RUN. SING. DREAM.

A sweeping portrait featuring some of history’s bravest changemakers.

Newbery Medalist Park relies on straightforward, lyrical phrases and powerful visual metaphors as she dedicates each page to just one or two individuals at a time: “Rosa sat. Martin marched.” She intersperses her work with bits of detail and affirmations: “Nina and Marian sang. You can sing too.” While readers will recognize many familiar historical activists and upstanders, others may pique curiosity. Thoughtfully crafted backmatter fills the gaps, offering concise, engaging paragraphs about each featured changemaker. The book is visually captivating, inspiring, and informative all at once. Youngsters will find themselves flipping back and forth between the main text and the bite-size biographies, discovering new connections with each reread. Featured individuals represent a broad and diverse range of backgrounds and accomplishments. Henderson’s dynamic illustrations possess a textured richness with softly layered pencil strokes that create a dreamlike sense of movement across the pages. Bold manipulations of scale place monumental figures amid tiny details, while compositions move fluidly between close-up and panoramic views, emphasizing the relationship between a single person and the change they inspired. Warm, almost otherworldly hues lend the artwork a reverent quality that allows history, memory, and hope to shine through.

History meets possibility in this profoundly empowering read.