EMILY SAW A DOOR: Consider WHY Doors Matter

 In recent posts I've featured titles dealing with "Others" or with separation or discrimination. (I've featured other titles on this topic in the past, of course.) Whatever the reason for treating others differently, the stories each reveal ways in which denial of access or justice have affected people for reasons unrelated to right or wrong. In the new, recent picture book, we find Emily trying to enter various doors. The response from the "doors" (or whatever was speaking from the other side) varied. In this story there is rejection, welcoming  (for nefarious reasons), and willingness to accept without offering any benefit to entry.

EMILY SAW A DOOR is written by Mel Rosenberg and illustrated by Orit Magia.

RANADOM HOUSE STUDIO, 2026

Responses to her knocks point out  on Emily's size, or color, or volume, or mindlessness, or more. In the end, Emily has been left to her own devices and determined that if she wants access to a door, she'll have to create her own. She eventually uses resources at hand to make a choice, celebrating her own positivity and imagination. 

The door she creates is exuberant, vibrant, smile-inviting. Unlike the refusals or false welcomes on the previous pages, which included subtle symbols fading or dying plants, diminished spirits, and minimizing of Emily's value. Emily's door is uplifting. When she creates her own door it attracts a knock, which she quickly responds to with welcome, leading to joyous play and friendship. 

This book is a kind of parable or analogy for the many ways in which acceptance by others can feel like our only way forward. many may feel that finding the right door, the right validation, the right sense of belonging are necessary to be our full selves. Certainly, those things matter, but not as much as figuring out that we, the truth of who WE are on our own, is already enough. Then expressing and sharing that self, embracing our own potential can be the very door we were seeking. 

In this story it feels to me that the many blocks Emily dealt with made her more willing than ever to welcome others into her own space. If that were the pattern for all adults, throughout history, much of the pain and suffering that "othering" causes could have been avoided. Prevented. Countered. Repaired.

With so much talk and concern about the potential for AI engagement to harm children, one fear focuses on the "pleaser" programming that makes such systems eager to confirm whatever the user wants or feels.I thought about that as I reread this story. I hope this might be shared across many ages with that very discussion in mind. If affirmation and guaranteed approval define us, it also limits what we might learn about ourselves. Building capacity to deal with struggle and rejection, if not in excess, can be the fuel for inner strength and identity. 

This story has staying power, especially when shared with the intent for such discussions and in combination with specific titles placed in history and actual events. But it is also a delightfully simple and elegant story for even the very youngest audiences. Enjoy!

THREE-for-0ne-Reviews: Exploring Justice and History

Bushel and Peck Books. 2023

 The first of these three featured recent picture book titles offers a tree-mendous way to introduce significant global history to young readers through their connection with trees that might have borne witness to the moments in those significant events. It is a grand intention that is executed really well. THE WITNESS TREES: Historic Moments and the Trees Who Watched Them Happen is written by Ryan G. Van Cleave and illustrated by (new to me) Dom Dom. 

Side note, but not an unimportant one, this publishing company dedicates its work to youth literacy and has pledged that for each book purchased they will donate a book to children in need. 

Van Cleave is a poet by career, as well as helping celebrities to write and revise picture book text for children. In this case he has written through the voice of "celebrities" we can all respect, the various trees that  have stood watch on human history over time. His precise, unrhymed-but-lyrical main text assumes the voices of trees (r descendants of trees) to provide objective insights to the ways in which human events and decisions have taken place. One line on the opening spread that reveals that voice well is this:

"Our roots run deep--/ they grip history/ a restless forever."

In addition, double spreads featuring specific moments in history, like the one below, provide brief smaller -font passages about the event pictured. This first one suggests King john of England conducting an emergency session of parliament  under a massive thousand-year-old oak in nSherwood Forest in the year 1212.

The times and places are not chronological nor dothey trace a geographic path around the globe. Ranging widely, including scenes off Gettysburg, Anne Frank in hiding, Hiroshima, the 9/11 attack, and so many more. A few pages at the back provide concise notes about each species of tree noted, and the endpapers include even more valuable content. Opening endpapers feature a global map with icons for each tree/passage, with a map key naming the type of tree and whether the original tee(s) are still there it only their descendants. The closing endpapers include a timeline, bibliography, and brief notes about the dangers to existing trees from climate change or direct human intervention. I highly recommend this book for young readers and the adults in their lives.

