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I originally bought this book because I loved the thought of having a book with the words "Something Beautiful" written on top and a picture of a girl that is black below it. I think so often the media, magazines, and even children's literature cast girls that are white in the "beautiful roles." The cover of the book disrupts that socially constructed notion of beauty. Though the cover of the book is what initially grabbed me, the contents of the book turned out to be equally powerful.
Written by Sharon Dennis Wyeth and illustrated by Chris K. Soentpiet, "Something Beautiful" is the story of a young girl on a mission to find her own something beautiful. The book is set in a city block covered in trash, broken bottles, and threatening graffiti. The girl's mother tells her that everyone should have something beautiful in their life, and the girl goes in search of her own "something beautiful." Along the way readers see the beauty of this community, from Miss Delphine's sizzling fish sandwiches to Rebecca's new beads. After her search for beauty, the girl decides to take action and create her own "something beautiful."
I would recommend this book for elementary school teachers that want to empower their own students to take action in response to issues in their community. I also believe this book would be validating for students that live in a similar neighborhood, as the readers witness that beauty of a community that others might write off because of the broken bottle and trash on the sidewalks. At the same time, this book could be an impactful read for students that are not from cities and/or low income neighborhoods. The book challenges the reader to see such a community from an asset-based perspective, rather than a deficit view.
