When the World Turned Upside Down by K. Ibura

In January this year (2023), I started to alternate monthly reviewing Social Justice and Care for Creation themed books for children. I hope you read January’s Just Help! How to Build a Better World by one of our Supreme Court Justices, Sonia Sotomayor, because this month’s book is a great follow up to that book for your older elementary aged children,  who like chapter books. My featured book this month gives us a picture of what life was like for some young people during the isolation created during the Covid pandemic.

I found this book by accident, but what a treasure, When the World Turned Upside Down by K. Ibura. Here I found four young adolescents who lived in an apartment complex in a big city when Covid hit. Their school, of course, went to online learning while their parents had to work from home…if that was even possible. These young people all had their own unique differences, ethnicities and culture, as well as learning styles and personalities, which I think is an added bonus to this story.  

Did you have an autistic child to consider during our pandemic shut down? Or was there a health care worker in your household who had to face so much more in their job day after day? Did someone in your household find themselves out of work and their concern added much to the anxiety and stress within the family?  Everyone, young and old, working or retired, in school or out, had challenges to face during the pandemic. This book highlights many of those challenges through the eyes of young people.

First, these teens had to come to an understanding of what could be done and what could not. They first learn a lot more about each other. How they are the same, how they are different, and how they can complement each other.  In time the teens figure out how they could help each other safely, help those who had difficulties, supply needs to those who could not do for themselves and so much more. Their actions are excellent examples of communities working together with respect to each other and their differences. At the core, we are much more the same than different.

If you are into “chapter reading” daily to your kids, this would be a great book to consider. It will offer many avenues for discussion and sharing about your own experiences during our pandemic times. This book can also offer you a spring board to moving forward in positive ways with those around you, appreciating and understanding differences.

This story, though taking place during the dark days of a Covid pandemic and much social unrest, leaves its readers hopeful. Yes, and let’s never discount the amazing positive possibilities that our youth can bring into our hurting world.

To learn more about K. Ibura and her writing go to www.kiburabooks.com.