Cover Image: Lift Every Voice and Change: A Sound Book

Lift Every Voice and Change: A Sound Book

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Member Reviews

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
This book includes a collection of black leaders in different social movements that have had an impact. Each section starts with a quote from the person, then a short bio about them and what they mean for social change. There is also a small sidebar with a question to consider that relates to what the person did. The end of the book had a list of books as further resources. There is also a small fact about each person.
This was an informative book. It is a good introduction to each person.

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Excellent book for a classroom or kids room!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

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This non-fiction picture book biography shares information about a variety of important people who have stood up and raised their voice for change in the Black community. Each full page spread has a beautiful and detailed illustration of the person being discussed as well as paragraphs and text boxes with information. An additional neat feature is that the book has sound icons and I believe (in some editions) you can listen to sound clips of the people featured. There is also a glossary at the end of the book as well as other suggested books on the topic. I would definitely recommend this book for readers in the age 8-12 range. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book!

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Magnificent Book!!!!!

Charnaie Gordon presents this book in a great layout. The graphics are beautifully done with such vibrant colors, nicely depicting the individuals discussed in this book.

Charnaie states that speaking is the natural way we communicate with one another, and that sometimes by
speaking we can stand up for things we believe in or stand up for our friends and family members. She states that we can use our voice to state our opinions or express our
emotions and feelings, because words can comfort or inspire, and voices can be raised in song or in protest.

The author further states that throughout history, Black individuals have been raising their voices to speak up
and speak out from the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s to the Black Lives Matter movement of today. She states that Black leaders from the past and present have used their words to help challenge thoughts and ideas or speak out against unfairness and injustices.

In this book, the author recognizes twelve notable Black women and men (present day and from the past) and each's
notable quote, which reflect their determination, achievements, wisdom, and the mantras they used or still use to persevere.

This is a short, but powerful, easy to read and understand book. I highly recommend it to anyone desiring to learn or just to freshen up on information, past and present, that has in some way helped change the course of history through the use of their Voice.

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A beautifully illustrated book about black leaders from a variety of fields and time periods. The quotes included are wonderful and inspiring and features a brief biography of each person. I wish there were more people featured, but I could easily see this becoming a series. A wonderful addition to any child's book collection!

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‘Lift Every Voice And Change’ is a beautifully illustrated NonFiction Children’s book filled with biographies of many Black American leaders and pioneers.

The end pages are so beautiful and I loved the dedication page. At the beginning of the book, the author explains to the reader the power and importance of their voice and the use of their voice to uplift communities.

I think this book was structured very well, and I really liked the formatting. Each information page included the Black American’s name, occupation, quote, date of quote, location of quote and general information. The author also includes a section where they ask a question to the reader that gives them the opportunity to use their critical thinking skills to write about something related to the information they just read.

In this book, the author introduces you to many different people from a timeline spanning 1856-2020. I had previously learned about/heard of some of the people discussed but a lot of them I hadn’t heard of before so it was great to expand my knowledge and be introduced to these important figures.

I think the author includes enough information to give the reader a great introduction to the public figure and inspire them to go on to do their own research as well. Since the target audience is children, I think the author has done a great job to make this book interactive to really engage the reader and kids tend to respond to these kind of books well.

The author mentions a lot of different movements, laws/legislations, and references literature that the reader can go onto further research after finishing the book. The author gives a glossary towards the end of the book to give a brief explanation of some of the movements and legislations they mentioned. There’s also a section at the end of the book where the reader is giving the opportunity to write something they feel passionately about.

Also at the end of the book, the author provides the reader with a list of books/resources for further reading on the Black experience. When I was a child and still now, I love to look for materials to do further research on the things I read in books so I know this will be greatly appreciated by many readers. This also gives the parent/guardian/teacher the opportunity to do further reading and expand their own knowledge to be more informed.

This was an excellent read and I thank NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for allowing me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I plan to purchase this for myself when it is published and will be recommending it to my audience.

TWs/CWs - Racism; Misogyny; Misogynoir; Segregation; Slavery; Voter Suppression

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Author Charnaie Gordon builds upon her expanding offerings dedicated to expanding awareness about diversity in “Lift Every Voice and Change: A Sound Book.” The interactive and illustrated volume features historical facts about 12 iconic Black leaders and primary-source audio clips that showcase their inspirational legacy. Gordon’s latest release is aimed at the grade-school demographic and focuses on leaders from various generations and fields of expertise: from Booker T. Washington to Jay-Z, and from Toni Morrison to Stacey Abrams. Young readers will get to see, learn about – and hear – activists, political leaders, painters, writers, rappers, scientists, and others exemplifying Black excellence.

I reviewed the digital copy of the book, so I wasn’t able to fully experience its audio component. However, this feature was what drew me to the book in the first place. Providing a way for young readers to hear the voices of leaders is an excellent way to engage them in learning about the lives and legacies of important Black Americans. Illustrations by Jamaica-born artist Aeron Cargill celebrate each historical figure. Gordon took great care in ensuring that males and females are equally represented on the pages. It was also powerful to see Ayo Tometi – one of the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement – featured alongside leaders of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Stokely Carmichael, and John Lewis. This book would make a great addition to any child’s library, inspiring a new generation of bold and visionary leaders.

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This is a beautiful collection of African American Icons. I love the addition of sound for their speeches. This is an exciting gift for young people. I plan to purchase several copies for the young people in my life.

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I have followed Charnaie Gordon (Here We Read ) for a long time. She is fantastic at advocating literacy and introducing the world to diversity through books. This is why this book is such a great piece, not only for the excellent people being a feature but also for teaching children that they can be leaders. The idea that the Book has sound from these great people is even better!

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This book is powerful.

It is perfect for teachers to use in their classrooms to inspire students to achieve great things. I recommend this book when teaching about perseverance. This book could also be used when doing a unit on speechwriting because of the unique audio component.

I'm glad this book was written and will be in the hands of children who need stories like this.

5 STARS! Thanks to NetGalley & Quarto Kids for the early read.

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