A beautiful book useful for teens and adults alike. Especially for parents and educators of tweens and teenagers. Enter today for a chance to win a copy.
Book Title: It's Me by Jeff Kubiak
Category: Middle-Grade Non-Fiction (Ages 8-12), 57 pages
Genre Non-fiction, Own voices
Publisher: EduMatch Publishing
Release date: November 14, 2020
Tour dates: Jan 25 to Feb 12, 2021
Content Rating: PG. Although the book reads like a graphic novel, it does contain topics dealing with racism and other social issues.
Book Description:
It's Me is dedicated to every person who has ever felt less about who they are or want to be because of someone else’s opinion, feelings, or prejudice. Let's ditch the prejudiced labeling, and embrace our Human Race for the diversity, inclusivity, equity, and individuality we all deserve.
My Review:
Reviewed by Laura Fabiani
Teens and young adults today are struggling. With the pandemic, the situation has been exacerbated. As a mother of two bright teens, I've also seen and experienced how, sometimes, adults can miss the subtle cues that something is wrong. So reading It's Me is an eye-opening look at how tweens and teens view themselves and how the many issues they are going through affects their lives. Because as much as we think we understand, we really don't, so this kind of knowledge coupled with empathy, kindness and love are essential.
In his own words, the author has "compiled real vignettes, written by students, and educators who have been marginalized, biased, or not accepted for one reason or another". These vignettes are in the form of short poems accompanied by the name, age, and illustration of the young person telling their story. The illustrations by Canadian illustrator Briannah are perfect for this book and I think they represent teens well. She captures teens from various nationalities and different ethnic races.
I found these short vignettes powerful, every one of them. We hear the voices of kids who have ADHD, depression, PTSD, dyslexia, bulimia, low self-esteem, autism and much more. As well as kids who are introverts, immigrants, misjudged and prejudiced against. The voice of each kid is candid and sometimes heartbreaking in the way they see themselves, but they all end on a positive note about what makes them unique.
I think this book can be a great conversation starter in the classroom. Teens can write their own vignettes and share it with a classmate as part of an assignment. Then they can share with the classroom the lesson or insight learned from the other person who shared with them. These conversations are important so we learn tolerance, understanding and kindness.
A beautiful book useful for teens and adults alike. Especially for parents and educators of tweens and teenagers. Now more than ever, we need to be part of the change this world so desperately needs when it comes to diversity and equality.
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Meet the Author:
Jeff loves children's literature , “One Drop of Kindness” is Jeff's first published children's book. It's Me reads like a fun graphic novel, but it is entirely non fiction. Every character in the book is a real student, or educator. It is so important for us to give access, equity, inclusion, and compassion to all those we meet. "Seeing" each other and embracing our differences are jewels to life! Jeff taught for ten years as an elementary school teacher in grades 4, 5, and 6 and has seven years of administrative experience. He's always looked at education from a different lens: from someone who hated and struggled with school. Jeff vows to always do his best to help increase opportunities for all students to feel heard, noticed, celebrated, challenged and safe. Jeff works hard to push back against the old model of “Industrialized Education” and fight compliance. There is not a day that goes by that he is not looking ahead to improve teacher pedagogy, student engagement and digital access for all. Being a former world class swimmer and coach and looks at education from perspectives that others don’t. Jeff knows what it takes to fail, struggle, win and go through the daily challenges that we all face. Jeff is based in California and can be found at jeffkubiak.com, Twitter at @jeffreykubiak and https://jeffkubiak.blogspot.com/.
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Ends Feb 19, 2021
