I am Justice Penguin Blog Tour

“Whether it’s English, Spanish or any other language, our dreams are often the same: A loving family, kind friends. A safe place to call home and the change to reach our potential.” I am Sonia Sotomayor

I am Justice Blog Tour is a perfect opportunity to share this wonderful book about a very important woman named Sonia Sotomayor. Sonia Sotomayor is a key and inspirational role model for both young boys and girls.

I am Justice Blog Tour featuring these blogs:

WEEK ONE: I am Gandhi

October 22 – A Buckeye Teacher , October 23 – Little Homeschool on the Prairie , October 24 – Happily Ever Elephants , October 25 – All Done Monkey

WEEK TWO: I am Martin Luther King Jr.

October 29 – Reading by ovenlight , October 30 – 4^th Grade Unicorns , October 31 – What’s a Kid to Read , November 1 – Bookoholicmom

WEEK THREE: I am Rosa Parks

November 5 – Simple at Home , November 6 – Within the Pages , November 7 – Coquette Maman , November 8 – Lovely Little Reads

WEEK FOUR: I am Sonia Sotomayor

November 12 – My Little Poppies , November 14 – Biracial Bookworms , November 15 – Girls Read the World, November 16 – This Picture Book Life

Review

Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina Supreme Court Justice tells her story in this engaging and inspirational book, I am Sonia Sotomayor in the Ordinary People Change the World series. Sonia was born in New York City and learned to speak Spanish before she spoke English. She was called Aji, which means hot pepper because she was so active and always jumping around causing trouble. I am Sonia Sotomayor tells the story of Sonia’s upbringing, which included family traditions such as her abulelita performing for the family. The author, Brad Meltzer takes the reader though her hardships and successes with details of her passions. The book also discusses her diagnosis of diabetes, which affected her dream of becoming a police officer. Since she couldn’t become a police officer, she quickly found a new role model named Perry Mason who inspired her to a judge. Sonia worked hard in her studies and never gave up, which gave her the success she has today as the first Latina Supreme Court Justice.

Language and Learning Tips

This book can be read multiple times since there are so many details within the story. I would begin reading the story and have a discussion about how their upbringing is the same or different from Sonia. What are your family traditions? As you are reading, stop to define specific vocabulary such as “lawyer”, “judge”, “diabetes”, etc. Each of these words can be a lesson in itself! What I stressed with my children is the continuum of Sonia’s life and how she worked hard in her education to fulfill her dream of becoming a judge. My children and I had a discussion on what a judge is, the sequence of events and finally the character traits of Sonia.