and federal governments do, how elections work, and simple ways to get involved as engaged global citizens in their own communities.

Our Democracy combines hands-on activities with great fiction, poetry, and picture book biographies — books such as I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark and Marshall the Courthouse Mouse: A Tail of the U.S. Supreme Court — inspiring kids to read about our democracy, citizenship, and social responsibility.

A summer learning guide for educators, summer program leaders, and parents, Our Democracy includes dozens of carefully chosen fiction and nonfiction books, hands-on activities, and writing ideas to deepen a child's learning plus tips on reading aloud and building fluency skills.

Join us ... to explore, create, read, write, and learn — all about voting, voting rights, and active citizenship. Topics include:

  • Our Government
  • We Vote!
  • Active Citizens

Get the free Our Democracy activity guide

Note: Be sure to view and print from Adobe Reader (or an alternative PDF reader), not your web browser.

Books about civics and our democracy

children's books about democracy, the U.S. government and civics

Looking for great kids’ books about democracy, our government and civics? The Our Democracy activity guide includes dozens of recommended fiction, nonfiction, and poetry books. You can also browse our complete library of children's books about Civics and Our Government.