Kamala Harris

Rooted in Justice

Atheneum Books  

(Simon & Schuster) 
(pub. 8.25.2020) 
40 pages

A True Tale with

A Cherry On Top   

A uthor:  Nikki Grimes

     and illustrator:  Laura Freeman

 
C haracter: Kamala Harris

O verview: 
     "Discover the incredible story of a young daughter of immigrants who would grow up to defend the rights of people everywhere in this moving picture book biography of Senator Kamala Harris.

When Kamala Harris was young, she often accompanied her parents to civil rights marches—so many, in fact, that when her mother asked a frustrated Kamala what she wanted, the young girl responded with: “Freedom!”

As Kamala grew from a small girl in Oakland to a senator running for president, it was this long-fostered belief in freedom and justice for all people that shaped her into the inspiring figure she is today. From fighting for the use of a soccer field in middle school to fighting for the people of her home state in Congress, Senator Harris used her voice to speak up for what she believed in and for those who were otherwise unheard.

Told in Nikki Grimes's stunning verse and featuring gorgeous illustrations by Laura Freeman, this picture book biography brings to life a story that shows all young people that the American dream can belong to all of us if we fight for one another."

T antalizing taste: 
 

"Life is a story

you write day by day. 

Kamala's begins with a name

that means 'lotus flower.' 

See how her beautiful smile

opens wide, like petals 

fanning across the water's surface? 

But you don't see the flower's roots. Her roots.

They grow deep, deep, deep down.

Let me show you."

 

And something more: School Library Journal's review states: "This important biography of California Senator Kamala Harris comes at an opportune moment, when the 100th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment intersects with the Black Lives Matter Movement. Weaving a fictional story around an account of Harris' factual biography, Grimes' picture book makes it easy for readers to identify with the recent Democratic presidential candidate..." and, of course, the recently chosen Democratic vice presidential candidate !