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The Day You Begin

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Original price was: $18.99.Current price is: $10.29.

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A #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

Featured in its own episode in the Netflix original show Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices!

National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson and two-time Pura Belpré Illustrator Award winner Rafael López have teamed up to create a poignant, yet heartening book about finding courage to connect, even when you feel scared and alone.

There will be times when you walk into a room
and no one there is quite like you.

There are many reasons to feel different. Maybe it’s how you look or talk, or where you’re from; maybe it’s what you eat, or something just as random. It’s not easy to take those first steps into a place where nobody really knows you yet, but somehow you do it.

Jacqueline Woodson’s lyrical text and Rafael López’s dazzling art reminds us that we all feel like outsiders sometimes-and how brave it is that we go forth anyway. And that sometimes, when we reach out and begin to share our stories, others will be happy to meet us halfway.

(This book is also available in Spanish, as El Día En Que Descubres Quién Eres!)

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The Day You Begin

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Original price was: $18.99.Current price is: $10.29.

13 reviews for The Day You Begin

  1. Percolations of a Wildflower

    I bought this book for my classroom to teach about diversity. The illustrations are beautiful and the story is simple and easy for young readers to understand.

  2. Aish

    Such a great first day of school book!

  3. Amazon Customer

    I usually don’t write reviews but I found myself tearing up reading this book to my two girls. The message of acceptance and love and strength in our differences really touched me! I love the subtle hints that we are all different but all have things in common. Absolutely beautiful boom!

  4. Hope-Librarian

    On the first day of school it is difficult to take the first step into a new classroom. Jacqueline Woodson sympathizes with students in her new picture book The Day You Begin. Inspired by a section in her book, Brown Girl Dreaming this poetic writing will inspire those of all ages to begin sharing their story.
    I absolutely love the illustrations, that helps us visualize that EVERYONE can have a feeling of being different among others in a room. Diversity comes in all shapes, colors, and sizes; our skin, our hair, our experiences, our families, our clothes all make us different.
    What an incredible opportunity we have within the first days of school to share this message to our students to help them share their differences with their classmates. When we have courage to introduce who we really are and are kind in accepting those who are different from us; we may find commonalities to make our classrooms a safe place that we look forward to returning to everyday.

  5. Sunday C

    My daughter loved the book.

  6. Tina R

    The first day of school usually starts with the ubiquitous ice breaker question- what did you do over the summer break?! A potentially harmless question, but for children who have nowhere to go or stuck at home due to other circumstances, this can be very alienating.

    Angelina has spent her summer taking care of her sister. Though she has travelled far off via books, there is no real experiences to share. Similarly, Rigberto feels alienated owing to his roots and a Korean girl feels alienated owing to her non traditional food choices.

    This is a book of children in normal circumstances feeling alienated due to reasons not in their control. The metaphor of constantly trying to measure up to their peers is something we all grapple with.

    A lovely message of finding it within yourself to not let self doubt hold you down. There will be times when you feel like you are very different from the rest, but that is a good opportunity to try to share your story and find the power of your own voice and the power of your unique self.

    Ideal for kids aged 5+ yrs

  7. Lana Jean Mitchell

    Livro lindo, com belíssimas ilustrações. Apresenta diversos cenários do período da pandemia de uma forma poética e suave.

  8. Kristi Bernard

    This is a gentle, optimistic, and realistic introduction to the challenges that can confront younger kids at a new school. Think kindergarten to second grade, perhaps third. Parents can read it to their kids to open the door to a conversation as the new school year starts (“…But Mom, what happens if…?), or during the year when problems crop up. It acknowledges problems could occur and suggests a coping strategy.

    It’s a great book for teachers to read to their classes, to start a conversation on acceptance.

    It’s versatile; it can support kids who 1) have a different skin color; 2) don’t speak English well; 3) have a disability; 4) aren’t athletic; 5) stutter; 6) are poor; 7) are either shy or too loud to cover their nervousness; 8) eat different food or have a food allergy; 9) just moved from the city/country…See where I’m heading? It’s for all kids, because everyone has something they’re nervous about.

    I liked this book for many reasons and I couldn’t fail to notice the author is a poet. While the book is not a poem, the words flow like a river. And the pictures are colorful and friendly. Enjoy reading this with your youngsters.

  9. Percolations of a Wildflower

    I like Jacqueline Woodson’s theme for the book. I like that the story has a twist to it. I read the title and thought I knew what the book would be about. Not! It is a good read for someone who needs inspiration for a new situation.

  10. Sandericka Murphy

    Being new and different in a classroom or any place can be difficult. Not always will you look like everyone else or talk like everyone else but maybe there will be something you have in common.

    One young girl is new and shy. The other children look at her with curiosity. She worries that she doesn’t look like them. Others in the class wonder the same. Is it their hair, skin color, lunch meals or the way words roll from their tongues? What happens when you don’t know what to say or you don’t know how to play? Perhaps, you just have to be brave and begin.

    This delightful story shows kids having doubts about being different. Young readers will see that we are all different and its not a bad thing. Vibrant and gentle illustrations show the emotion of the characters. Poetic verse is calming and rhythmic. Parents, teachers, and caregivers can use this book as a tool to discuss how kids are different and how they are similar.

  11. Sunday C

    The kind of book that makes you weep the first time you read it and then feel like you HAVE to read this aloud to the kids in your class, family, community. We are all unique or not quite like others–which can make us feel alone in the world UNTIL we start to share our stories, our lives with others. Then we find that we are similar in some ways to those around us or that others are open to the new world we might introduce to them.

    Woodson’s language is beautiful (of course) –
    “There will be times when you walk into a room and no one there is quite like you.”
    “There will be times when…”
    “There will be times when the world feels like a place that you’re standing all the way outside of…”
    “There will be times when you walk into a room and no one there is quite like you until the day you begin to share your stories.”
    YES! Read this aloud for pure enjoyment. And then read it aloud again and pose questions for student-led conversations–questions that could also lead to writing.
    ***Have you ever experienced a “There will be times when…”?
    ***What does the author mean when she writes “There will be times when the world feels like a place that you’re standing all the way outside of”?
    ***Or a time when you only had your “brave self–steady as steel and ready” even though you didn’t “know what you were ready for:?

    Rafael’s illustrations are stunning. With illustrations of each child in that place at that moment (e.g., the classroom, the playground), but then also illustrations of the richness of that child’s life (e.g., Rigoberto in a beautiful Venezuela, a girl seeing the world through books, etc.). You could project a two-page layout and pose questions like,
    ***”What do you notice?”
    ***”What do you notice as similar and different between the illustrations with Rigoberto on this page and this page?”
    ***”Why do you think the illustrator chose to include that?”

    Several pages include an image of a ruler–maybe to signify that a particular scene is in the school but it also made me think about the pressure on kids to “measure up” in many ways when they are at school. Might be worth conversation with students.

    One more thought. Before reading aloud, ask students to make predictions based on the title. After reading this aloud, go back to the title and ask,
    ***”What does the author mean by ‘the day you begin’?” and maybe even “How can we do that right now?”

  12. Aish

    Meiner Tochter gefällt das Buch super. Sie ist bilingual und versteht es sehr gut mit 5 Jahren. Tolle Message auch.

  13. Sheen

    Such. Great story for kids. As an adult I really enjoyed reading with my daughter!

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