HARPER/Imprint of HARPER COLLINS PUBLISHERS, 2023

Next up is THAT FLAG, but it's not the one you might assume. Author Tameka Fryer Brown and illustrator Nikkolas Smith provide a message on the title page: "We hope the words and images in this story foster transformative conversations that lead to change."

"This story" features neighbor/best firiend/almost twins Keira and Bianca, pictured on the cover. Kera, the Black friend, is allowed to interact in every place except Bianca's home, where a confederate flag flies. Keira's mom calls it a hate flag, but Bianca insists tthat it is a heritage flag. 

I will not subvert any more of this well-told and powerful story by providing further details or summarizing. Please, though, trust my recommendation that this story about this seldom-presented contemporary issue is worthy of everyone's time, of any age. Classrooms, libraries, homes, clubs,msports teams, and in every imaginable situation calls out to you to share and launch these discussions that the creators request.

CANDLEWICK BOOKS, 2023

The final book ion this post is certainly last, but not least. This soon-to-be-classic account about talent and injustice will resonate with anyone, school age or adult, who has ever attempted to take part in a spelling bee. Veteran poet/author and illustrator, Carol Boston Weatherford and Frank Morrison respectively, have provided a historically accurate account in How Do You Spell Unfair?: Macnolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee. This important and little-known story rises to the level of classic storytelling in their masterful hands. With each word and visual detail revealing layered aspects of the time, place, events, and emotional power of this, somehow recalling to me the dignity and bravery that resonate on every page of the original picture book  on the topic, THE STORY of  RUBY BRIDGES, written by poet Robert Coles and illustrated by George Ford. Macnolia Cox deserves to become as well known for her role in breaking barriers as Ruby does, not competing for a spotlight of awareness but expanding that general public attention by magnitudes. Please take my advice and read this new release, soon, with attention to the front matter and back matter, as well as to every element on every page. History comes alive there, and it is a story we ALL should know. Learn it, then share it, gift item talk about it with young and old. 

The Anniversary of Uplifting Leadership: Look Back and Learn

It was six and a half years ago that I featured a book with the title associated with this date, August 28, 1963. 

"I HAVE A DREAM..."

Those iconic words are irrevocably associated with a leader who inspired a nation to become "woke" about truths long ignored. Click on the start of Martin Luther King's quote above for a link that lets you hear a recording of his speech and provides other useful background sources. 

I'm old enough to remember the day of the march well. I wasn't there, but I was active in the movement locally and that day, that public response, that speech, shifted the air around us as a nation. I felt it.

Did it change every mind? 

No.

Did laws change overnight?

Of course not.

But laws did change, eventually, and that changed MY life. For those to whom all of this is ancient history, I invite you to read one of my earliest posts about why working for racial justice also served my own needs, goals, and future, HERE. I tend to limit my begging to serving kids or charitable needs, but if you have no clue about why a white, middle class teen girl in the sixties would have reasons to care about Civil Rights, I'm begging you to PLEASE read that post.

To learn more about the many years of struggle and suffering (and unsuccessful attempts) that preceded the amazing march fifty-six years ago, you should check out a book I reviewed on my own website, HERE.  It's a biography of Bayard Rustin, TROUBLEMAKER FOR JUSTICE. 

School resumes and teachers of every age are actively addressing "No bullying" rules, stressing the power of standing up rather than standing by. Kids today witness attacks and bullying displayed by their president on a daily basis. They sense that even our laws (and rules) can support bullying of a social sort. They are aware of protests about many worthy causes (and other causes far from worthy). They've lived every year of their lives and taken every breath in their lives in a  world of pollution and warming climate, protests echoing in their ears, with no evidence of positive change. They can't be blamed if they've become jaded, convinced that a protest is no more than an "activity" or flashmob, a social event that will make no changes. 

But they also live in a time in which they can take for granted integrated schools, workplaces, buses, and restaurants. They see candidates and elected officials (even a president!) of every ethnicity and gender. The many years in which that was not true are unknown or forgotten. 

