We The People: The United States Constitution Explored and Explained

by Aura Lewis, Evan Sargent, Aura Lewis (Illustrator)

Overview

See the US Constitution in a new light with this bold, modern and accessible illustrated guide to the document that helped define democracy.

With the unprecedented events and actions that have tested the American political system over the last several years, including the violent overtaking of the U.S. Capitol Building, there has never been a better time to take a closer look at the Constitution, the bedrock of U.S. politics. As part of the critical discussion of current events at school and at home, inquisitive minds will have their questions vividly answered – and new ones raised – by a mix of striking illustrations and clear, engaging text, including passages from the Constitution given in plain English.

As well as a detailed history covering the original Constitution, the Bill of Rights and all Amendments, discover how this milestone in American democracy shapes and is shaped by the world at large. We The People shows that, far from a fusty old piece of paper, the US Constitution is a living, evolving rule book that is as relevant today as it has ever been.

• A fresh take on a monumental document, navigating in style its history and its life today.
• Excerpts from the Constitution are presented here in plain English to help young thinkers better understand the role it plays in everyday life.
• Accessible, energetic text accompanied by contemporary, powerful illustrations allows children aged 10 and older to re-think the Constitution in a totally new way.
• A balanced examination that does not shy away from addressing the difficulties of interpreting and adapting the Constitution for the modern world.

We The People takes the Constitution out of its display case, blows off the dust and re-imagines this piece of history for the next generation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780711254053
Publisher:	Wide Eyed Editions
Publication date:	07/01/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	112
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Aura Lewis is an author–illustrator with an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She is inspired by fashion and culture from all over the world, playful color, vintage ephemera, and social activism. Aura's books include Gloria's Voice, The Illustrated Feminist, and We The People.

Evan Sargent is an intuitive creative director, strategist, and designer with a knack for seeing the big picture. Her background includes over a decade as an art director and creative director in advertising—more recently, she has become a political activist and community organizer. We The People is her first children’s book.

Aura Lewis is an author–illustrator whose distinctive, contemporary artwork aims at awakening the political potential of audiences young and old. Aura's books include Gloria's Voice, The Illustrated Feminist, and We The People.

Aura Lewis is an author–illustrator with an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She is inspired by fashion and culture from all over the world, playful color, vintage ephemera, and social activism. Aura's books include Gloria's Voice, The Illustrated Feminist, and We The People.
Evan Sargent is an intuitive creative director, strategist, and designer with a knack for seeing the big picture. Her background includes over a decade as an art director and creative director in advertising—more recently, she has become a political activist and community organizer. We The People is her first children's book.
Aura Lewis is an author–illustrator whose distinctive, contemporary artwork aims at awakening the political potential of audiences young and old. Aura's books include Gloria's Voice, The Illustrated Feminist, and We The People.

Table of Contents

HELLO
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
THE THREE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT
THE PREAMBLE
ARTICLE 1 Congress
ARTICLE 2 President
ARTICLE 3 Judicial
ARTICLE 4 States
ARTICLE 5 Amending
ARTICLE 6 Debts, supremacy, oaths, religious tests
ARTICLE 7 Ratification
THE BILL OF RIGHTS
1 ST AMENDMENT Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, petitions
2ND AMENDMENT Arms
3RD AMENDMENT Quartering of soldiers
4TH AMENDMENT Search and seizure
5TH AMENDMENT Grand jury, double jeopardy, self-incrimination, due process
6TH AMENDMENT Rights of accused in criminal prosecutions
7TH AMENDMENT Jury trial
8TH AMENDMENT Protecting against excessive bail, cruel and unusual punishment
9TH AMENDMENT Non-enumerated rights
10TH AMENDMENT Rights reserved to states
THE REST OF THE AMENDMENTS
1 1 TH AMENDMENT Suits against a state
12TH AMENDMENT Election of president and vice-president
13TH AMENDMENT Abolition of slavery and involuntary servitude
14TH AMENDMENT Citizenship, immunities clause, due process, equal protection
15TH AMENDMENT Voting rights
16TH AMENDMENT Federal income tax
17TH AMENDMENT Popular election of senators
18TH AMENDMENT Prohibition
19TH AMENDMENT Votes for women
20TH AMENDMENT Commencement of presidential term and succession
21ST AMENDMENT Repeal of 18th Amendment
22ND AMENDMENT Two-term limitation on president
23RD AMENDMENT District of Columbia presidential vote
24TH AMENDMENT Abolition of poll tax requirement in federal elections
25TH AMENDMENT Presidential vacancy, disability, and inability
26TH AMENDMENT The right to vote at age 18
27TH AMENDMENT Congressional compensation
LOOKING FORWARD
GLOSSARY
SEARCH & FIND AND FURTHER READING
INDEX
 

