Just Help!: How to Build a Better World

From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Just Ask! comes a fun and meaningful story about making the world--and your community--better, one action at a time, that asks the question: Who will you help today?
Every night when Sonia goes to bed, Mami asks her the same question: How did you help today? And since Sonia wants to help her community, just like her Mami does, she always makes sure she has a good answer to Mami's question.
In a story inspired by her own family's desire to help others, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor takes young readers on a journey through a neighborhood where kids and adults, activists and bus drivers, friends and strangers all help one another to build a better world for themselves and their community.
With art by award-winning illustrator Angela Dominguez, this book shows how we can all help make the world a better place each and every day.
Praise for Just Help!:
"Generosity proves contagious in this personal portrait of community service by Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor." --Publishers Weekly
"For use in civics units or in lessons on being a good neighbor, this provides wonderful encouragement to show that children can help in big and small ways." --School Library Journal
From School Library Journal
Gr 1-3-Sonia Sotomayor, the first woman of color to serve on the Supreme Court, encourages readers to be good citizens and community members in this new book. First she recounts her childhood observations of her mother, who was a nurse and would ask young Sonia, "How will you help today?" Sonia decided to help by bringing supplies to school because the students were making care packages for soldiers overseas. This launches a lifetime passion to be of service to others. The book then highlights other friends and their acts of service. Brooklyn helps sea animals, Gabriela and her brother cleanup the playground, Jasper makes toy donations to a children's hospital, and Simone helps campaign for an election. The illustrations are a splash of color and beautiful tapestry of diverse faces and cultures. The message comes back full circle to Sonia and her mother getting ready for bed, and now the answer to her mother's question includes how the bus driver helped her get to school and postal workers delivered packages. This title turns a name in their history books into a warm and relatable presence in children's lives. VERDICT For use in civics units or in lessons on being a good neighbor, this provides wonderful encouragement to show that children can help in big and small ways.-Erin Olsenα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.