Tina Ruthe

This picture book explains the principles of democracy in an engaging way. Toni and her mother move to a new city, into the 'box of oranges', a colorful apartment building. When the oldest inhabitant wins 5000€ in a competition and decides to share the money with everyone living in the building, they need to decide what to do with it. There are many different wishes, but they decide on the two most important ones (the renovation of the playground or a bigger vegetable patch), there are show more speeches, and in the end everyone votes by putting an orange in the respective box. The playground wins and when it is finished, it even features an accessible swing so it can be used by everyone. Toni's mom explains to her that what they did was democracy, and why it is important.

This is simply a fantastic book - the message, the story, the illustrations, the diverse cast of characters. I cannot recommend it highly enough. show less