Amanda Gorman

As the parent of a little one, I am always looking for books to help make learning about real people and issues in an accessible age appropriate way.

Watching Amanda Gorman's reading during the 2021 Inauguration was incredibly powerful and I hope she continues to inspire folx for many years to come. For our family, it's important to us that we are including lots of books in our family library that shows lots of different representation, and that's why I decided to pickup this one.

This easy to read book gives a simple biography of Amanda's story and talks about some of the personal obstacles she's had to overcome. It discusses her path to becoming a poet, and her journey to speaking at President Biden's inauguration.

I think this series is a good option for folx with kids under the age of 6 to introduce important historical and contemporary figures to them, but it certainly shouldn't be the only thing in your collection.

I would like to point out that I recently read some valid criticism about this series that should be kept in mind:

The concern that I read was the books “present a one-dimensional, pop-cultural conception of key figures, reinforcing stereotypes and disregarding their strides as part of a collective effort. The series follows the same story arc, starting from the figure's childhood up until the one contribution (the “single story”) they've made in society. As a result, children receive a fragmented overview of the person's life racked with generalizations and tokenism.”

As a parent who tries to make informed decisions, this is something that I will consider moving forward when picking up books for our collection.

BLOG SOURCE:
https://socialjusticebooks.org/the-disempowering-impact-of-the-little-people-big-dreams-series/

***Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books for providing a free copy of the eBook in exchange for an unbiased review.