D Is for Democracy: A Citizen's Alphabet

Democracy -- America has it and it seems like many other countrieswant it. But what exactly is a democracy and how easy is it to maintain?Despite the banter in today's media, many Americans are still in thedark when it comes to knowing and acting upon their rights andresponsibilities as citizens of a democratic society. In refreshinglycandid and straight-to-the-point language author Elissa Grodintakes readers of all ages on an A-Z trip through our government'sstructure, from its earliest beginnings to definitions of basiccomponents and concepts (including immigration and taxation).Engaging, disarming, and frequently thought-provoking artworkfrom illustrator Victor Juhasz emphasizes the magnitude of thesubject. From founding fathers, first ladies, and the First Amendmentto the presidential oath of office, < I>D is for Democracy< /I> details thepolitical processes, parties, and people of democracy, American-style.< P>Elissa D. Grodin grew up in a large family in Kansas City, Missouri, and was fifteen years old when she started to write shortstories. While living in London in the late '70s, she wrote for the< I>Times Literary Supplement < /I>and < I>New Statesman. < /I>After movingto New York, she studied at the School of Visual Arts and met herhusband, actor Charles Grodin, while interviewing him for < I>AmericanFilm < /I>magazine. < I>D is for Democracy< /I> is her second children's bookwith Sleeping Bear Press. She also wrote < I>N is for Nutmeg: AConnecticut Alphabet. < /I>Elissa lives with her family in Wilton, Connecticut.< P>A graduate of the Parsons School of Design, Victor Juhasz began illustratingin 1974 while still a student and has been working non-stop ever since. Hishumorous illustrations and caricatures have been commissioned by majormagazines, newspapers, advertising agencies, and book publishers bothnational and international, and his clients include < I>Time, Newsweek, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, TheWashington Post, < /I> and < I>GQ. < /I>Victor lives in Elizabeth, New Jersey.