Woodson encourages children to celebrate them. It’s not enough to simply notice these differences, however. In that moment, Angelina makes a connection and notices there’s room for her similarities and her differences. And when she finds the courage to introduce herself during circle time, Rigoberto notices that she has the same name as his sister. While the students describe their extensive summer travels to other states and countries, Angelina notices that, though she spent her summer at home reading, stories carried her to even more interesting places. Rafael López, a Pura Belpré Medalist, illustrates this poetic picture book with vibrant, expressive and richly patterned artwork. But all this is about to change for these young characters in The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson, the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, a National Book Award winner and the winner of numerous other prestigious children’s literature awards. On the playground, a small white boy notices that no one picks him to be on their team. At a lunch table, an Asian girl notices how her classmates wrinkle their noses at her kimchi. When a boy in her class named Rigoberto tells the class he’s from Venezuela, he notices how the class laughs because they don’t understand him. When Angelina, a young African-American girl, enters her classroom, she notices that her skin, clothes and the curl of her hair are different than her classmates’.
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