Peter H. Reynolds' Say Something is a heartfelt plea for all of us to say what we need to in order to make the world a better place for all. I love that he covers all sorts of ways to speak our mind--through words, art, even our sense of style. He specifically asks us to stand up for others who are being bullied, and speak out for peace in our world. The characters are as diverse as the words for "peace". Could there be a better time to be reading this to our children?
Stand Up, Stand Out! 25 Rebel Heroes Who Stood Up for Their Beliefs-- and How They Can Inspire You is also a book for our times. Kay Woodward's twenty-five short biographies of famous and not-so-famous people who bucked the systems throughout history make for a great continuing read-aloud. She includes a "what would they do?" for each profile, offering a present-day dilemma with a solution based on the subject's character traits.
Reynolds' book is great for any age; I would recommend Woodward's biographies for third grade on up.
As promised last week, here's a picture of some of the books I'm aiming to read this summer. Some are for adults, some YA, some middle grade, and some for professional development. You'll notice there's quite a few titles addressing race relations. Since I was born into white privilege, I know that for right now, it is time for me to listen rather than speak; reading these books will be my "listening", in order to act with knowledge and care for those who are hurt by systemic racism.
Parents, if you are looking for age-appropriate resources to discuss this heavy topic with children, here are some helpful links:
Beyond the Golden Rule from Teaching Tolerance
How White Parents Can Use Media to Raise Anti-Racist Kids from Common Sense Media
It's Monday, and I've got a lot of reading to get to this summer. What's in your reading pile?
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