Amazing Grace

Written by: Mary Hoffman

Illustrated by: Caroline Binch

Recommended for: Children Ages 4-8

Themes: Fiction, Character Education

Summary:

     Grace is a young girl with a wonderfully creative imagination. She loves to read stories and make believe that she is the characters. Grace often will act out the parts of her favorite characters from these stories with her friends, family, and even while all alone. When Grace finds out that her class will be putting on the play Peter Pan she decides that she wants to play the part of Peter. However, Grace's classmates tease her that she cannot be Peter because she is a girl and she is black. Grace is very disheartened by their comments but continues to prepare for the auditions with the encouragement of her family that she can be anything that she wants to be. Grace ends up getting the part of Peter and the encouragement of her classmates after they she how perfect Grace is at playing the part of Peter.

     Children will love the wonderful illustrations included in this story which show Grace as a playful and happy child. They will be compelled to cheer her on when the other students doubt her ability to play Peter. The story and the pictures reflect a multicultural classroom which can be reflective of many public school systems in America at this time. Children will love to see Grace persevere despite the comments made to her by others putting her down. This story teaches children to believe that they can achieve anything with hard work and practice.

Suggestions for the Classroom:

     This book would be a wonderful selection to read to students as both a Character Education piece as well as for discussing Character and Plot.

*Pre-Reading Activities: Discuss with students that when we read stories, often the main character faces some kind of problem. What it is that they do to solve that problem is called the solution. For instance: If I came to school today and forgot my pencil that would be a problem. Ask the students, what could I do to fix this problem (borrow one from a friend, ask the teacher to borrow one, etc.) and record their answers on a t-chart (one side listing problems and on the other side solutions). Give them a second problem: I can't find my favorite eraser (ask a friend to help you look, use another one, borrow one from someone else). 

     Explain to children that today we are going to read a story and the main character is going to face a problem. Ask them to listen for what she does to solve her problem, that is called the solution.

*During Reading: Stop throughout the story to give students opportunities to express how they think Grace is feeling. Pay attention to: how she may feel when the other students are telling her that she can't play Peter in the play? when her Grandma takes her to the ballet? when she auditions for the play? when she finds out what part she got.

*Post-Reading Activities: Go back to the t-chart that you created with the students before you began reading. Ask the children to tell you what problem Grace had and record it on the left side of your chart. Then ask the students to tell you her solution, or how she solved her problem, and record it on the right side of your chart. Discuss with the students the character Grace, what about her makes her so special or Amazing as the title suggests. If time permits, give the students time to complete a character chart writing down Grace's character traits.

About the Author:

     Mary Hoffman currently lives in West Oxfordshire and enjoys writing books for children and teenagers, including picture books as well as fantasy and historical novels. She explains on her website that she grew up with two older sisters and even taught herself how to read before she began school herself. Hoffman also describes that like Grace she loved to act out the stories that she read and she even wrote plays for her and her friends to act out. I would imagine that her character Grace has much of the same characteristics as she did when she was a young child. Hoffman explains that her husband is half-Indian, likely a reason that she has chosen to write her books with a focus on many cultures.

About the Illustrator:

     Caroline Binch lives in West Cornwall with her two cats and a dog. She says that her illustrations are inspired by people and places around her. She likes to focus her writing and illustrations on the positive aspects of life rather than the negative ones. This is most likely why she chose to illustrate the book Amazing Grace as it portrays a positive message to young children to never give up and to work hard to accomplish their dreams. Binch states that she enjoys spending her free time relaxing doing yoga, taking walks, dancing with the music up loud, and laying in the grass enjoying the day.