Status
Available
Genres
Collection
Publication
Philomel Books (2019), Edition: Illustrated, 40 pages
Description
"Senator Kamala Harris's picture book memoir in which she tells her life story and shows how everyone can be a superhero"--
User reviews
LibraryThing member Lisa2013
I could be a cynic and assume that this book was written only to further the author’s ambitions but I think it’s a lovely book for children ages 5 to 10, and for older children and for adults too. It would make for a great read aloud for classrooms and families and for other group settings
This book is written in a style to encourage interaction and discussion and will have readers/listeners thinking about the questions posed. I appreciate the idea of superheroes all around us!
It’s a picture book autobiography of the author. She writes about her life from her very early years until well into her adulthood. She asks her readers/listeners to look at themselves and their lives, including those who’ve affected them and particularly with what they can do to become superheroes too. She was extraordinarily lucky to grow up in a fascinating family and have the support of family members and others in her community.
The author gives examples of many people in her own life when she was young who served in these roles and the questions/topics covered about the identity of superheroes are: Who makes you feel special? Who can you count on? Who makes you feel brave? Who stands up for what’s right in your life? Who are your best friends? Who are your favorite teachers? Who is kind to you? Who helps you explore? Who do you know who works hard? Who protects you?
The values expressed in this book are wonderful and inspirational for all ages.
In the back of the book there is “A Timeline of My Life” from her 1964 birthdate to her 2017 swearing in as a Congressperson.
I appreciated all the many included photos. There were a lot.
I love all the illustrations. They seem to accurately enough depict Kamala Harris and others and they’re colorful, aesthetically pleasing to the eye, and have many fun details to view.
I wasn’t able to download the e-book and had to read it in my browser. I couldn’t resize the pages and it was next to impossible to read all the captions at each of the personal photos of the author. The photos were special and lovely, and when I could decipher & read the captions or glean the information, they were interesting and a huge asset to the book. When it is safer I’d like to get a paper copy of this book and reread it. In the meantime, I’m grateful I was able to borrow a copy from my public library.
4-1/2 stars
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too.This book is written in a style to encourage interaction and discussion and will have readers/listeners thinking about the questions posed. I appreciate the idea of superheroes all around us!
It’s a picture book autobiography of the author. She writes about her life from her very early years until well into her adulthood. She asks her readers/listeners to look at themselves and their lives, including those who’ve affected them and particularly with what they can do to become superheroes too. She was extraordinarily lucky to grow up in a fascinating family and have the support of family members and others in her community.
The author gives examples of many people in her own life when she was young who served in these roles and the questions/topics covered about the identity of superheroes are: Who makes you feel special? Who can you count on? Who makes you feel brave? Who stands up for what’s right in your life? Who are your best friends? Who are your favorite teachers? Who is kind to you? Who helps you explore? Who do you know who works hard? Who protects you?
The values expressed in this book are wonderful and inspirational for all ages.
In the back of the book there is “A Timeline of My Life” from her 1964 birthdate to her 2017 swearing in as a Congressperson.
I appreciated all the many included photos. There were a lot.
I love all the illustrations. They seem to accurately enough depict Kamala Harris and others and they’re colorful, aesthetically pleasing to the eye, and have many fun details to view.
I wasn’t able to download the e-book and had to read it in my browser. I couldn’t resize the pages and it was next to impossible to read all the captions at each of the personal photos of the author. The photos were special and lovely, and when I could decipher & read the captions or glean the information, they were interesting and a huge asset to the book. When it is safer I’d like to get a paper copy of this book and reread it. In the meantime, I’m grateful I was able to borrow a copy from my public library.
4-1/2 stars
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LibraryThing member sweetiegherkin
In this book, Harris talks about the "superheroes" she saw in her life growing up, from grandparents to friends to teachers and more.
For whatever reason, I was expecting this to be more like when a celebrity writes a children's book that has nothing to do with their celebrity but instead with more
This book, however, is very specific to Harris and her upbringing. When she says that teachers are heroes,* she does so with a couple of paragraphs about her first grade teacher was an inspiration to her. In that respect, it reads more like a memoir almost. It even has a timeline of her life/career at the end and the inside covers are filled with illustrated frames holding photographs of her and her loved ones.
