Susie’s Book Nook - New Book Review: Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You

This month I would like to introduce you to another book by Sonia Sotomayor, who we know as one of our Supreme Court Justices. You may not know that Justice Sotomayor was diagnosed at the age of seven with juvenile diabetes and as a result had to do things other children did not. She had to learn to give herself a needle shot of insulin. As a result, in her own words, she states: “Sometimes I felt different. When kids saw me giving myself a shot, my medicine, I knew they were curious about what I was doing. But they never asked me, my parents or my teachers about it. I also felt they thought I was doing something wrong.”

Diabetes is only one challenge some children have that may make them feel different. For some the challenge could be a loss of one of their senses, like sight or hearing. Some children face learning challenges because of dyslexia. There are children who face challenges of being quiet and shy while others it’s their hyperactivity which presents difficulties. This list could certainly go on as you will see in the book “Just Ask, Be Different, Be Brave, Be You” by Sonia Sotomayor and illustrated by Rafael Lopez.

I love how this story revolves around planting a garden filled with plants, all different, all beautiful, and all not needing the same thing. Every child helping in this story has a story all their own of how they learn, participate, and grow in light of what makes them unique. This book explores a wide variety of differences and maybe a few that will surprise you. All the friends are different, but they all have one thing in common, they ask questions and learn about each other.

With each child’s story, a question is posed that you and your family might want to consider asking yourselves to find common ground. You can meet Anthony, who uses a wheelchair to get around. Then ask, How do you get from place to place? Or meet Grace, with Down syndrome, for whom learning new things can take some time. What helps you learn? Or Nolan, who has a nut allergy and must speak up to know if something is nut-free. How do you use your voice? It’s interesting to think of how much we all have in common regardless of the circumstances or issues that may be present in life. How do you and your children use your voices?

Rafael Lopez, the illustrator, captures the excitement of a busy garden of multi-cultural friends in vibrant shapes and colors. The facial expressions of the children are delightful and truly capture individual uniqueness. Lopez has earned many awards and accomplishments to his credit including books, art, and even seven US postal stamps. You can learn more about him online at www.rafaellopez.com. 

As we try to bring a nation of division together, we must do more with our children to help each of them understand we all grow in our own way. Instead of fearing our differences we should bring them into the light and explore them together. We can all learn more when we Just Ask! and Listen.