'A Thousand No's' and 'Kamala and Maya's Big Idea' - Read and Rise

Today I have a double feature of books and I'm really excited because they transition us from January's theme of growth mindset into February's Black History month perfectly! 

Our first book is "A Thousand No's" by D.J. Corchin. It is the story of a girl with a great idea who unfortunately runs into a lot of "no's." But she doesn't give up, and will a little imagination and collaboration, all of those no's turn into a yes! I think the abstractness of the book has the potential to go above some young reader's heads, but its strength lies in being vague - because there is no detail given about the girl's idea, each child has the opportunity to insert their own great idea and learn that it's perfectly normal and natural for that idea to be rejected or fail and evolve along the way. The key is to keep trying until you're proud of what you've done. One thing I want to mention is that the no's don't always have to be external - sometimes they come from you! Sometimes you're the one who says this is not working, I don't like this. It's important to view that as an opportunity for innovation rather than proof your idea stinks.

Our second book, "Kamala and Maya's Big Idea" by Meena Harris not only celebrates Kamala Harris - a woman who last month made history as the first female black South Asian vice president of the United States - but also provides a concrete example of how an idea that is faced with many no's can persevere nonetheless. "Kamala and Maya's Big Idea" recounts the story of how Kamala and her sister Maya came up with the idea to get a playground for their apartment complex's courtyard. With each no, they stepped back, re-evaluated their idea and changed their strategy until they created a beautiful playground for all the children to enjoy.