Grace Goes to Washington By Kelly DiPucchio, Illustrated by LeUyen Pham (2019) – Hardcover
Although a brown-skinned girl, Grace, is featured prominently on the front cover, the story is predominately about the diverse voices that make up her classroom. Grace is a member of the student council and at their recent meeting they debate how to spend their fundraiser money. New sports equipment? New library books? Grace feels that they’ll never come to an agreement. After a lesson on the branches of the U.S. government, the class goes on a field trip to Washington, D.C. Later, back at school, Grace takes inspiration from the MLK, Jr. memorial that she visited to approach a new kid at school and encourages him to share his great idea for how to spend the fundraiser money.
Take-away message: There are so many great messages in this book. Primarily, by giving them an example of how it directly applies to their lives, it’s a fun way for kids to learn about the idea of checks and balances. And it also contains a great message about being kind to the new kid at school who is being ignored. Although ethnicity is not specified, the “new kid” is named “Aman” and depicted with dark skin, possibly of Arab or South Asian descent (on the cover art, he’s the character to the left of Grace).
TAGS: Black, Female Lead, Diverse Characters, Hardcover
Also in the series:
Grace for President
