The Day You Begin

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The Day You Begin Book Cover

The Day You Begin released in August 2018 and written by National Book Award winner, Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by two-time Pura Belpré Illustrator Award winner, Rafael López. This book also available in Spanish, as l Día En Que Descubres Quién Eres!. The story depicts a minutes when a child may feel like an outcast among their companions because of their language, the color of their skin, "unique" food that they eat, or another numerous reasons to feel different.

Summary

The Day You begin revolves around a girl with a big a curly hair named Angelina, who starts her school year with a class share-out of summer travels. Text and illustrations adequately cooperate to convey her sensations of otherness as she ponders her own summer spent at home. López's incorporation of a ruler for an entryway, table, and tree into the illustrations imaginatively broadens the analogy of measuring up to others. Three different kids—Rigoberto, a new immigrant from Venezuela; a probably Korean gir with her "excessively odd" lunch of kimchi, meat, and rice; and alonely white boy in what is by all accounts a suburb—experience more straightforward prodding for their untouchable status. A splendid jewel-toned palette and  clever details, including a strict impression of a better future, uncover hope and pride regardless of the taunting.[1]

Impact

This book talks straightforwardly to the kids who are its intended readers, portraying those moments when a child might be set apart as an outsider  among their companions due to their home language, or the shade of their skin, or the “different” food they bring for lunch. The delicate, reminiscent illustrations acquaint us with characters who live these circumstances alone, prior to understanding that they can associate across, and because of, identities and experiences that make them unique. This book could be utilized to cfoster meaningful personal connections and anchor conversation about community in younger elementary grades.[2]

References

  1. Kirkus Review. The Day You Begin. Retrieved on December 20, 2020.
  2. Socia Justice Book. The Day You Begin. Retrieved on December 20,2020.