We Belong, by Laura Purdie Salas, Illustrated by Carlos Vélez Aguilera

Welcome to Poetry Friday, this week hosted by Matt Forrest Esenwine. Thank you for hosting and please stop his blog, Radio, Rhythm, and Rhyme to see what he has in store for us.

This week I am concerned, as I have been for a long time, for children in this country, every single one.

Recently state laws have been passed or proposed that will criminalize doctors and parents of one politically powerless group, transgender kids. Their crime as doctors or parents? Simply trying to help young people they care about, in privacy, cope with serious mental health issues concerning gender identity.

While these laws are considered and passed, the incidence of kids wanting to harm themselves is rising.

Ignorance fosters fear and we need less of it.

To grow up, kids need positive messages, like the one found in WE BELONG, a new picture book by Laura Purdie Salas, Illustrated by Carlos Vélez Aguilera. Whether you quiet, loud, tall, short, white or black, or from a distant place, you deserve respect in this world. You deserve safety.

The art is colorful and joyful.

Salas speaks in these pages of the right to exploring your most personal identity. All of us are on a journey to understand our own private feelings and to accept who we are without shame and certainly without government interference. It’s personal and a lifelong journey.

People don’t set out to pick from a list of identities and simply put it on. No, who we are is something we learn as we grow up, hopefully along with adults and others in a community who love us, teach us, want the best for us, and do not shame us. It’s true growing up in the city and the country.

This is a short excerpt by Laura Purdie Salas. It reads well aloud, as you might expect from such a talented poet. 

There are boys. There are girls.
And even more choices.
Let's build a world where there's room for all voices.

Play with the toys that you think are fun.
Put on a tutu and hit a home run!
Be who you feel like.
CHOOSE WHO YOU ARE. 
Let your own heart be the guiding North Star.

Everyone needs to hear this message as a child:

Thank you, Matt, for hosting.

13 thoughts on “We Belong, by Laura Purdie Salas, Illustrated by Carlos Vélez Aguilera”

  1. Beautiful and heartfelt review of Laura’s new book Janice. It focuses as you did here on such important issues, it’s okay to be who we are! Her story moves you in an upbeat way, thanks for sharing it!

  2. Thank you so much for this passionate post, Janice! I agree–every child needs to hear, from many other people and groups and governments, etc., “You are good, exactly like you are.”

  3. Pingback: Poetry Friday: The roundup is here, with an interview with children’s author/poet Leslie Bulion! (& GIVEAWAY!) – Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme

  4. Thank you for resharing this post so it isn’t missed. You are right – it is an important book and message. As the mother of two transgender children, I’m passionate we need to keep messages like this front and centre – and fight against the evil of voices trying to destroy young lives.

  5. Janice, I am so glad that you are resharing your post since I missed it last week. Laura’s book is inspirational and offers each child a place in the world where they belong. Your review needed a second look and reminds me that I have an arc to reread and proclaim its wonders. Laura is a talented writer with a great perspective on life.

  6. Thanks for re-sharing this post, Janice. Appreciate your impassioned, heartfelt comments and the spotlight on Laura’s book. It’s such an important issue and heartbreaking to think there are those in power who would deny any child his/her right to gender identity, or the right to feel accepted. We Belong is a must read (let’s hope nobody bans it).

  7. Laura’s book, among others in this past year, is so needed, so beautifully shown that each one of us holds an important part in our world. I just read a piece from the Washington Post that the book “Everywhere Babies” (from 2001) has recently been banned, presumably because pages show diverse kinds of families. It is upsetting that these attacks are happening & my heart goes out to those families feeling in the spotlight & in danger. Thanks, Janice.

  8. I had not made it to your post last week, Janice, so I appreciate the re-post. What an important message. I have ordered a copy of We Belong for my classroom. It’s never too early to share its message.

  9. A beautiful excerpt—I must get my hands on this latest book by Laura! I 100% agree with your concerns about the damage we are doing to children with these inhuman laws. I’m being spoon fed a daily dose of disgust by what’s happening in my home state of Florida. 🙁

  10. Also thanking you for reposting, Janice… I haven’t seen Laura’s book in person yet, but I’m so glad it’s available. Echoing Michelle, I grew up in Florida (wonder if they’ll ban this book, too?), and was so sad to see the news from there today (Sat.), and recently. With the anti-Disney bill, some very concerning changes slid through regarding changing voting districts, too. Anyway, grateful to you and to Laura for speaking out for kids of ALL kinds.

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