English
7 years & up
- History
- Historical Figures
- Activism
- Social Justice Education
- Environmental Activism
- Global Community
Leah Henderson & Tyler Feder
Summary: For #sweetsandsocialjustice this week, I’m so excited to share my thoughts on Together We March!
This anthology weaves together historical movements throughout history. I really appreciate how author Leah Henderson places each event within the context of other events within the book, building a helpful global timeline. Each event is very thoroughly researched, and Henderson writes about all of the events leading up to and after the demonstration.
Some events are very well-known like the Alabama Children’s Crusade and the March on Washington while others I learned a lot more about while reading. For the first time, I learned about the Bulgarian Jews March in 1943, where Jewish folks from Sofia stood up to their government who sympathized with Nazis. This book is beautifully written with empowering language and holds crucial information for all readers. I think a lot about how our society would function if social movements were holistically and enthusiastically taught from a young age. I have a deep belief that we would be more equitable and open to change if more privileged (re: white) realized the potential (and the need) for change on the massive scale that needs to occur in order to dismantle the oppressive systems. This is what I’ve dedicated my life to, explaining and creating resources for individuals to understand why we need social justice education, until we don’t need it anymore.
For the recipe this week, I went a little tongue in cheek and made a childhood staple with the same name as one of the marches: Mud! The suffragette Mud March in Britain spoke of the weather conditions during it, but I made chocolate pudding with cookie dirt and (of course) some gummy worms.
This book was kindly sent by Simon & Schuster, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be able to review it. All opinions and decision to review is my own!
Recipe: Chocolate Pudding for 2
Ingredients:
.25c cocoa powder
6 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1.5c milk
1t vanilla
.5t instant espresso powder
pinch of salt
Directions:
Whisk together dries in a pot, and then stream in the milk and vanilla, whisking until smooth and combined. Continue stirring over medium heat until mixture starts to boil, and boil until thickened (about 2 minutes). I pour my pudding through a strainer and into a bowl before cooling in the fridge.
Leah Henderson is the author of the middle grade novels The Magic in Changing Your Stars and One Shadow on the Wall, a Children’s Africana Book Award notable, and a Bank Street Best Book. Her picture books include Mamie on the Mound, and the forthcoming Together We March and A Day For Rememberin’.
Raised in Andover, Massachusetts, Leah has fond memories of getting up to all kinds of shenanigans that often made for great tall tales told late into the night.
Because many of the books she read as a child did not resemble the world she saw, her earliest stories came from a need to finish the tales and follow the real-life achievements and journeys of people and places she saw and learned about on her travels that were often overlooked. Through seeing the world, Leah has witnessed the richness that can be found within everyone’s individual story. That is why writing the world she sees is so vitally important to her.
TYLER FEDER IS AN ARTIST WHOSE WORK EXPLORES BIG FEELINGS, FEMINISM, AND POP CULTURE.
She illustrated Unladylike: A Field Guide to Smashing the Patriarchy and Claiming Your Space (Ten Speed) by Cristen Conger and Caroline Ervin and her first solo book, Dancing at the Pity Party(Dial), a graphic memoir about the premature death of her super cool mom, is now available for preorder. Selected freelance clients include Netflix, Comedy Central, and ESPN. Tyler also runs Roaring Softly, where she sells prints and merchandise featuring her illustrations.
Tyler graduated from Northwestern University in 2011 with a B.A. in Radio/TV/Film and a certificate in Creative Writing for the Media. She completed the Writing Program at the Second City Training Center in 2013.
When she is not making art, Tyler enjoys milky coffee, jigsaw puzzles, and staring emo-ly into Lake Michigan. She currently lives and works out of a teeny apartment in Chicago with her beloved cat son, Mitzvah Bear. Tyler’s favorite color is pink (obviously).