Myra here.
Thank you to dear Irene Latham at Live Your Poem for hosting this week.
This year, we hope to feature books that fit any of the following criteria:
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Postcolonial literature and/or [pre/post] revolutionary stories
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Stories by indigenous / first-nation peoples / people of colour
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Narratives of survival and healing, exile and migration, displacement and dispossession
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Books written or illustrated by people who have been colonized, oppressed, marginalized
Change Sings: A Children’s Anthem (Amazon | Book Depository)
Words by Amanda Gorman Illustrated by Loren Long
Published by Viking Books For Young Readers (2021) ISBN: 9780593203224 (ISBN10: 0593203224) Borrowed via Overdrive. Book photos taken by me.
I loved Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem, The Hill We Climb. Thus, when I found out late last year that she had a poetry picturebook out illustrated by no less than Loren Long, I immediately tried to find it, and was so delighted to see it on Overdrive.
The poem begins with the promise of something to come:
I can hear change humming
In its loudest, proudest song.
I don’t fear change coming,
And so I sing along.
What I especially find to be moving in this poem is that it acknowledges the difficulty in having this kind of change happen; there is a recognition that not all people would understand this song that is now in the air.
Yet there is also a quiet resolve and certitude that change will come, nonetheless. It also centralizes this change – not from somewhere outside of the self – but within one’s own actions because:
I’m the voice where freedom rings.
You’re the love your bright heart brings.
What a perfect read-aloud for young children in the classroom.
#DecolonizeBookshelves2022 Update: 9 out of target 100
Gathering Books 
Thank you, Myra! Yes, sometimes it takes a while to warm up to change… and even GOOD change requires some grieving… (remembering when we moved to the lake-where I wanted to be-but I still experienced several months’ depression. Change sings…. xo
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What a fabulous theme for 2022! And who better to start with than Amanda Gorman! YAY!
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I’m looking forward to following what you read this year! Great start with Amanda Gorman! Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
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Myra, change is difficult but so needed in this world right now. Amanda Gorman’s voice is full of promise. Thank you for always sharing books that call us to action.
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The need for change is an important theme that we can never explore too much. Thanks for your post.
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I look forward to your picks! Amanda Gorman is amazing. “You’re the love your bright heart brings.” Such a beautiful rhythm, rhyme, alliteration in one line.
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Thank you for featuring this book, Myra. I’m looking forward to your decolonized reads. Are you including stories related to marginalized faith groups on your list?
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