The Day You Begin Hardcover – Picture Book, August 28, 2018

Wonderful book for beginning of school year, especially if you have a diverse classroom. My fifth graders loved it!

Needed this book for college project in my elementary major. Beautiful story and even more beautiful illustrations. I was able to use a lot of quotes and images to make a beautiful display for my sister’s school and their Black History Month program and parade.

Wonderful story with a great message. Came in perfect condition. My children will read this one for years to come!

I enjoyed this book, and reading it was healing. Many children will connect to the nervousness of the characters who feel like outsiders in different ways. The young girl feels like an outsider because of her hair and appearance. Throughout the story, the girl realizes that everyone experiences the feeling of being an outsider, but what binds us all together and connects us is shared stories. The book opens a dialogue about inclusivity, bravery, diversity, and perspective. Children can reflect on how they might treat others and react to new spaces.

I read this book to a class of high diversity students. I feel as if it was able to speak to a lot more students. They like the story and they were able to pick up on the theme pretty fast. The book felt like good quality.

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?"

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.

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.