Who do you see when you look in the mirror? One mother’s account of her experience as the only Black child in school serves as an empowering message to her own daughter and children of color everywhere.
Life can be hard for the only brown girl in a classroom full of white students. When the teacher talks about slavery, she can feel all of her classmates staring at her. When they talk about civil rights, she is the one that other kids whisper about on the playground. In those moments, she wants to slip away or seep into the ground; and she wonders, is that all you see when you look at me?
What really matters is what she sees when she looks at herself. She is a reflection of the courage, strength, intelligence and creativity that’s been passed down from generation to generation through her ancestors.
Inspired by her daughter’s experience in school as well as her own, Adrea Theodore’s debut picture book is a powerful testament to the past as well as a benediction for the future.
Author’s note. Illustrator’s note. Full-color illustrations created using digital techniques.
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K-Gr 4-Theodore experienced being "the only brown person in class," which meant having to hear the history of African Americans from enslavement to civil rights and having to shoulder that burden, the stares, whispers, and racist comments from classmates. Now, 30 years later, history is repeating itself as the narrator's daughter is facing the same challenges. By invoking generations of strong female family members, an alternative narrative emerges. This history is hard, but the attributes that rise to the forefront are strength, courage, creativity, and resilience. The importance of education and the opportunities it provides are front and center; a future of possibilities, rooted firmly in the past and the generations that persisted, is presented in an accessible, meaningful way. The book wraps children in the lived experience then and now. Digitally rendered illustrations shine with the love and pride of the book's message, honoring history while also empowering young brown children to seek a dazzling future. VERDICT This title powerfully places history in a light that honors the past, challenges the way history is taught, and looks forward. Inspirational.-John Scott