When Harris does try to turn it to the reader for a more universal approach, it comes across rather didactic. For example, after extolling the virtues of her first grade teacher, the text concludes that page spread with a bolded "Who are your favorite teachers?". It is a clunky attempt to engage the reader and reminds me of those preschool television shows where the characters stare blankly at the screen for a minute waiting for the child to answer at home (e.g., Dora the Explorer or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse). Some people may like that, but I don't. I've seen far too many children just sit there and stare blankly back. And for books, I'd rather have those titles that allow space for caregivers to ask questions of their children to engage with the text, rather than the text coming across as pedagogical.
The illustrations are lively, energetic, and pleasing to the eye. They show a diverse set of children (kids of different skin tones, kids wearing glasses, kids using a wheelchair, etc.). These are a definite positive about this book. The message that heroes can be everyday folks who show kindness, work hard, and so forth is indeed nice; I just wish it was done slightly better here.
That all being said, I'm glad I read it for myself (in part because whenever someone in politics is elevated to the national level, I am interested in reading things that person wrote). But I'm not sure that I would necessarily recommend this book to others, or I would only do so with the caveat that it's more of a memoir for young readers than anything else.
*I also found the banner statement "Heroes are teachers." to be less than great (especially given that the other banners were all about actions, such as being reliable or standing up for what's right, and not a focus on an occupation). While there are many, many wonderful teachers working hard every day on behalf of their students, there are also many not-so-wonderful ones as well. We all know or have a heard a story about a teacher who said racist things, who acted inappropriately with children, who diminished the talents of a student, or who was in other ways simply unkind. Giving teachers a blanket hero status is not a good idea. I can only imagine a child reading this start to question if the terrible things their teacher does are in fact okay because after all, "heroes are teachers."
For whatever reason, I was expecting this to be more like when a celebrity writes a children's book that has nothing to do with their celebrity but instead with more
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universal themes like friendship and growing up (e.g., Jamie Lee Curtis's picture books or Julianne Moore's early readers).This book, however, is very specific to Harris and her upbringing. When she says that teachers are heroes,* she does so with a couple of paragraphs about her first grade teacher was an inspiration to her. In that respect, it reads more like a memoir almost. It even has a timeline of her life/career at the end and the inside covers are filled with illustrated frames holding photographs of her and her loved ones.
When Harris does try to turn it to the reader for a more universal approach, it comes across rather didactic. For example, after extolling the virtues of her first grade teacher, the text concludes that page spread with a bolded "Who are your favorite teachers?". It is a clunky attempt to engage the reader and reminds me of those preschool television shows where the characters stare blankly at the screen for a minute waiting for the child to answer at home (e.g., Dora the Explorer or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse). Some people may like that, but I don't. I've seen far too many children just sit there and stare blankly back. And for books, I'd rather have those titles that allow space for caregivers to ask questions of their children to engage with the text, rather than the text coming across as pedagogical.
The illustrations are lively, energetic, and pleasing to the eye. They show a diverse set of children (kids of different skin tones, kids wearing glasses, kids using a wheelchair, etc.). These are a definite positive about this book. The message that heroes can be everyday folks who show kindness, work hard, and so forth is indeed nice; I just wish it was done slightly better here.
That all being said, I'm glad I read it for myself (in part because whenever someone in politics is elevated to the national level, I am interested in reading things that person wrote). But I'm not sure that I would necessarily recommend this book to others, or I would only do so with the caveat that it's more of a memoir for young readers than anything else.
*I also found the banner statement "Heroes are teachers." to be less than great (especially given that the other banners were all about actions, such as being reliable or standing up for what's right, and not a focus on an occupation). While there are many, many wonderful teachers working hard every day on behalf of their students, there are also many not-so-wonderful ones as well. We all know or have a heard a story about a teacher who said racist things, who acted inappropriately with children, who diminished the talents of a student, or who was in other ways simply unkind. Giving teachers a blanket hero status is not a good idea. I can only imagine a child reading this start to question if the terrible things their teacher does are in fact okay because after all, "heroes are teachers."
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Awards
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
11.25 inches
ISBN
1984837494 / 9781984837493
Local notes
Purchased with funding from the Ashley Grant program of the Minnesota Conference of the United Church of Christ.