Author Sonia Sotomayor graduated with highest honors from Princeton University and went on to receive her doctorate from Yale Law School. She became an Associate Judge of the U.S. Supreme Court — the first Latina woman to ever hold such a high position — and has written several books. How did she reach this level of achievement and purpose? She attributes the roots of her life of service to her mother, a hospital nurse, who not only stressed the value of education but also would ask every morning: "How will you help today?"
That's the point at which this New York Times bestseller takes off, with Sonia depicted as a child heading off to school intent on having a good answer to her mother's question. The book follows a single day that packs together varied efforts by Sonia and her classmates: putting together care packages for American soldiers overseas, recycling plastic, cleaning a local park, donating toys to a children's hospital, and encouraging adults to vote on Election Day.
When Sonia recounts the day to her mother, she also mentions "the bus driver who brought her to school safely, the postal workers who delivered the packages to the soldiers, the poll workers who guided the voters." The book comes to represent an entire neighborhood of caring.
Art by Angela Dominguez — a two-time recipient of the Pura Belpré Illustration Honor alongside other awards — brings extra cheer to the story. She shows a diverse array of children energized by helping, enjoying each other's company, keeping each other safe by distributing gloves before cleaning up the park, and being unstintingly generous in giving away what they don't need.
Aimed at readers ages 4 to 8, the book emphasizes that anyone can help others and that "every time you do, you become part of something bigger than yourself." By showing a variety of children, some of them playing relatively minor roles (taping a package, handing out flyers), it demonstrates that our collaborative efforts add up. At a time of great suffering and uncertainty in our world, this message is important reinforcement for adults, too.
