Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman and Caroline Binch is definitely a book I would incorporate into my future classroom. The story is about a little African-American girl who loves to use her imagination and play different roles of people. Her teacher announces that the class has an upcoming play of Peter Pan, and the little girl announces she would like to try out for the part. Students say make comments saying she cant be Peter Pan because she is a girl and black, and Peter Pan is neither. The girl’s Nana takes her to the ballet Romeo and Juliet, and the girl sees that the main character is black, which inspires her to do her best and try out for the role. She ends up getting the part, and does a wonderful job at it.
Despite the controversial issue of the little girl being told by classmates that she can’t be Peter Pan because she’s a girl and black, I think a very good lesson could be learned from this situation for students of all ages. This would specifically work well in a multicultural classroom, where comments like the one in the story could definitely be going on. This book is a great example of how no matter what the students’ sex and race, they can be anything they want to be, and factors such as those should not restrain anyone from doing what he or she wants to do. In addition the pictures in the book are very interesting to look at-they are painted in watercolor, very detailed, and very colorful.