A Hero Like Me
by Jen Reid; Angela Joy
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app
1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date Jun 06 2023 | Archive Date May 11 2023
Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books | Frances Lincoln Children's Books
Talking about this book? Use #AHeroLikeMe #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!
Description
This Black History Month, empower children to stand up for what is right with this picture book inspired by the real-life events around the statue of a slave trader, its toppling, and heroic replacement.
*2024 Notable Social Studies Trade Book*
*2023 Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Finalist, Picture Books*
They call him “HERO,” but he’s no HERO—not to me.
A Hero Like Me is inspired by the events of June 7, 2020, in Bristol, England, when a statue of seventeenth-century slave trader Edward Colston was pulled down and thrown into Bristol Harbour during an anti-racism protest. Co-author Jen Reid was one of the protesters that day, and despite being afraid of heights, she spontaneously climbed onto the empty plinth and raised her fist high above her head—a moment that was captured on camera and shared around the world.
On the morning of July 15, a statue of Jen by Marc Quinn was added to the empty plinth. It was called A Surge of Power and it gained national attention for the 24 hours it was in place, and beyond.
This inspiring picture book tells the story of these events through the eyes of a little girl who, every day, on her way to school, sees a towering statue. A statue of a man who sold freedom for cotton and tea. The world around her says this man is a hero. But she knows he’s not a hero—not a real one.
Heroes are hard to find. She looks for them around corners, under rocks, and on TV, but there are none that she can see. And so, the little girl marches and shouts for them instead. And that statue—he doesn’t belong. He doesn’t stand for Kindness. He doesn’t stand for Peace.
Maybe he shouldn’t stand at all.
A Hero Like Me empowers children to have courage to stand up for what is right and be their own hero. It shows every child that they have a voice in their community and a say in who is on their streets. That they too have power, just like Jen.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9780711286313 |
| PRICE | $18.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 40 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Educator 985113
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Books like A Hero Like Me are so important. Not only to help kids (and some adults) understand what's going on around them, but to give them hope that things can change.
I'm Canadian, and last year a group of Indigenous people, protesting the lack of government help to bring the bodies found of children killed in residential schools home to their families, pulled down a Queen Victoria statue. Although not the same historical figure, the message is the same. These figures have done harm to generations of people and the pain/sadness should not be felt every time they walk by them on the street.
We are not erasing history, we are showing that we have learned from it and making the world better for future generations.
(I apologize if I offended anyone by compare the hardships of two very different groups of humans.
My hope was not to draw attention away from then injustices happening to Black Americans, but to show that this is happening in our backyard too. This really is a wonderful teaching tool, with language kids will understand and remember. )
Reviewer 379055
A Hero Like Me does a great job at explaining why we must remove statues and monuments to white supremacists and their ilk. Honestly, I feel like this is a book that needs to be given to many adults who are critical of the idea and practice -- and they should have to go through the questions for reflection at the end of the book.
The book is visually beautiful, and the story told through the point of view of a young Black girl is strikingly poignant. I loved everything about this book, from the poetic writing to the way it so thoroughly explains big topics in a way that is easily digestible for children.
Jessica L, Reviewer
I love this. Put this book everywhere.
The book is based on a real event in Bristol, England. Told from the perspective of a young girl, she reflects on statues and the people being called “heroes.” She has discussions and is included in a protest march. The statue of a man who “sold freedom for cotton and tea” is toppled, and a black woman from the protest stands on top of the plinth to take its place. It is a moment that sparked an artist to create the woman in statue form to later be placed where the old statue had stood.
The illustrations and language make it clear for young children to understand taking what once was of “men who didn’t know any better” and replacing them with those who stand for “kindness, courage, peace, and justice.”
The last pages summarize the real events and give a list of discussion questions. It is so important to think about statues: what do they represent, why are they placed where they are, and what makes a statue important. We should question statues, and many times young people do.
Kelly L, Reviewer
A Hero Like Me is an inspiring picture book that follows a young girl on her daily journey to school past the towering statue of a slave trader, who the world calls a hero, but she knows better. Through a series of remarkable events, this little girl learns about courage, resilience and justice as she discovers what it truly means to be a hero.
Beautifully written and gorgeously illustrated, this picture book is an important story of hope, activism and self-empowerment. It will leave readers with a renewed faith in humanity, a greater appreciation of those who take a stand, and the understanding that it takes more than just a hero to make a change.
Marissa S, Reviewer
A relatable story about the process of revisiting our nation's history and, in doing so, tearing down ages-old idols and "heroes."
Angela Joy and Jen Reid tell an accessible story about a complicated movement to reclaim truth and history and they put young, black women at the center -- where they belong. It walks children through the reasons behind the dismantling of broken systems from a young girl's perspective. The young girl sees memorials to flawed heroes and realizes the wrongs that need to be righted. It's not until she sees "A hero, not made of bronze, brick, or stone but of curly hair and courage, skin, strength, and bone" that she has hope for heroes.
I look forward to sharing this story with my child and having difficult conversations about what heroes really look like and how to someday be a hero who holds "Peace and Justice,
Courage and Kindness in their hands…"
Readers who liked this book also liked:
