Separate Is Never Equal tells the story of Sylvia Mendez and her family's battle for desegregation of the schools in California in 1944. My reaction to this book was disbelief, how had I never heard this story as it preceded Brown vs. Board of education? This family was so brave and persevered for what they knew was right yet this story is seldom shared. It seems that stories of segregation regarding Hispanic students have been completely left out of the narrative. Sylvia and her family were turned away from the school even though they were born in America and spoke perfect English, her family continuously asked why and no one would give them an answer. It was not until court that the white peoples truth was unveiled which was the belief that Hispanic people were inferior because of their social behavior, lack of cleanliness, communicable issues such as lice and tuberculosis. I cannot imagine having to listen to people say this about myself or my family. It goes back to discussions about the privilege a white person has to not have to worry about the way they are perceived and certainly not if they will be able to attend certain schools due to the color of their skin. In Elizabeth Marshall's article, Counter-Storytelling Through Graphic Writing, ideas about childhood and how it is indeed more complex that people often believe. Critical race theorists say that racism is more often mundane and common rather than explicit. Racism is everywhere, not just the places where people perceive it to be problematic (2016). Graphic life writing affords readers the opportunity to understand the complexity of childhood identity through gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, class, religion, and ability. For these reasons alone, and so many more, we need diverse books for children in our classes. As Emily Smith-Buster discusses in the article, Social Justice Mentor Texts, the big ideas that our students (scholars) think about are what our curriculum should be driven by. Books should be springboards that lead to relevant discussion within a classroom (2016).

The author and illustrator, Duncan Tonatuih was born in Mexico City and grew up in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. He is an own voices author as he is both Mexican and American. Through his art work he strives to honor the past and stay relevant for children. A quote from Elizabeth Marshall's article describes his style, "That is why my art is very geometric, my characters are always in profile, and their ears look a bit like the number three. My intention is to celebrate that ancient art and keep it alive." (2016) Along with the powerful illustrations, I found the use of translation from Sylvia's Mother to make a major statement. I find it important that other languages are honored in childrens books.