Change Sings and The Hill We Climb: Book Review and Comparison

I'm amazed at the depth some authors develop in their children's literature books. 

​Change Sings, written by National Youth Poet Laureate, Amanda Gorman, is one of these books.

The depth of this book is not limited to children. The value Gorman presents in Change Sings may be more for adults. 

Walking Our Differences

Your first introduction to Amanda Gorman may have come at the last U.S. presidential inauguration. During the inauguration, Gorman recited a poem she wrote entitled, The Hill We Climb. 

This poem best exemplifies what you can expect from Change Sings. The same beautiful, vivid, and vulnerable style is packaged to engage and inspire children.

For example, in Change Sings Amanda writes:

​​I talk not only of distances, From where and how we came.
​I also walk our differences, To show we are the same. 

Illustration from "Change Sings" written by Amanda Gorman and Illustrated by Loren Long.

What does it mean to "walk our differences"? 
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This question is one of many discussion questions we include in our book resource below. We encourage parents, educators, and school leaders to consider this question with the next generation of world leaders: our children.​

Interestingly, I believe Amanda reveals the answer to this question in her inauguration day poem. In The Hill We Climb she shares,

And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us, but what stands before us. We close the divide because we know, to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside.

If we take the time to compare "walking our differences" to this excerpt, we can extract many potential answers. "walking our differences" could mean we:​

• prioritize our shared goals and vision for humanity over the things that set us apart.
• walk in humility, considering the future of humankind above our own future.
• accept that personal sacrifice will be a prerequisite to solidarity.

Be As Bright As The Light Each Day Brings

To share one more example, during Gorman's performance of The Hill We Climb, she actively embodies the light she inspires us to see and be at the end of her poem:

For there is always light,
if only we're brave enough to see it.
If only we're brave enough to be it.

As adults, we need the reminder that light is always present somewhere. We need the charge to see and be the light. Our brokenness - individually and globally - can stifle our ability to see light in others and ourselves. We may no longer believe we or others are capable of it.
​
In Change Sings; however, Gorman uses similar imagery to take a different approach for children. The main character in the book takes ownership of the light within herself when she says,

I'm bright as the light each day brings. There is love where my change sings. 

This confident characteristic capitalizes on children's malleability. Imagine if every reader took note of this text and believed they too were "as bright as the light each day brings"? During their formative years, many children relinquish their own pursuit of who they are to adopt who others say they are. What a travesty! 

Each child is uniquely created for their own personal and purposeful journey. They are all capable of being "as bright as the light each day brings." Unfortunately, without adults in their lives who are brave enough to see and be the light, our children will not have a model to mimic or a trainer to teach them. 

It is never too late to level up the light inside of you. Take ten minutes to read Change Sings together then dig deeper as a family, class, or school with our attached resource. 

Parent Resource

Educator Resource

School Leader Resource

Written by: Michelle Goldshlag, CEO Cultured Kids