Author Mary Ellen Maunz once said, ‘’the absorbent mind is one of the most important ideas in early childhood education. The absorbent mind makes our adult lives possible.’’
That statement could not have been any truer. Each of us is a product of words that were spoken to us as children. Children’s minds are like sponges, they absorb everything happening around them. This includes the content that your child is consuming. For example, what movies, comics, or books are your children consuming?
Take Your Place, You Belong by Karen Theunissen explores race and discrimination. It tells the story of two friends from different races who each experience discrimination from their peers based on their race.
Theunissen doesn’t beat about the bush from the first page. She makes it clear to the reader what the plot is about. The story is narrated with tenderness, and it has been done prolifically for a story about race and discrimination.
Theunissen represents the two main unnamed characters well and helps the reader understand the dynamics of race through the events that the characters experience. The author also takes the reader through a short emotional ride. She does this in the way she takes her lead characters through relatable scenarios of discrimination such as the refusal from other characters to play with either of the lead characters due to their skin colour.
The reader’s emotions are heightened by the imagery illustrations clearly depicting racial divides among the characters. With every page turn, the author ensures the reader craves for more and satiates them right at the end of the book.
Take Your Place, You Belong is a book that offers content suitable and healthy for your child’s mental consumption. Learning about race and discrimination from a young age will assist our country in solving a lot of our problems that stem from race.
Take Your Place, You Belong is available in the Art of Superwoman store.