They can't be blamed if this nation went straight from slavery to Civil Rights. They need to learn that story.

History.

Our story. 

THEIR story.

In this post I am not sharing a new title, but urging readers to check out past posts I've linked, check the pages tab on the right margin of this page for other MLK titles, and otherwise bring the past to life- for yourselves, for young people, and for all our sakes. Kids are always my beacon of hope for the future, but it is our responsibility to light a few lamps that clarify our past, providing evidence that even slow change is change worth pursuing.

Help the next generations DREAM, and work to make dreams come true.

Protests: What a Leader Looks Like

In the midst of nonstop and heartrending news about violence, racism, hate-filled social media rants, (and some so-called traditional news outlets), I find myself desperate for concrete steps I can take to regain hope for a better future. At a recent environmental and educational conference, I shared several nonfiction picture books about community activism, empowerment, and creativity in the face of desperate (and depressing) circumstances. 
My "formative years" (teens and college) encompassed an era of war protests, a budding save-the earth movement, and activism to establish women's equal rights. It's no accident that this same era generated a mainstream rebirth of folk music. Some were rooted in centuries past, some rejuvenated music and lyrics from the thirties' depression era, and some impressive original music emerged.  
The television program, Hootenanny, is only one of the many successful weekly programs that drew families together, bolstered spirits, and developed a common vocabulary of community.

Bloomsbury Books, 2017

Pete Seeger was an icon of that era, and whether or not you are familiar with him, I urge you to click and explore the remarkable impact he had on music and on social change. I'm overdue to share thoughts about an award-winning biographic picture book about him, STAND UP AND SING! Pete Seeger, Folk Music and the Path to Justice.  Written by Susanna Reich and illustrated by Adam Gustavson, with a touchingly personal  forward by Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul, and Mary).
The text deserves attention and praise for its lyrical prose, for the storytelling quality of nonfiction narration, and for the rhythm that propels it forward. All are traits that made Pete's singing such a success. The illustrations also mirror the remarkable quality of Pete's music, pairing artistic brilliance with homey simplicity. Each double spread presents a painterly scene with revealing details and natural frame, while the facing page uses seemingly rough pencil sketches to contrast settings and add informative detail to the text, especially for younger readers. 
As with any important nonfiction picture book, back matter includes helpful author notes, Pete Seeger quotes and citations, and a list of some of his recordings. The quotations noted appear throughout the text, lifting an already wonderful read aloud into the music of his soul:

"When one person taps out a beat...[or]three people discover a harmony...or a crowd joins in on a chorus as though to raise the ceiling a few feet higher, then they also know there is hope for the world."
This biography shares the beneficial opportunities for academic connections with the three biographies I featured in the last post, HERE, in high level reading applications and also in content area studies. Instead I will honor my thoughts and heart to reflect another use for this wonderful book.
My original intent was to elaborate on educational examples in this review. Recent mass shootings couple with the sad fact that as many or more were shot, injured, and killed in separate events in the same weekend in Chicago. It is inexcusable that little or nothing appears about that in the news. And perhaps the saddest statement about our current societal dysfunction is that I don't need to specify which weekend because these reports could be nearly ANY weekend in 2019. That state of affairs pushes me to make other observations, about the education of our souls.
Twentieth century American history can be explored through folk music, singers, song lyrics, protest movements (from labor to equal rights to economic rights and many more issues), and shifts in political power. Let music lead the way to wider and deeper understanding of the history that led us to today.
And about that Peter Yarrow forward. Of the many moving lines he wrote, the one I return to  now, as the news assaults me and burrows into my soul, erodes my spirit, and suggests the futility of protest or action, one line stands out:
"In these times there is so much that divides us, so much greed, narcissism, and other terrible threats to the dream of creating a caring, just, and peaceful society-- and to the survival of our planet. What Pete taught us is how to keep on keepin' on, how to keep on singing, how to not become cynical, and how to turn challenge and adversity into greater determination and love for one another. That was Pete."
And that, I choose to believe, can and should be us. Once again, this is a picture book that has a place and a ROLE in all lives, of any age. May we all stand up and sing, stand together, and change the world.
From Pete and Peter, let us take to heart their words of inspiration, comfort, and follow their  charge to action.