Some of my favorite books as a Teaching Artist

Recently I have begun to add to my collection of books for very young children. This is part of growing my Wolf Trap Teaching Artist library. This week I would like to feature a new book that I have just purchased, “The Day You Begin” by Jacquline Woodson with illustrations by Rafael López. My hope with this book’s purchase is to expand works by BIPOC writers and illustrators.

To start, I love the artwork and the color palette chosen by the artist. There are muted browns, yellows, and blues mixed with jewel tones of purple and green. The pictures are of children in a school setting and how they relate to one another. The story line focuses on how a child might notice that they are different from one another—differences in hair, skin tone, foods they love to eat, and abilities. In the end the focus is on how each child is a little bit different but also a little bit the same.

I feel that there are multiple performing arts approaches for this book. First, I would discuss the emotions of each child as they discover their differences. What might it feel like to notice that you are different from the other kids in your classroom? You could discuss more complex emotions such as loneliness, or nervousness, or sadness and have the classroom show the emotions either with expressions or body movements. You could work through sizes and have students show you how small a lonely emotion might feel, and how as you feel more confident, you feel bigger. This is just one approach and I think there are others too!

I will continue to discuss books for young children, and how they would work in a Wolf Trap grounded lesson. Come back for more, or send me a note to ask a question!