Sometimes People March

by Tessa Allen, Tessa Allen (Illustrator)

Overview

With a spare, inspiring text and gorgeous watercolor illustrations, this is a timeless and important book for activists of all ages. This hardcover picture book is perfect for sharing and for gifting.

Sometimes people march
to resist injustice,
to stand in solidarity,
to inspire hope.

Throughout American history, one thing remains true: no matter how or why people march, they are powerful because they march together.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063068094
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/01/2020
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

Editorial Reviews

Debut author-illustrator Allen illuminates the motivations for protest marches. Contemporary issues are highlighted (systemic racism and police brutality, climate change, Black Lives Matter, the March for Our Lives) as well as historical protests (the women’s suffrage movement, the Delano grape boycott). Allen shows that advocacy does not have an age limit.” — School Library Journal (starred review)

“Allen presents an accessible introduction to political protest: ‘Marching is something people do together when they want to resist injustice.’ Spare prose informs on the necessity of rallying and communal allyship, with graceful allusions to significant historical events from 1776 to the present.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A warm, inviting introduction to protests and demonstrations, nicely pitched to the youngest of readers and ideal for starting conversations about current events.”
— Booklist (starred review)

From the Publisher

A warm, inviting introduction to protests and demonstrations, nicely pitched to the youngest of readers and ideal for starting conversations about current events.”

Booklist (starred review)

2020-07-14
Simple, direct statements are paired with watercolor illustrations to highlight some of the rallying causes for organized marches throughout the history of the United States.

The text and art begin with two marches that will reemerge as metaphor later in the book: a long line of ants marching to and from a piece of watermelon, and members of a blue-and-gold–clad marching band following their leader’s baton. As the band recedes on the verso, across the gutter an extremely diverse group of people similar to the crowds marching across the book’s cover advances toward readers on recto. Here the text repeats the book’s title. Next, negative space surrounds a small group of women and children—obviously from an earlier time—holding a protest sign. The text explains that sometimes people march “to resist injustice.” The facing page shows a contemporary family gazing with chagrin at a polluted beach; they will march because they “notice a need for change.” The text continues to offer simple explanations of why people march, eventually moving to other peaceful means of resistance, including signs, boycotts, strikes, sit-ins, and “taking a knee.” Hardship in the form of physical and psychic exhaustion is mentioned, but police and other legally sanctioned violence against protest is not—the general mood is uplifting encouragement to young, potential activists. This timely book combines rudimentary facts about peaceful resistance with art that depicts organized actions from the 19th century through today, and endnotes reveal more specifics about each illustration, including historic figures represented.

Effectively argues that “People are more powerful together.” (Informational picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews