A VOTE FOR SUSANNA

A grandmother remembers when Susanna Madora Salter was elected the first female mayor in the United States.

In 1934, Dora asks her grandson, Ed, to help her bake a cake for her birthday. Though proud to help, Ed worries what his friends will say, since “only girls bake.” In response, Dora tells Ed about a girl named Susanna living in Argonia, Kansas, when only men could vote and make laws. Then in 1887, Kansas becomes the first state to enact a law allowing women to vote and run for office in their city elections. When several men warn Susanna that “women should stay out of politics” as she and other women prepare to endorse a candidate for Argonia’s local election, she ignores the bullies. Next, townsmen create a prank ballot listing Susanna as a candidate for mayor, and she surprises them by running and winning by a landslide. When Dora finishes her story and cake, she has a surprise for Ed. As Dora tells Ed this true story of her election as first female mayor in the country, she shares historical information about women’s limited role in politics along with personal details of her own experience, providing an accessible introduction to a landmark event. Simple, colorful illustrations follow Susanna’s political journey in 1887 and her later role as cake-baking grandmother in 1934. All characters present White.

Factually accurate and accessibly told.