Status
Genres
Description
"In this adaptation for middle graders based on her bestselling adult memoir, My Beloved World, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Sonia Sotomayor's extraordinary life inspires. Her achievement serves as a true testament to the fact that no matter the obstacles, dreams can come true. Includes an 8-page photo insert. Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic and third woman appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States, was a young girl when she dared to dream big. Her dream? To become a lawyer and a judge. As Justice Sotomayor explains, "When I was a child my family was poor and we knew no lawyers or judges and none lived in our neighborhood. I knew nothing about the Supreme Court and how much its work in reinterpreting the Constitution and the laws of the United States affected peoples' lives. You cannot dream of becoming something you don't even know about. That has been the most important lesson of my life. You have to learn to dream big dreams." Sonia did not let the hardships of her background--which included growing up in the rough housing projects of New York City's South Bronx, dealing with juvenile diabetes, coping with parents who argued and fought personal demons, and worrying about money--stand in her way. Always, she believed in herself. Her determination, along with guidance from generous mentors and the unwavering love of her extended Puerto Rican family, propelled her ever forward"-- "An adaptation for middle graders based on the bestselling adult memoir, My Beloved World, in which the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Sonia Sotomayor's details her achievements, which serve as a true testament to the fact that no matter the obstacles, dreams can come true. Includes an 8-page photo insert"--… (more)
User reviews
Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic and third woman appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States, was a young girl when she dared to dream big. Her dream? To become a lawyer and a judge.
As Justice Sotomayor explains, “When I was a child my family was poor and we knew no lawyers or judges and none lived in our neighborhood. I knew nothing about the Supreme Court and how much its work in reinterpreting the Constitution and the laws of the United States affected peoples’ lives. You cannot dream of becoming something you don’t even know about. That has been the most important lesson of my life. You have to learn to dream big dreams.”
Sonia did not let the hardships of her background–which included growing up in the rough housing projects of New York City’s South Bronx, dealing with juvenile diabetes, coping with parents who argued and fought personal demons, and worrying about money–stand in her way. Always, she believed in herself. Her determination, along with guidance from generous mentors and the unwavering love of her extended Puerto Rican family, propelled her ever forward.
Sotomayor, who in 2009 became the first Latina Associate Justice, shared at the festival her new children’s picture book, “Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be
Knowledge of Sonia’s life wasn’t well known to me. I’m not a huge fan of political and legal individuals, other than RBG of course, but that’s only because I’ve recently watched the movie and documentary about her life. I knew of her of course, but nothing about her struggles growing up in poverty and how education and working hard got her to where she is today.
But this book is an edited version of her original book so that middle grades can read about her life. Although I’m far removed from the middle grades I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book.
To be honest, I think this book might still be a bit of a hard read for middle grades. Seems a few other reviews thought that as well. I’m not that well versed on the judicial system as I suspect middle grades aren’t either and even I had a bit of a hard time understanding some of the terms and descriptions of what she was doing in the legal system as she progressed through her career.
There is a translation dictionary in the back for many of the Spanish words she uses throughout the book but not all of them. That was a bit annoying but I just looked them up on my phone.