For Marvelous Middle Grade Monday, A review of I Am, I Can, I Will: A Guided Journal of Self-Discovery for Black Girls by Dr. Cynthia Jacobs Carter & Ruth Chamblee Illustrations by Steffi Walthall

I Am, I Can, I Will: A Guided Journal of Self-Discovery for Black Girls by Dr. Cynthia Jacobs Carter & Ruth Chamblee
Publisher:  Workman Publishing Company
Format:  Hardcover
Number of pages:   176 pages
Published:   January 16th, 2024
Source:  Publisher via Media Matters Publicity

Opening Line: "You're about to go on a serious trip."

I Am, I Can, I will:  A Guided Journal of Self-Discovery for Black Girls was co-written by Dr. Cynthia Jacobs Carter from the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and Ruth Chamblee from the National Geographic Kids Books.  The full color illustrations are by Steffi Walthall.  The journal was designed to "inspire and introduce black heroines from the past and present to young girls of African descent, in the hopes that they will embrace and celebrate their rich heritage and use it as a springboard to realize their own dreams."  

The journal is divided into three signposts or sections, I Am, I Can and I Will.  The first section or I AM; provides a positive affirmation and quote from a historical or contemporary Black women.   For example, the first entry in the book is about Loïs Mailou Jones and comes with the affirmation, I Am What I Create.  The quote includes "The wonderful thing about being an artist is that there is no end to creative expression.  Painting is my life; my life is painting."  Next there is a brief synopsis of Loïs Mailou Jones life as a painter and highlights her significant contributions to the Harlem Renaissance art movement.  Emphasis is made on her determination and perseverance in having her art shown in American museums.  Following each important historical figure are a few blank pages in which the reader is encouraged to discuss a subject or activity they love, to draw a picture of a person or place that inspires them or even to write their own poetry.  Thus, encouraging the reader to reflect and make comparisons to the historical person's unique qualities, beliefs or experiences and how these traits make an individual who they are. 

The next section is titled, I Can and includes such historical figures as Wilma Rudolph, an Olympic gold medalist in sprinting, Bessie Coleman a daredevil stunt pilot and many more famous women.  This section reflects the challenges that these Black women overcame in order to be successful, be it illness as a youth, finding opportunities when prevented from realizing their dreams, or exceeding everyone's expectations through hard work and perseverance.  The flow of the story pages follows the one above with an aspiration, quote and background information about the person referenced.    Again, there are prompts with blank pages so that the reader can explore any obstacles that might be standing in their way, or what challenges they've faced or had to overcome themselves.  There is also lots of space to discuss their opinion about the various topics presented in this section.

The last section is titled, I Will and is designed for the reader to think about what their dreams, goals and aspirations are.  Some of the women discussed include an author, marine aviator, a published author, poet, and even a noble prize winner.  The written prompts encourage the exploration of the readers personality traits, what others think of them, their uniqueness, and accomplishments.  The very end of the book closes with a prompt to write about what the reader learned from reading these thirty-five women's incredible stories, to create a list of declarations of things that they will do, space to discuss an important or special woman in their life that inspired them and to finally write out an empowering I AM, I Can and I Will statement.

I know this is a very brief synopsis of the book, but I hope it gives you an idea of its content.  I really liked that the reader could skip around completing whichever writing prompts that they wanted and could come back later to add more information or to complete those that were skipped.  The emphasis is entirely on how they would like to use the journal and not that each page has to be filled in.   There are so many wonderful and inspiring women in this book covering many different professions, ages and time periods.  From Ancient pharaohs to women from all walks of life.  Be it athletes or activists, significant historical figures like Michelle Obama or Harriet Tubman.  I think a young Black girl could draw courage, strength or inspiration from these women, and that they could feel a connection to these women's stories and a sense of a shared history.  I can see this as a wonderful book celebrating Black History Month and especially as a mother and daughter read, that could open up discussions and provide a place to share their thoughts and reflect on the writing prompts together.  Defiantly provides for a bonding experience and an opportunity for self-discovery.  I personally learned about so many incredible women who I've never heard about before.  Women like "Stagecoach" Mary Fields, who was a sharpshooter and protected her wagon to deliver mail in Cascade, Montana (my home state).  Overall, an inspiring an empowering book.   

   I hope you'll check out all the other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge's blog HERE      

** A huge thank you to Media Matters Publicity for the hardcover copy which will be donated to my local little free library.**