The Campaign

Veep meets Parks and Recreation in Leila Sales’s The Campaign, a hilarious middle-grade political comedy about a 12-year-old who runs her babysitter’s campaign for mayor—featuring black-and-white illustrations by Kim Balacuit.

“Exactly the story we need right now.” —Caldecott honor winner and New York Times bestselling author Jon Scieszka

For Maddie Polansky, the only good part of school is art class. And though she’s never paid much attention to politics, when she learns that the frontrunner for mayor of her city intends to cut funding for the arts in public schools, the political suddenly becomes very personal.

So Maddie persuades her babysitter, Janet, to run for mayor against Lucinda Burghart, art-hating bad guy. Soon, Maddie is thrust into the role of campaign manager, leading not only to humor and hijinks but also to an inspiring story for young readers that talks about activism and what it takes to become an engaged citizen.

Includes a Sneak Peek of Leila Sales’s The Museum of Lost and Found

Leila Sales is the author of many middle-grade and young adult novels, which have received multiple starred reviews, been translated into a dozen languages, and appeared on many state lists and best-of-the-year lists. Before becoming a full-time writer, Leila worked as an editor for more than a decade, editing award-winning and bestselling books for readers of all ages. She is also the founder of the book development agency The Book Engineer. She lives in Austin, but travels all over the world to talk about books and publishing.
Kim Balacuit is a designer and illustrator. She graduated from Montclair State University with a BFA in animation and illustration. When not drawing, she can probably be found hiking, getting lost in the city, petting other people’s dogs, or in a car or a plane, off to her next adventure. She lives in Rutherford, New Jersey.