Former TV journalist and author Mary Jane McKittrick offers families a humorous nonpartisan kids’ eBook on voting, honesty, and community this election season.

As a former TV news anchor, and producer, I know an election cycle can overwhelm a household. This book shows children that making your voice heard is how communities change for the better.”

— Mary Jane McKittrick

LELAND, NC, UNITED STATES, September 9, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — As election headlines fill the news and dinner-table conversation, veteran journalist and children’s author Mary Jane McKittrick is offering families a calmer way in.

Her book Boomer and Halley Election Day: A Town Votes for Civic Responsibility is now available as an eBook on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, giving parents, educators, and homeschoolers an immediate, accessible story they can use this election season.

The book is not a lesson in party politics. Set in the fictional small Southern town of Shady Pines — McKittrick describes the tone as I Love Lucy meets Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood — it follows cartoon characters through a local mayoral race. Two invented tickets, the Common Sense Party and the Gimme Party, let children explore honesty, accountability, and civic participation without the weight of real-world candidates.

Four character themes run through the story and are marked on the page with a paw print: Honesty, Forgiveness, Responsibility, and Pet Care. Discussion questions give adults natural “stop and talk” cues so the book can open a conversation rather than lecture.

“As a former TV news anchor, reporter, and newscast producer, I look at children’s literature through the lens of a journalist who knows how a news cycle can overwhelm a household,” McKittrick said. “This book is less about politics than it is a call to get involved, be informed, and be of service. Neighbors — old and young, human and animal — show children that making your voice heard is how communities change for the better.”

McKittrick’s Boomer and Halley award-winning book series is part of Shady Pines Story Town, a multimedia platform of character-building stories and resources for families and classrooms

The eBook is available now. For series details and additional resources, visit www.shadypinesstorytown.com

About the Author
Mary Jane McKittrick is a former television news anchor, reporter, newscast producer, and corporate communications professional. A Los Angeles native now living in Leland, North Carolina, she is the author of the Boomer and Halley series and founder of Shady Pines Story Town.

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