Individuality is something to be celebrated, even if it can be scary to live one’s truth. Margaret Leonard of Dotters Books in Eau Claire shares five inspiring children’s books about characters brave enough to be themselves and stand up for what’s right.
My Hair is a Garden, written and illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera
I love finding a book that marries a wonderful story with stunning illustrations. My Hair is a Garden is just that — and how fantastic that Cozbi A. Cabrera is responsible for both words and pictures. Mack is a young, Black girl who is teased and tormented about her hair. Feeling overwhelmed by sadness and shame, she goes to her neighbor Miss Tillie’s house after school, a place where she feels safe and cared for. After she shares her experiences, Miss Tillie takes it upon herself to teach her how to take care of her hair, first taking Mack on a trip to her backyard garden to explain that our bodies must be nourished and tended to in the same way that a garden is. Instead of feeling ashamed of the ways that she is different from her classmates, Mack leaves Miss Tillie’s feeling a sense of pride in herself and empowerment to be who she is.
It Began with a Page: How Gyo Fujikawa Drew the Way by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Julie Morstad
It Began With a Page tells the story of Gyo Fujikawa, born in 1908 in California to first-generation Japanese immigrants. She loved to draw and her teachers soon realized that she had a gift. They took a chance on her and helped her afford art school. Consequently she traveled all over the world and ended up on the East Coast right as World War II broke out. Her family was sent to a Japanese internment camp while she watched from New York, horrified and powerless. The racial prejudice that she and her family experienced led her to strongly advocate for diversity in children’s books. She drew babies and children of all races; publishers rejected her work over and over, telling her that the diversity she championed was not wanted in the publishing industry. Finally, in 1963, her first book was published. Fujikawa went on to publish fifty children’s books. As booksellers, we want every person to be able to come into our shop and see themselves in a book. We are very grateful to Fujikawa for her bravery and tirelessness in representing diversity and modeling that for children.
Until Tomorrow, Mr. Marsworth by Sheila O’Connor
In this heartfelt middle-grade novel, readers are taken to 1968 at the height of the war in Vietnam and the Civil Rights Movement. Eleven-year old Reenie has moved with her two older brothers to live with their grandmother for the summer. Reenie and her brother Dare split a paper route for the summer — to make money and keep busy — and she delivers papers to her grandmother’s next-door neighbor, Mr. Marsworth. Reenie is fascinated by Mr. Marsworth, who never comes out of his home. She begins to leave letters for him with his paper delivery each day. As the war rages and more and more young men are drafted, Reenie fears for her older brother, Billy, who wants to go to college but does not have the money to attend. Reenie learns many things from her correspondence with Mr. Marsworth, who is opposed to the war and has been ostracized for his views since World War I. Many times, fighting for what you believe in has nothing to do with fists and guns and war. The brave thing is to use the power of words and peaceful actions to promote peace and prosperity — and change the world.
When We Were Alone by David A. Robertson, illustrated by Julie Flett
In When We Were Alone, a young girl spends time with her grandmother and notices the specific way that she does certain things: wears colorful clothing, has long hair, speaks Cree and cherishes time with her brother. As she asks questions, she learns that her grandmother grew up being sent to a residential school where her clothes were chosen for her, she was forced to keep her hair short, she was not allowed to speak her own language and she was separated from her brother. She explains that teachers were working to erase her Cree culture to make her more like her colonizers. She now spends her life being herself — a revolutionary act. David A. Robertson’s moving story is perfectly told with Julie Flett’s gorgeous illustrations, and is a great way to talk to your kids about indigenous populations in North America.
Not Quite Narwhal written and illustrated by Jesse Sima
Not Quite Narwhal is a celebration of difference, and family and friends who love you for exactly who you are. Kelp is a unicorn growing up under the sea with a family of narwhals. He has always been different from the rest of his family: he has a shorter horn, he’s a slow swimmer and he doesn’t like seafood. One day, a current sweeps him to the surface of the water where he sees a creature who looks just like him. He realizes that he is actually a unicorn. Kelp fits right in to the community of unicorns that he meets on the shore. When the time comes for him to leave, he is torn between staying with this new family who looks just like him, and going back to the family he left under the sea. Luckily, he doesn’t have to choose. This is a simple, beautifully illustrated book about the true meaning of love and family and being yourself.
– Margaret Leonard
Margaret Leonard is the owner, along with Jill Heinke Moen, of Dotters Books, an independent bookstore in Eau Claire. The shop, which specializes in books by a diverse range of authors, began as a book club and opened its doors in the fall of 2018. Follow Dotters Books on Instagram and Facebook.