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A review by mnboyer
Change Sings: A Children's Anthem by Amanda Gorman
4.0
A young black girl travels through the city with her guitar, singing an anthem for children. Along the way, she sees gorgeous murals that honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She and another young boy then pick up litter and bag it. Together, the pair then offer food to individuals living on the streets. They help bring an elderly woman groceries, then help build a ramp for a young kid in a wheelchair. As they do each thing, a child with an instrument is added to the group. The moral: the change you want to see in the world begins with you!
How to Use This Book: Using this book, an educator can get students to start thinking about what little things they can do in their community to make it better. We live in a world where a lot of people complain, but very few do something about it. This book asks kids to take steps to do better and fix things: you could do something simple like pick up trash or something complex like build a ramp to make a building more accessible for another person. I would read this to youth and then ask them what change they want to see in the world, then ask how they’re going to help make that change.
Personal Response: I think this is a great book about community activism that can really get kids thinking about their role within the community. Trusting kids to do more than just be bystanders, this book challenges kids to start making small differences in the world around them. While this book focuses on black-centered community, the moral of the story could be used everywhere. I don’t know if the story needed the musical component (for my tastes) but this may be another way to draw in different readers.
How to Use This Book: Using this book, an educator can get students to start thinking about what little things they can do in their community to make it better. We live in a world where a lot of people complain, but very few do something about it. This book asks kids to take steps to do better and fix things: you could do something simple like pick up trash or something complex like build a ramp to make a building more accessible for another person. I would read this to youth and then ask them what change they want to see in the world, then ask how they’re going to help make that change.
Personal Response: I think this is a great book about community activism that can really get kids thinking about their role within the community. Trusting kids to do more than just be bystanders, this book challenges kids to start making small differences in the world around them. While this book focuses on black-centered community, the moral of the story could be used everywhere. I don’t know if the story needed the musical component (for my tastes) but this may be another way to draw in different readers.