This very inviting art extends a friendly hand just as the kids in the story do. On many pages, López also includes a looming measuring stick, which seems to represent the way kids feel they measure up or not.

The art depicts and celebrates kids of different races. The illustrations by Rafael López fit the text perfectly and are just as welcoming. Read 1683 reviews from the worlds largest community for readers. 5.0 out of 5 stars Read aloud for the joy & then pose questions for rich student-led conversations By Sunday C on SeptemThe kind of book that makes you weep the first time you read it and then feel like you HAVE to read. Her other hand holds a book, as her little sister sleeps in the bed behind her and a blue bird flies above. 'What does the author mean by the day you begin' and maybe even 'How can we do that right now' Read more. A young girl stands on her apartment balcony, cheek resting on her hand, as she looks wistfully outside. The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson 4.43 avg.

A teacher pronounces a boy's name 'so soft and beautifully that your name and homeland sound like flowers blooming the first bright notes of a song.' A girl admires 'a jar filled with tiny shells so fragile, they look like they'll turn to dust in your own untraveled hands.' Yet the text is never out of reach, and the situations are carefully chosen to be ones kids will relate to - for instance, not getting picked for a team or hesitating to share in class. Image: Illustration from ‘On The Day You Begin’ written by Jacqueline Woodson &illustrated by Rafael Lpez. This sensitive and emotionally astute book about kids feeling like outsiders addresses kids directly, like welcome advice from a trusted elder, encouraging kids to 'share your stories.' In The Day You Begin, the prose is poetic but accessible.

On the day you begin