Illustrated by Victor Juhasz

Democracy -- America has it and it seems like many other countries want 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 the dark when it comes to knowing and acting upon their rights and responsibilities as citizens of a democratic society. In refreshingly candid and straight-to-the-point language author Elissa Grodin takes readers of all ages on an A-Z trip through our government's structure, from its earliest beginnings to definitions of basic components and concepts (including immigration and taxation). Engaging, disarming, and frequently thought-provoking artwork from illustrator Victor Juhasz emphasizes the magnitude of the subject. From founding fathers, first ladies, and the First Amendment to the presidential oath of office, "D is for Democracy" details the political processes, parties, and people of democracy, American-style.

Elissa D. Grodin grew up in a large family in Kansas City, Missouri, and was fifteen years old when she started to write short stories. While living in London in the late '70s, she wrote for the "Times Literary Supplement "and "New Statesman. "After moving to New York, she studied at the School of Visual Arts and met her husband, actor Charles Grodin, while interviewing him for "American Film "magazine. "D is for Democracy" is her second children's book with Sleeping Bear Press. She also wrote "N is for Nutmeg: A Connecticut Alphabet. "Elissa lives with her family in Wilton, Connecticut.

A graduate of the Parsons School of Design, Victor Juhasz began illustrating in 1974 while still a student and has been working non-stop ever since.His humorous illustrations and caricatures have been commissioned by major magazines, newspapers, advertising agencies, and book publishers both national and international, and his clients include "Time, Newsweek, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The Washington Post," and "GQ. "Victor lives in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

Physics and film seemingly have few academic features in common. However, when local siren Bunny Baldwin, a student in the Film Studies Department at Cushing College, is found strangled to death on opening night of the Hitchcock Film Festival, Physics professor Edwina Goodwin puts on her detecting hat. Using her scientific sleuthing skills to assist her almost boyfriend Police Detective Will Tenney, the pair work together to investigate the campus murder. Edwina wants to know--why did the murderer tie a strip of film around the victim's head? Why did the killer time the murder to coincide with the showing of the famous Hitchcock film Spellbound? Was Bunny really killed by strangulation or did the unusual drugs found in her system suggest poisoning? Why do all the suspects have a seemingly airtight alibi? There are certainly sufficient suspects as Edwina quickly ascertains. The head of the Film Studies Department was having a torrid and practically public affair with the victim. His wife was apparently furiuous, but not enough to keep her from also engaging in sexual hanky panky. The victim had stolen a screenplay written by her roommate, Mary, to secure a Hollywood agent. Mary is out for payback. A quirky older woman who uses plants and other natural remedies to cure various ailments followed the head of the department around like a moon-struck calf. And, of course, there's the film department's boy savant who plays chess with Edwina and keeps her updated on the various players. Can Edwina use her knowledge of physics to unlock the strange features of this most unusual crime? When a second murder occurs, it looks like she may--if the killer doesn't find her first.

Alan Sidebottom was what some outside the rarified world of academic physics might call a superstar. In the realm of string theory, black holes, and the Higgs-Boson particle, Sidebottom was a celebrity. So, when tiny Cushing College snagged him for their faculty, all the physics professors were excited--and threatened. It seemed that most of them had personal reasons to despise Sidebottom. Edwina Goodman, one of Cushing's youngest physics professors, and one of the few who held no animosity towards the newcomer, was given the daunting--and unwelcome--task of escorting Sidebottom around campus. So, when the great man was found dead shortly after his arrival--apparently murdered--Edwina believed it her responsibility to track down her charge's killer. Would her scientific brain be able to ignore the fact that the entire pool of suspects apparently resided within the walls of her very own department? Or would the young police detective Will Tenney spark a different kind of investigatory zeal in Edwina? It remained to be seen, for all was not as it first seemed in the world of invisible particles and mathematical equations--at least not at Cushing College. And the murder of one noted physicist might not be the last.