I Have the Right by Reza Dalvand

"This book is particularly important to me because it carries the voice of children 

and makes their rights known. It is a tribute to all the children of the world, 

without distinction of language, ethnicity or religion"

I have the Right was originally published in French with the title; J'ai le droit. The author/illustrator blurb says: I have the right to have a name, a nationality, an identity. I have the right to be treated and protected from illness. I have the right to go to school. I have the right to have a roof over my head. I have the right to be protected from racism, the right not to be excluded because of my skin color or nationality. I have the right not to be rejected because of my religion, my family. I have the right to be surrounded, to have a family. And I have the right to be loved.

When you open this book the end papers are filled with the rights in multiple languages handwritten by children. My favourite pages are "I have the right to nutritious foods" where we see a huge table with males on every shape and size of plate you might imagine. On the page "I have a right to a home where I can thrive" we see a parent reading a book to a child - a power image that you could use for a poster or in a parent newsletter. And as you would expect the page "I have the right not to be forced to fight wars" has an image that is sure to linger with you long after you close the pages of this book.

In a previous post I explored work by internationally acclaimed Iranan illustrator Reza Dalvand. 

Mrs Bibi's Elephant

What could that be?

If I was still working in my school library, I would be tempted to create a permanent display of non-fiction books which focus on the UN Rights of the Child. These books are important and as a bonus they usually have scrumptious illustrations.

I discovered this book (I Have the Right) because I spent a little time last week looking through three of our Australian Standing Order services - Scholastic (Australian Standing Orders ASO); Pegi Williams (South Australia); and Lamont Books.

Here are some other favourite Rights of the Child books:

I've made a list of Australian and International Picture books released in 2023 that I would now like to read:

• Remarkable Remy by Melanie Hayworth illustrated by Nathaniel Eckstrom
• Cloudspotting by Samantha Tidy illustrated by Susannah Crispe
• Satin by Sophie Masson - previously mentioned here
• Little Treasure by Chanelle Gosper illustrated by Susannah Goldsmith
• The Useless Tune by Chris Uhlmann illustrated by Paul Uhlmann
• The World's greatest Tackle by Bruce Walker illustrated by Nettie Lodge
• Mizuto and the wind by Kaye Baillie illustrated by Luisa Gioffre-Suzuki
• Sunday Skating by Andrea Rowe illustrated by Hannah Sommerville
• Alice's Shoe by Julie Thorndyke illustrated by Jennifer Harrison
• The day the moon came to stay by Gary Eck illustrated by Nick O'Sullivan
• Every night at midnight by Peter Cheong
• Nightsong by Sally Soweol Han
• Raised by Moths by Charlie Archbold illustrated by Michelle Conn
• The New kid by Jennifer Bain illustrated by Deborah Brown
• The Kiss by Polly Dunbar
• Gigantic by Bob Biddulph
• That's Nice, Love by Owen Gent
• Henry and the Machine Isabelle Marinov illustrated by Olga Shtonda
• Salat in Secret by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow illustrated by Hatem Aly
• Anchored by Deborah Tidball illustrated by Arielle Li
• The Lucky Shack Apsara Baldovino illustrated by Jennifer Falkner
• When You're a boy by Blake Nuto
• The Little Things by Penny Harrison illustrated by Hannah Sommerville
• Downtown Sewertown by Tull Suwannakit
• Freckle by Catherine Jinks illustrated by Jennifer Goldsmith
• Blue by Sarah Christou

And here are a few middle grade novels:

• The Lost language by Claudia Mills
• Huda was here by H Hayek
• Indigo in the storm by Kate Gordon
• Temora and the Wordsnatcher by Kate Gordon and sequel Tamora and the Dreamers
• Safiyyah's War by Hiba Noor Khan 
• When clouds touch us (Verse novel might be YA).

Stella by Starlight by Sharon M Draper

"Red fire. Black cross. White hoods. They're here. Now,' ... It was 1932, in the little town ... Every negro family in Bumblebee knew the unwritten rules."

I love the name Bumblebee North Carolina - there is no such town but I felt compelled to check - when you read Stella by Starlight you will feel as though you have visited this small community in 1932 so vivid is the writing of Sharon M Draper.

Every aspect of Stella's life is affected by the racial discrimination of this time.  There is only one African American doctor for example.  Tony, the son of Dr Hawkins, observers : "It's hard to live like there's a boot in your back every second of your life." The white doctor even has a sign on his door WHITE PATIENTS ONLY.  When Stella's mother, Georgia, is bitten by a snake he refuses to help and Stella's mother almost dies.  These are scenes towards the end of the book and I actually had to stop reading because I was so afraid for Stella's precious mum.

Stella loves to read and wants to write but feels she lacks the skill.  Another unfair aspect of life in 1932, Stella is not allowed to visit the public library but she does have writing all over her house.  Her mother papers the walls with newspaper articles.  Her father reads three newspapers each day "Gotta know what's goin' on in the world,' he reminded Stella when she'd ask why one paper wasn't enough." But Stella is an observant child and she notices "colored people were rarely mentioned in those ... newspapers."  When she and a friend look through the Sears and Roebuck catalog she says "Did you notice - I don't see eve one single person who looks like us in this big old book."

