Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace By Mary Hoffman, Illustrated by Caroline Binch

Picture book for children ages 9-11

5 out of 5 stars

Grace is a vibrant young girl who loves acting out the many stories that she hears from her grandmother. When her class is school is given the task to perform the play Peter Pan, Grace is told by her classmates that she cannot play the lead of Peter because she is black and because she is a girl. After Grace proves her classmates wrong by earning the leading role, she learns that she can do anything she sets her mind to.

Amazing Grace is a fabulous book that teaches children to not judge another’s character based on the physical appearance. Although Grace does not give up, she is discouraged when her classmates tell her that she cannot have the role of Peter due to her race and sex. Grace’s grandmother takes her to the ballet of Romeo and Juliet, where she comes to learn that the “stunning new Juliet” is played by her grandmother’s friend’s granddaughter, who came from Trinidad. Learning about this new Juliet who went from Trinidad to the lights of Broadway gave Grace the courage to say, “I can be anything I want.”The story ends with Grace winning the audition for Peter and performing a marvelous play, proving the fact that Grace really could do anything she set her mind to. Just the way that Grace learns that she can do anything she wants to do as long as she sets her mind to it, Amazing Grace will teach children the exact same lesson. The fact that this book is put on the controversial book list is ironic in terms of the theme of this story. Amazing Grace is put on the controversial book list because the family in the story is not a typical family having a mother and a father in the home. Here Grace lives only with her mother and grandmother. Although this appears to not be a good situation, more exists beyond the appearance of this family. Grace’s mother and grandmother raise Grace well and teach her the valuable life lesson of never giving up. Grace’s grandmother reads her stories, and allows her to play doctor on her. Even though this arrangement is not the stereotypical arrangement of a family, it is still a family and a good one at that.  This book is also seen as controversial because of the improper English occasionally used by Grace’s grandmother. This is controversial because it appears to give the impression that black people do not know proper English or that they are not intelligent people. Again, this is ironic because the message of Amazing Grace is not about being book smart, but is about persistence in fulfilling life’s goals. Grace’s grandmother came from the country of Trinidad to the United States, she cares lovingly for Grace and teaches her valuable life lessons. How do any of these factors make her less of a person or not as smart of a person? They do not. Lastly, this story teaches about not judging a person based on the appearance, this fits right into the idea of not judging the whole race of African Americans based one fictional character’s improper grammar usage.

Absolutely no reason exists as to why I would refrain from using Amazing Grace in my classroom. Other than Grace’s temporary time of discouragement, this story is very upbeat and fun. The water color illustrations bring the story to life. The first few pages touch upon many events that happen in history as Graces acts out her favorite stories. After reading this story, the students could research the different events and put on mini theatricals themselves. Most importantly, this book teaches about character building. After reading this story, I would discuss the book with my class and talk with them about judging others and how this is something that should not be done. Lastly, I think children would relate well to fun and imaginative character of Grace, causing them to thoroughly enjoy the story, as well as learn something from it.

If you are curious about other Mary Hoffman books, check out her website. Follow these links if you would like to read other people's opinions on the story as well as activities to do.