Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is passionate about making the world a better place for everyone. As the first Latina to serve on the highest court in the United States, she is particularly aware of her ability to be a role model for children. Just Shine! is her third picture book in a series of stories encouraging children to be part of the change their communities need. In it, she tells the story of her mamí Celina, who taught her about love and caring for others.
Read the book with children ages 4+ and use one or more of the following activities to explore what it means to be a shining example of a person who cares.
Courage. Celina had to face her fears and grief when her mother was sick and then died. She had to adjust to living with her strict sister. Invite children to identify a time when they were afraid or upset. Then ask them to draw a picture of something they did or might imagine themselves doing to show love and care for others even as they continue to be afraid or upset. It might be something simple, like picking wildflowers or offering a hug. Or it might be something more complicated, like learning how to calm an older person with dementia or writing a story that helps other children deal with a loved one’s death.
Listening. Celina was good at listening. She visited with her elderly neighbor, asked her friend why she was upset, learned about Charlie’s dreams, and stopped beside John’s wheelchair to ask him to tell stories about his life. Invite children to choose an object to serve as a ‘talking stick’. Explain that whoever has the object gets to tell something about themselves that they want to share. The others listen carefully until the person finishes and then thank the storyteller, who then passes the ‘talking stick’ to someone else.
Sharing. Celina accepted kindness from others and showed others kindness as well. She shared a blanket, stories and poems, encouragement, nursing skills, and even laughter. Make a list with children of all the things they have to share. Divide the list into categories, with tangible (things you can touch) in one column and intangible (things that can’t be touched) items in a second column. Then use different color markers to highlight things that kids think are easy, somewhat easy, somewhat hard, and hard to share.
Shine. On the last page of the story, Justice Sotomayor summarizes the many ways that Celina shone a light into the world. She asks, “What will you do to make your world shine?” Encourage children to close their eyes. Say: Imagine that you are a small candle shining in a dark room. How can your candlelight help people? (pause) Now imagine that you are a flashlight shining in the room. How can your flashlight help people? (pause) Now imagine you are a sunbeam. How can your sunbeam help people? (pause) Lastly, imagine that you are shimmering string lights. How can your string lights help people? (pause) Invite children to open their eyes and share what kind of light they want to be in the world and why.
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