About This Book:
Jacqueline Woodson and Rafael López’s highly anticipated companion to their #1 New York Timesbestseller The Day You Begin illuminates the power in each of us to face challenges with confidence.
On a dreary, stuck-inside kind of day, a brother and sister heed their grandmother’s advice: “Use those beautiful and brilliant minds of yours. Lift your arms, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and believe in a thing. Somebody somewhere at some point was just as bored you are now.” And before they know it, their imaginations lift them up and out of their boredom. Then, on a day full of quarrels, it’s time for a trip outside their minds again, and they are able to leave their anger behind. This precious skill, their grandmother tells them, harkens back to the days long before they were born, when their ancestors showed the world the strength and resilience of their beautiful and brilliant minds. Jacqueline Woodson’s lyrical text and Rafael Lopez’s dazzling art celebrate the extraordinary ability to lift ourselves up and imagine a better world.
*Review Contributed By Bethany Wicker, Staff Reviewer*
Encourages Imagination and Addresses Emotions and Feelings
When a brother and sister find themselves stuck inside bored, their grandmother advises them to “Lift your arms, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and believe in a thing. Somebody somewhere at some point was just as bored you are now.” They listen and give it a try and find themselves on adventures all over where people may be going through similar situations like theirs. The two use this trick when other problems arise like fear and anger. With their imaginations, the bad days don’t seem so bad.
THE YEAR WE LEARNED HOW TO FLY gives us a look into the wild imaginations children have while teaching them the importance of utilizing it. A vast imagination is a great way to curve boredom and to help get someone through difficult times. The poetic writing style makes the words flow like a smooth stream and the illustrations are beautifully detailed in a water-color theme. In the back of the book, the reader learns that this story is inspired by The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton which teaches how enslaved people made it through each day.
Final Verdict: This is a beautiful and thought-provoking story that’s all about using your imagination and thinking of other people who are in similar situations. Things can always be worse.
