Title: Giant Steps to Change the World
Author: Spike Lee & Tonya Lewis Lee
Illustrator: Sean Qualls
Genre: k-2 biography
Theme(s): perseverance, resilience, following your dreams
Opening line/sentence:
On some days your dreams may seem too far away to realize.
Brief Book Summary:
This book is encouraging readers to follow their dreams. The author gives examples including presidents, neuroscientists, teachers, and many more important people who followed their dreams and made the world a better place because of it. This book addresses the number one thing that stops people from following their dreams: fear. You do not need to be the strongest, the smartest, or the bravest to conquer fear and achieve your goals in life.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Joyce Rice (Children's Literature)
You don t have to be the strongest or the bravest the author tells young readers even before they have turned the title page to this collection of inspiring and challenging words. Without specific naming of personalities, the reader is introduced to Jesse Owen, an Olympic runner who overcame stereotypes to succeed, the Freedom Fighter Harriet Tubman, who provided a way for slaves to escape their harsh masters, the boxing champion, Mohammad Ali, who refused to serve in the military because he would not take up a gun, and Mother Teresa, the woman who continued into her eighth decade to feed the hungry across the world. Simple five or six line text introduces these people and the page is accompanied by illustrations representing their work. Both end pieces include quotations from the people who are introduced in the text. The simple illustrations and the rich dark colors will capture the imagination of the reader long before he reads the last pages, encouraging him to have a voice and keep reaching for a dream. The last entry recognizes the accomplishments of President Barack Obama and challenges the reader to take the next step in making their dreams come true. This is a simple presentation and will not be a primary purchase for elementary collections. However, it is a great discussion starter and would be worthy of purchase for social studies classrooms as well as a terrific gift selection for grandparents. The multicultural nature of the selected personalities enhances the worthiness of the title. Adults will recognize the author and his wife from films and television. The illustrator has done extensive work for children s books and has served as illustrator for Toni Morrison s children s books. 2011, Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, $16.99. Ages 8 to 12.
(PUBLISHER: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (New York:), PUBLISHED: c2011.)
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 2010 (Vol. 78, No. 23))
The opening two pages of inspirational quotations from men and women both famous and not-quite serve as a de facto table of contents for a series of collages and accompanying homilies (often quite clunky ones) from the Lees. They are addressed to a young boy, literally climbing steps, and exhort all young readers to step up with "might and courage" so that they "will be the foundation that impacts us all." Adults will have to make the leap between those opening quotes and the following tableaux glorifying such figures as Jesse Owens, Marva Collins, Muhammad Ali, neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson, Mother Teresa, the Tuskegee Airmen and Neil Armstrong, among others, all of whom faced difficulties and aimed high. Qualls uses soft shades of blues, purples and oranges for each pictorial work, applying the paint thickly over pieces of newsprint and torn paper. Best of the bunch is a swirl of lines passing city buildings in homage to Langston Hughes' "The Negro Speaks of Rivers." Not really a rousing read-aloud but a solid jumping-off point for discussion. Purposeful in a good way. 2011, Simon & Schuster, 40 pp., $16.99. Category: Picture book. Ages 5 to 8. © 2010 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.
(PUBLISHER: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (New York:), PUBLISHED: c2011.)
Response to Two Professional Reviews:
Both reviewers discuss how the author incorporates famous heroes in order to get their point across about the importance of following your dreams and making a difference in the world. At the beginning and end of the story, the author included quotes from the people mentioned in the text. The reviewers talk about how much these quotes impact young readers who are just determining their goals. The illustrations, mentioned by the reviewers, really capture the imagination of the people who made these accomplishments.
Evaluation of Literary Elements:
Each illustration represents the amazing work that one of our heroes accomplished. The illustrations are very dramatic, drastic and use vibrant colors. This really shows the reader how incredible and life changing these accomplishments really were. The illustrations were able to capture the imagination of the people who made those accomplishments. The author also used topography throughout the text of the book making some words bigger in order to emphasize them and also making the words go up or down the page. This technique really captures the reader's attention and shows them what is most important about the story.
Consideration of Instructional Application:
I would read this story to my 1st or 2nd grade students in the beginning of the year when we’re having a history lesson. This book teaches a crucial lesson to readers to always follow your dreams. The author wrote, “Your might and courage will be the foundation that impacts us all.” Using a history lesson, I think it is important for the teacher to further teach the students about each of the heroes that was discussed in this book to really explain their struggle and what steps they had to take in order to accomplish their goals and change the world. At the end of the lesson, I think it is important for the students to answer the last quote of the text, “What’s your next step going to be?” This could be something that the students could reflect on at the end of the year.