Today is different

Seven-year-old Mai is Hmong American, and she spends every day with her best friend, Kiara, who is African American. One day Kiara is not at the bus stop or in class. Mai sees people marching with signs, but her mother hurries her into the house and up to her room. Mai's big brother, Tou, explains that people are protesting because a Black man has been hurt by the police. Despite their parents' desire to keep the children safe and away from the action, Mai and Tou make a protest sign and go out to join the protesters. This inspires their parents to join the march, where Mai and her family meet up with Kiara and her parents. Inspired by the murder of George Floyd, this gentle story's main point is that, together, people can make a difference. The illustrations feature characters with expressive faces and, along with the text, offer insights into aspects of Hmong culture. This offers a reassuring and relatable narrative for kids who have been confused by recent news coverage.

When a Black man is "hurt" by police and Black Lives Matter protests are staged in her community, 7-year-old Hmong protagonist Mai knows that "today is different." Then Mai's Black best friend, Kiara, misses school; the two girls usually do everything together…"but not today." Seeking to understand more about race, Mai questions her teenage brother, Tou, and learns that "in the Hmong culture, there are Black Hmong, White Hmong, Green Hmong, Striped Hmong, and many more." Although their parents want to shield them from the unfolding events--"It doesn't have anything to do with you"--the siblings make a protest sign, and Mai uses colored pencils as an object lesson to show her parents that "if we all stand together, we will be unbreakable." She and Tou run away to a Black Lives Matter rally to march in solidarity with Kiara's family and are pleasantly surprised when Mom and Dad join them. The book focuses on racism against Black Americans, but Dad and Tou board up their house's windows, a potentially confusing detail that the story glosses over. Though risking oversimplifying how children process racial trauma, Moua positively portrays a cross-cultural friendship and explores how racial violence impacts children. The backmatter explains the historical discrimination against Hmong people in many countries and emphasizes the importance of African American and Hmong communities uniting to fight injustice. Colorful but mediocre digital paint illustrations add little to the telling but realistically portray urban diversity. An important story about how marginalized groups can work together for social justice, but some elements feel ill-conceived. (author's note, pronunciation guide, glossary) (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.