Reviewed by Makai Kellogg
Review Source: Teaching for Change
Book Author: Megan Madison, Jessica Ralli
We Care: A First Conversation About Justice shows young readers how anyone can contribute to community care and justice, even if it takes time and multiple attempts. This book is a blueprint on how to disrupt existing structures and radically envision what is possible.
Authors Megan Madison and Jessica Ralli continue in the First Conversation series’ tradition of opening the door to support adults and welcome children into important discussions. The illustrations by Sharee Miller, author and illustrator of Michelle’s Garden and Don’t Touch My Hair!, portray community in many ways. The detailed drawings of each person and setting exemplify the messages on the pages and encourage the reader to make observations and associations. Miller represents each character with thoughtful inclusion of identities, such as race, ability, and size. As usual, the terminology, definitions, and real life applications are impressive and skillfully broken down for all readers to understand.
This book encompasses a foundational framework for understanding and practicing abolition. Abolition, according to scholar Derecka Purnell, is “an invitation to create and support a range of answers to the problem of harm in society, and most exciting perhaps, as an opportunity to reduce and eliminate harm in the first place.” We Care provokes big questions about big problems. Specifically about harm, for example, the authors include a very real and current example of criminalizing homelessness. The authors invite the reader to think about core causes of problems in order to create solutions collectively that positions care over punishment.
Engaging with this book also supports the reader to develop and expand their identity as a community member. The belief that everyone has value, even when mistakes are made, challenges the mindset of disposability which is used to maintain systems of harm. Madison and Ralli describe feelings and perspectives that arise across unfair situations in different contexts. There are examples that children can connect with, such as not having food while others are eating and knocking down someone’s block tower. The authors center collective responsibility and share actionable steps that can be taken at home or in school to “acknowledge, repair, and transform.”
There is so much more to say about We Care: A First Conversation About Justice — a graduate thesis could be written about this book!
Makai Kellogg is an anti-bias early childhood educator and Equity and Diversity Coordinator at School for Friends in Washington, D.C. She creates age-appropriate curriculum on social justice for her students to explore equity issues such as race, homelessness, gender stereotypes, etc. Makai leads the Parents of Multiracial Children group, Equity and Diversity Parent Book Club, as well as other programming throughout the year that allow parents to address their biases to be proactive as their children learn about the world around them. Makai facilitates training and opportunities for her colleagues to engage in identity work and discussions on equity and anti-bias education in the classroom. Through her work with young children and their families, she is creating an inclusive community of critical thinkers and change makers. Makai works closely with Teaching for Change and its initiative, the D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice as an advisory board member. She is also part of the leadership team for the Anti-Bias Early Childhood Educator Working Group. Read more on Makai’s Early Childhood Equity Endeavors.
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We Care: A First Conversation About Justice by Megan Madison, Jessica Ralli
Published by Penguin on March 16, 2021
Genres: Board Books
Pages: 38
Reading Level: Early Childhood
ISBN: 9780593382639
Review Source: Teaching for Change
Also by this author: Our Skin: A First Conversation About Race, Yes! No!: A First Conversation About Consent, We Care: A First Conversation About Justice
Publisher's Synopsis: Based on the research that race, gender, consent, and body positivity should be discussed with toddlers on up, this read-aloud board book series offers adults the opportunity to begin important conversations with young children in an informed, safe, and supported way.
Developed by experts in the fields of early childhood and activism against injustice, this topic-driven board book offers clear, concrete language and beautiful imagery that young children can grasp and adults can leverage for further discussion.
While young children are avid observers and questioners of their world, adults often shut down or postpone conversations on complicated topics because it's hard to know where to begin. Research shows that talking about issues like race and gender from the age of two not only helps children understand what they see, but also increases self-awareness, self-esteem, and allows them to recognize and confront things that are unfair, like discrimination and prejudice.
This first book in the series begins the conversation on race, with a supportive approach that considers both the child and the adult. Stunning art accompanies the simple and interactive text, and the backmatter offers additional resources and ideas for extending this discussion.
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