Empowerment

It is never to early to help children understand that they can make a difference and to stand up for what they feel is important. Ballyhoo Bay by Judy Sierra and illustrated by Derek Anderson is just the book to plant that seed into the minds of children. The story is told in rhyme and has lots of fun pictures for children to examine. It starts out with Mira Bella planning a special art event at the beach. But just before the big day, signs go up announcing the beach is to be developed with parking lots and penthouses. Mira Bella and her friends don't let this setback stop them. They attend a meeting and convince the town council to keep the beach as it is. This may sound like a hefty topic for young children, but the author keeps the text simple enough to be understood my most preschoolers.

This would be a great book to read when the children discover a problem in their environment. Maybe the lunch area is too crowded, or there is too much trash on the playground, or they need a crosswalk in front of the school. Whatever the problem, help the children advocate for a change. If the children don't have a problem tell them about an issue that is important to children such as cutbacks in preschool or library funding and go from there. Our local library has coloring sheets for children to color and mail to local legislators. The coloring sheets advocate library funding. You could help the children make a DVD or write stories about the issue.

Even if you don't have a cause, I like the book because children can see that sometimes even the best plans don't work out, there are disappointments, and you have to figure out a new plan rather than give up.