If you want to make a difference,
but you don’t know where to start
Begin by searching way deep down
to find what’s in your heart
begins this inspiring, rhyming board book about creating change. Everyone has a “special voice,” it tells readers, which they can use to show they care, be kind, and spread love. There are many ways to use this voice, too—whispering, shouting, singing, writing, drawing, and even dancing. Joined with others’ voices, it can be even more powerful, but listening to your heart and your own special voice is where to start. There is little overt LGBTQ inclusion here, although the image that goes with the line, “Your voice is proud,” shows a child standing in front of a rainbow. That may be trying to imply that the child (who reads as Asian) has an LGBTQ identity, although it’s not conclusive. Read it as you wish.
The children shown have a variety of racial/ethnic identities. One child uses a wheelchair. While we do not know if she uses it permanently or because of a temporary injury (though she has no visible cast or the like indicating something temporary), I will note that it appears to be a clunky medical wheelchair—see this essay at The Mary Sue for why that’s probably not appropriate for someone who uses a wheelchair permanently. Also, the only time we see that child moving in the chair, as opposed to just sitting in it, she is being pushed by someone else. That doesn’t seem like great representation of a disabled person.
The book’s overall message of each person’s power to make change is a good one, though.
