“The Day You Begin” is a wonderful, heart-tugging children’s book about a girl named Angelina. It is written by Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by Rafael Lopez.
The story starts with a problem. Angelina, the main character, feels different from everyone else in her classroom, but eventually learns, once she starts sharing with others, that she is not so different after all. Woodson writes, “There will be times when you walk into a room and no one there is quite like you until the day you begin to share your stories.” Later in the book, the author concludes, “And, all at once, in the room where no one else is quite like you, the world opens itself up a little wider to make some space for you… This is the day you begin to find the place inside your laughter and your lunches, your books, your travels, and your stories, where every new friend has something a little like you – and something else so fabulously not quite like you at all.” So, in other words, Angelina also learns that she has things in common with those around her, even if it is just in one simple way. For example, in “The Day You Begin,” Rigoberto, Angelina’s classmate, has a sister who is also named Angelina.
What happens when two people are very different though? Well, we all usually have at least one thing in common. However, even if two people do not have much in common, that makes life special and interesting and neat (as Angelina learns)! It is more than okay to be different, unique and you should never be afraid to be yourself as an individual. (I thought this message of this story was super important but cute at the same time)! Plus, I think it is really awesome how Woodson did not just state “it’s okay to be different”, but, instead, SHOWED readers how it is okay and actually good to have differences. We can all connect around these differences too; they do not have to isolate us.
Therefore, I think this book brings up a lot for children (and people in general) including, but not limited to: race, differences, culture, diversity, uniqueness, individuality, and more.
One of my favorite pages in the book reads, “Maybe it [the thing that is different about you] will be your skin, your clothes, or the curl of your hair.” This particular part of the story was impactful for me and I thought it was significant because I think many children are insecure about things like the clothes/shoes they have. etc. and their appearance in general since it is usually the first thing people notice about you. I also liked this part of the book because it was very specific and shows us readers what Angelina was so shy about.
I think this book would be most suitable for kindergarten or grade 1. Not only would kindergarteners or first graders highly benefit from the message the book has to offer, but I think they would incredibly enjoy it. They would appreciate the bright colors and the almost whimsical pictures as seen here from one of the pages.
This book would be a great one for students (which I think would be almost all of us) that feel alone or different either initially or long-term. The story has a great, solid message that I truly believe we humans are never too old to hear about or read.
Another (more science-type) subject besides topics relating to diversity and culture that we teachers could bring up when discussing this book is mirrors and reflection. The teacher could start a lesson or mini lesson by turning to the last page/picture in this post (below) and explaining it to students. We could talk about objects that reflect light and objects that do not, how objects that act like mirrors and show us a glimpse of our reflections, need to be smooth and shiny. In other words, this one page could start a boatload of different activities, like science activities and sorting and predicting objects that reflect and objects that do not. I thought it was so cool that this book features this page because the program I am involved in called Jumpstart has a whole unit with nearly 5 books all about shadows and reflections!
I thoroughly enjoyed the book “The Day You Begin” due to its ability to spread out to multiple different subject areas and topics. Moreover, it features children of color which I strongly believe is important to incorporate regardless of the makeup of your students. Everyone should be represented, and, unfortunately, many books fail to feature children of color.
I was so impressed by this story and how deep it got and felt when I was reading it. I would not hesitate to incorporate this in a preschool classroom as well, though the vocabulary may be slightly advanced. It’s funny how a book on diversity (in some ways) can be so diverse in what it teaches its readers!
Emma's Education 307 Class 