Apart from the horror of the Klan and the extreme fear felt by the citizens of color in this community another aspect of this book relates to rights and in particular the right to vote.  If you are working on a unit about democracy you might like to use chapter 22.  Three men from the town, including Stella's father, travel to Amherst to register to vote.  Stella goes along with them.  The men are ridiculed by the town official and then told to take a fifteen minute written test. They even have to pay for this privilege.  Meanwhile some white men walk into the same office and all that is required a simple signature on a form.  Stella is enraged. Then the men from Bumblebee are told to come back in a week.

"Mr Spencer sat down on the floor. After a moment, Stella's father and Pastor Patton joined him." They sit on the floor of the office until their test is graded.  The consequence of this action is truly awful - the Klan burn down the Spencer home and endanger their thirteen children.  You will cheer, though, when you read how the whole town including some of the white citizens unite to assist the family.  Stella is called a hero when finds six year old Hazel who has run away in fear and the Spencer's give her a typewriter which came with the donations given to the family after the fire. Using a typewriter gives Stella the motivation to keep working on her writing.

All through this book we see Stella's writing progress but she is full of self doubt. I love the words of encouragement from Stella's mother :

"I'm a dunce?' Stella said, fear clutching her chest.
'Quite the opposite. You are an amazing thinker - a gemstone hiding inside a rock."

Stella is a very talented writer.  Here are some samples from her work :

"I've got thick black hair, and bushy caterpillar-looking eyebrows. When I look in the mirror, I don't see pretty, I just see me."

"At the mill ... they take sawdust and turn that into paper. Those big old trees become books and notebooks and newspapers. Dust becomes words. I like that."

"My papa voted. He is a pebble. Lots of pebbles make a landslide, right? His vote counted."


Watch this video where Sharon explains her family inspiration for this important story which is a snapshot of history.  Click here to listen to an audio sample from Chapter 17.  Here is a thoughtful review which will give you more plot details.  The author web site will give you further insight into this important and award winning book.  Here are a set of teaching notes.  If I have not convinced you that Stella by Starlight is a special and important book - read this review from the Nerdy Book Club - now!!

After or even before reading Stella by Starlight I recommend you read the picture book Goin' someplace special by Patricia McKissack and the novels Kissy Ann Stamps, Mississippi bridge by Mildred D Taylor and Walking to the bus rider blues by Harriet Robinet.

Stella by Starlight is not at all like Sharon's earlier book Out of my mind but you will want to read this one too I am sure. It was one of my top books this year.

Draper expertly creates a character filled with hope, dreams and ambition in a time when such traits were 

dangerous for a girl of color.

One crazy summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

As you can see there are four huge award stickers on the front cover of One Crazy Summer.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book but I will say I am not sure how much understanding an Australian child would have of the experiences of Delphine in 1960s Southern America.

All that to one side I adore books that give me emotional highs and lows and One Crazy Summer certainly delivers this.  Delphine and her two young sisters called Vonetta and Fern fly from Brooklyn,  New York to Oakland, California.  They are going to spend one month with Cecile their mother.  She deserted the family when Fern was just two days old and so all three girls have huge questions to ask and strong emotions which need soothing.  What they find in Oakland is surprising and bruising.

This quote will give you a sense of this story.  The three girls go on an outing to San Francisco and thanks to Delphine they have a wonderful day until this incident unsettles them :

"We stopped in a gift shop on the wharf. The man behind the counter set his eyes on us really hard. At first I thought this was because we were there by ourselves, so I whispered to Vonetta and Fern to be extra well behaved. But then I heard Cecile's last words in my head. His hard stare was for the other reason store clerks' eyes never let up.  We were black kids, and he expected us to be in his gift shop to steal. "

Here is a very detailed review from the New York Times.  Here is a detailed set of teaching notes.

 

I have the right to be a child by Alain Serres, illustrated by Aurelia Fronty and translated by Sarah Ardizzone

I seem to have accidentally collected quite a few books on the topic of the rights of the child.  I have the right to be a child is one I spied at the IBBY Congress.  In our library we already have three other books on this topic all of which I love to share with Grade Six students when they are working on the HSIE topic of Global Connections.  These all use a wonderful range of award winning illustrators.  The titles are : We are all born free, A children’s chorus  and For every child.  It is interesting to compare how each illustrator interprets the same “right”.

In this book, I have the right to be a child, the style is more conversational.  “I am a child. I’ve got eyes, hands, a voice and a heart. But have I got rights?” “Do I have the right to a roof over my head? A home that isn’t freezing cold or baking hot.  A place I can feel safe – nothing fancy, but with everything I need.”.

When I talk about the rights of a child I like to give the students a set of photos showing children living in very different circumstances to our own.  We use these to compile a list of basic rights. It is interesting to see ones the students mention and the ones they just don’t think of for example special rights for the disabled, the right not to have to work and as this new book says : “Why should I suffer any kind of violence? Nobody has the right to abuse my childhood. Nobody!”.

This new book has only one illustrator but it will make a perfect addition to my collection. It will also compliment the books I have collected about the topic of peace such as The Peace book by Todd Parr and What does peace feel like? by Vladimir  Radunsky.