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readsewknit 's review for:
Being You
by Alexs Pate
Alexs Pate, founder of Innocent Classroom, authors a powerful children's book. Being You was created in a desire to encourage children, particularly children of color, to reject labels and stereotypes and instead be freed to explore their interests and see where that leads them.
The format is non-rhyming poetry, with few words on a page; I found myself rereading some pages to better catch the flow and emphasize the right words as I went along:
"But in this world, there are whispers
that move through the air
like paper planes or falling leaves
They swirl around you
Sometimes they tell you
who you are
But only you and love decide"
The illustrator has contributed rich, empowering images to pair with the words. And as we go through the book, we notice teachers being aware of their students, noticing them and encouraging them:
"If you look deeper
past my disguise
you might see me
past my shadowed eyes"
This book fills an interesting niche. There seem to be two types of books with characters of color: either they seem to dwell on historical events (segregation, slavery, etc) or they are books where the characters are just living their lives, and their color is not a primary issue. Representation matters.
However, as I try to classify this book, it straddles the two. We see imaginative children, enjoying life, being creative, dreaming of their futures, but we also acknowledge the expectations and assumptions that can be made of them, labels that can be forced upon them.
The format is non-rhyming poetry, with few words on a page; I found myself rereading some pages to better catch the flow and emphasize the right words as I went along:
"But in this world, there are whispers
that move through the air
like paper planes or falling leaves
They swirl around you
Sometimes they tell you
who you are
But only you and love decide"
The illustrator has contributed rich, empowering images to pair with the words. And as we go through the book, we notice teachers being aware of their students, noticing them and encouraging them:
"If you look deeper
past my disguise
you might see me
past my shadowed eyes"
This book fills an interesting niche. There seem to be two types of books with characters of color: either they seem to dwell on historical events (segregation, slavery, etc) or they are books where the characters are just living their lives, and their color is not a primary issue. Representation matters.
However, as I try to classify this book, it straddles the two. We see imaginative children, enjoying life, being creative, dreaming of their futures, but we also acknowledge the expectations and assumptions that can be made of them, labels that can be forced upon them.