We Are Gems: Healing from Anti-Asian Microaggressions through Self-love & Solidarity

by Ko Kim, Christine Yoon (Illustrator), Andrew Hem (Illustrator)

Overview

We Are Gems helps readers to critically question microaggressions against Asian Americans through self-love and solidarity with Black and Indigenous-led movements for justice and healing. It is a joyous celebration of Asian Americans and our history.

We believe that learning & living out racial justice starts at home, including on our bookshelves. That is why we wrote and illustratrated We Are Gems (ages 8+). Check out our website for a free Common Core-aligned discussion guide: https://www.justwordsjustdeeds.com/

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780578285566
Publisher:	Ko Kim
Publication date:	05/02/2022
Pages:	34
Product dimensions:	11.00(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.25(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

Editorial Reviews

While the target audience of this book is Asian and Asian Americans, it is a valuable read for anyone (adult or child) learning why solidarity across difference is essential to our shared liberation.

I am a White teacher. My students are predominately Latinx. In class, we have been discussing the unique challenges and discrimination faced by our Asian Am neighbors. This book helps students work through honest and difficult questions about the experiences of Asian Americans.

This book is a must for any antiracist classroom library.

From the Publisher

2023-02-25
Kim’s illustrated children’s book addresses racism and community-building.

This Kickstarter-backed work specifically addresses anti-Asian racism in its subtitle, but the text also focuses on intersectionality and cross-community solidarity. The book’s second two-page spread introduces readers to the idea of “shared liberation,” explaining that the Asian community is intertwined with Black and Indigenous communities and that systemic racism affects everyone. The text moves through several common microaggressions, suggesting an empowering and challenging response to each one: “When people try to commend you with, ‘You are unlike the others,’ reply that you are not straining yourself toward the dull cast of sameness.” Although the book is structured around a clear message, it avoids preachiness and didacticism through its cadence: Each wordy page exploring racism is followed by a single short sentence (such as “Our liberation is the history in our veins”), which shifts the narrative’s focus from problems and solutions to healing. There’s substantial backmatter, making up almost a quarter of the page count, which explores each microaggression in more detail, such as explaining the problematic nature of the question “Where are you really from?” This section of the book, which includes footnotes and suggestions for further reading, offers an introduction to historical figures, colonialism, and structural racism, giving adult readers a solid background that will help them share the book with young children. Yoon and Hem’s full-color illustrations feature kids and adults with a variety of skin tones and body types; a sense of joy and movement infuses each spread, depicting parades, dancers, and children floating against a starry backdrop, among other things. The slightly muted but varied color palette enhances the text, and although each image accompanies a description of racism, they depict only celebratory moments. Overall, the book is thoughtfully organized and inclusive in its approach, making for an engaging read-aloud for kids and an informative text for older readers.

A thoughtful and optimistic work of healing wisdom.

Kirkus Reviews