Little, Brown Books for Young Readers | 978-0759557420
Something bad has happened at school. Someone has written hateful words on the girl’s bathroom wall and all the girls from Mr. Gilbert’s class are called into principal Martínez’s office. When asked if they have any information, some of the girls say no. Others look down at the carpet.
“Mrs. Martínez took her time looking at each of us. She seemed very serious and very sad. She said quietly but firmly,’ This kind of thing won’t be tolerated at our school.’ “
Everyone wanted to know what the bad something was and, even though the principal had told them that no one was allowed to return to the bathroom, after lunch a few of the girls snuck inside. They looked:
“around, and over, and on, and under.
Until we saw it.
The bad – something.”
One girl cried. Another ran out. “Kiyoko kicked a stall really hard, and the sound made us cover our ears.”
The next day, the principal speaks to all the students reminding the kids that “the bad-something had no place” in their school. Later, Mr. Gilbert tells the class they’ll create a beautiful mural on the bathroom wall, each child adding something special – flowers, dragons, rainbows and lots of smiling people. Then, the kids write poems “about the world outside the painting…. about how there was more good than bad, more love than hate.”
CLICK TO ENLARGE © illustrations by Corrina Luyken
We all know that something good isn’t always the end result when something bad happens. As Campbell writes in her Author’s Note – “… just as there are varied reactions, there are also varied solutions. This book portrays just one way a school might deal with an incident of hate speech.”
something good, by Marcy Campbell illustrated by Corinna Luyken is a thoughtful, sensitively handled story inspired by real-life events at the author’s children’s schools. This powerful book is one way to begin conversations and healing after a hateful incident in a school or larger community.
These helpful resources can supplement discussions:
- A short video “book chat” with Corinna Luyken about creating the visual narrative for something good.
- Learning for Justice (the new name of Teaching Tolerance)
- EmbraceRace