Editorial Reviews

05/04/2020

Sargentand Lewis lead readers through a breezy, informative tour of the preeminent U.S. legal document, opening with a contextualizing note: “because it was written by a small number of white men with power, we have to read it critically.” Short chapters dedicated to each article and amendment are punctuated with “Fast Facts” (the Senate has “100 members”), quiz-style questions (“How many presidents have served in the United States?”), and open-ended prompts (one about whether “people who don’t agree can still be friends and respect each other”). Stylish design breaks complexities into digestible ideas, highlighting key words and phrases and interleaving historical asides, accented throughout in Lewis’s modish digital illustrations. The creators’ progressive lean is evident: Democrats dominate the capsule biographies, and concepts such as intersectionality, the prison-industrial complex, and privilege are centered. Still, it’s an engaging introduction to a document that continues to shape American lives. A glossary and list of further reading concludes. Ages 10–14. (July)

Publishers Weekly

"Nuanced and reasonably easy to understand."—Kirkus Reviews

"An enlightening addition to upper elementary and middle school collections for its in-depth look at the Constitution and the U.S. government."—Molly Dettmann, School Library Journal

"An excellent resource."—J. B. Petty, Booklist

"An engaging introduction to a document that continues to shape American lives."—Publishers Weekly

“FIVE STARS. I’d give it a million if I could.”—Heather Armstrong, Dooce

From the Publisher

06/01/2020

Gr 5–8—This detailed overview of the U.S. Constitution incorporates engaging facts and profiles. Lewis and Sargent thoroughly explain various aspects of the government in a way that pops. Bright cartoon-style illustrations complement the organization of the book. The text features a mix of short passages, sidebars, discussion questions, lists, and profiles of important politicians and activists. The authors provide context that goes behind the basics. For example, in the section about the 19th Amendment, they point out that not all women were given the same freedom; the section describes the many ways women of color have tirelessly fought for equality, and offers an easy-to-understand definition of intersectionality. A glossary, an index, a search-and-find, and further reading are included. VERDICT An enlightening addition to upper elementary and middle school collections for its in-depth look at the Constitution and the U.S. government.—Molly Dettmann, Norman North H.S., OK

School Library Journal

2020-05-03
An introduction to the U.S. Constitution, with case studies, commentary, and debate questions to spark rumination and discussion.

Using simplified language, as the original is replete with “old-fashioned terms and some of the loooooongest sentences you will ever see,” the authors go over select parts of each article and amendment in turn. Along with blowing off originalists by characterizing the document as designed “to be reinterpreted and revised over time as our society evolves,” they point to ways racial and gender inequities, beginning with enslavement, have so often been “silently woven between the lines” and caution readers to be wary of historical “whitewashing.” They also profile notable reformers, women who have served in Congress and/or run for president, and hot-button issues such as gun control and abortion rights. Budding political activists are encouraged at the close to get involved: “Power is fun!” Lewis populates the pages with mixes of stylized individual portraits and thoroughly diversified clusters of small figures waving protest signs, marching, or, like a rainbow row of women celebrating the 19th Amendment and the biracial couple raising glasses at Prohibition’s repeal, posing in triumph. Occasional bobbles notwithstanding—the Federalist Party was hardly “the nation’s financial system,” Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation did not “end slavery,” and it’s not 100% true that “police shootings of Black people…continue unchecked”—this view of the foundational document of our national system is both nuanced and reasonably easy to understand.

Buoyant if occasionally simplistic, with a distinct lean to the left. (glossary, index, reading list) (Nonfiction. 9-11)

Kirkus Reviews