Love Is Powerful

by Heather Dean Brewer (Author) Leuyen Pham (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

A little girl carries a big message--and finds it thrillingly amplified by the rallying crowd around her--in an empowering story for the youngest of activists.

Mari raised her sign for everyone to see.

Even though she was small and the crowd was very big,

and she didn't think anyone would hear,

she yelled out.

Mari is getting ready to make a sign with crayon as the streets below her fill up with people. "What are we making, Mama?" she asks. "A message for the world," Mama says. "How will the whole world hear?" Mari wonders. "They'll hear," says Mama, "because love is powerful."

Inspired by a girl who participated in the January 2017 Women's March in New York City, Heather Dean Brewer's simple and uplifting story, delightfully illustrated by LeUyen Pham, is a reminder of what young people can do to promote change and equality at a time when our country is divided by politics, race, gender, and religion.

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School Library Journal

K-Gr 2--As hundreds of thousands of people flood the streets of New York City, a mother helps her daughter make a sign for a march. Set during the 2017 Women's March, this book seeks to show children how they can find their own voices in the middle of a large, vocal crowd. Pham's beautiful watercolor illustrations portray women and men of all races and ages, many wearing iconic two-eared pink hats. Together, their voices take the form of red hearts and soar into the empty sky. The story itself doesn't address the reasons for the women's march, but the book concludes with a letter by "Mari" explaining some of the march's purpose. Although the letter is shown alongside a picture of the real young girl who inspired Brewer's story, it is unclear whether this letter was written by the real Mari or by the author. VERDICT It's time to unpack activism for the picture book crowd, and this story conveys both the optimistic energy of peaceful mass protests and the exhilaration of what it's like to demonstrate with large crowds.--Chance Lee Joyner, Haverhill P.L., MA

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Publishers Weekly

Inspired by a young friend of the author's who participated in the January 2017 New York City Women's March, Brewer presents an endearing portrait of a Black mother and daughter who take part in a citywide protest. Preparing a crayoned sign with "a message for the world," Mari wonders how the world will hear or see it; her mother reassures her that others will receive the missive "because love is powerful." Pham's warm multimedia illustrations feature an inclusive crowd that calls and echoes the titular refrain, and spirals of hearts that radiate outward. Though readers won't walk away with an understanding of motivations behind the march, this personal tale conveys the importance of showing up and the power of collaborative action. A note from the real-life Mari brings the book to a sincere conclusion. Ages 5-8. (Sept.)

Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

This feel-good tale can serve as an accessible starting place or to augment such books as Shane Evans' We March (2012) and other stories that delve deeper into the reasons why people march and protest...note from and photograph of the real Mari at book's end charmingly grounds it. Lots of heart.
—Kirkus Reviews

It's time to unpack activism for the picture book crowd, and this story conveys both the optimistic energy of peaceful mass protests and the exhilaration of what it's like to demonstrate with large crowds.
—School Library Journal Online

Inspired by a young friend of the author's who participated in the January 2017 New York City Women's March, Brewer presents an endearing portrait of a Black mother and daughter who take part in a citywide protest...this personal tale conveys the importance of showing up and the power of collaborative action. A note from the real-life Mari brings the book to a sincere conclusion.
—Publishers Weekly

Heather Dean Brewer
Heather Dean Brewer is a writer, artist, and art director who designs books for kids and adults and loves to ride her bike in the woods. About this book she says, "I've often felt quiet and small and that no one could hear me. But when I joined others in the Women's March and saw my friend Mari lifted above the crowd and heard her voice echo down the streets of New York City, I learned that even the smallest voice has the power to change the world. She lives in Michigan with her family.

LeUyen Pham is the illustrator of the Princess in Black series by Shannon and Dean Hale as well as many other books for children, including Aunt Mary's Rose by Douglas Wood and God's Dream by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams. LeUyen Pham lives in California.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781536201994
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Candlewick Press (MA)
Publication date
September 08, 2020
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV014000 - Juvenile Fiction | Girls & Women
JUV016190 - Juvenile Fiction | Historical | United States - 21st Century
JUV061000 - Juvenile Fiction | Politics & Government
Library of Congress categories
Picture books
Mothers and daughters
Protest movements
Political activists
Signs and signboards
Demonstrations

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