You Are Revolutionary

September 27, 2021
Narrating from an adult’s perspective to a child, Wang Brandt offers an uplifting, simply worded picture book about noticing injustice and making change in the world. Acknowledging that adults may disparage or discredit children’s aptitude, the narrative encourages young readers to use their talents and do what they can anyway, offering options (for big dreamers, math whizzes, and writers, among others) in uneven rhyme: “You can be fierce and feisty,/ or you can be soft and tender./ To fix the world’s big problems/ we need both defenders and menders.” Speaking up and using creativity to “change people’s hearts” are all promoted in turn. Bontigao’s bright, approachable illustrations trace a parallel narrative of children of varying abilities, ages, religions, and skin tones supporting unhoused neighbors by raising funds, writing op-eds, and holding clothing drives, reifying some actions any child can partake in order to promote change. Ages 4–7.