Photo album on inside covers. Heroes. Timeline. Publication date is before the author became Vice-President of the U.S.

An autobiographical book where the vice president talks about all of the ordinary people who were superheroes to her. She encourages kids to think about who they know that has superhero qualities. ( )

In inviting first person narrative, Kamala Harris tells readers about her lifelong search for heroes, and how and where she found them, and what it means to be a hero: Heroes make you feel special, heroes make you feel brave, heroes are teachers, heroes stand up for what's right, heroes are kind, etc. Harris asks, Who makes you feel special? Who is kind to you?, encouraging readers to make connections to their own lives. She concludes, "Heroes are...YOU!" along with a picture of a mirror (the page is shiny, but not actually reflective).

Endpapers feature photos of young Harris alone and with family and friends. Back matter includes "The Hero Code" and a timeline of Harris' life, through being sworn into Congress in January 2017. (I wonder if there will be an updated version of this to include the fact that Harris is now Vice President.) ( )

Kamala Harris is an impressionable woman in government, and this children's book was just as inspirational as she is. The book asks the readers to reflect on the important people in their lives, which I really liked. I would recommend this book for younger to middle grade kids because it talks about Kamala's background while also showing all the "superheroes" in our every day lives. ( )

In this book, Harris talks about the "superheroes" she saw in her life growing up, from grandparents to friends to teachers and more.

For whatever reason, I was expecting this to be more like when a celebrity writes a children's book that has nothing to do with their celebrity but instead with more universal themes like friendship and growing up (e.g., Jamie Lee Curtis's picture books or Julianne Moore's early readers).

This book, however, is very specific to Harris and her upbringing. When she says that teachers are heroes,* she does so with a couple of paragraphs about her first grade teacher was an inspiration to her. In that respect, it reads more like a memoir almost. It even has a timeline of her life/career at the end and the inside covers are filled with illustrated frames holding photographs of her and her loved ones.

When Harris does try to turn it to the reader for a more universal approach, it comes across rather didactic. For example, after extolling the virtues of her first grade teacher, the text concludes that page spread with a bolded "Who are your favorite teachers?". It is a clunky attempt to engage the reader and reminds me of those preschool television shows where the characters stare blankly at the screen for a minute waiting for the child to answer at home (e.g., Dora the Explorer or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse). Some people may like that, but I don't. I've seen far too many children just sit there and stare blankly back. And for books, I'd rather have those titles that allow space for caregivers to ask questions of their children to engage with the text, rather than the text coming across as pedagogical.

The illustrations are lively, energetic, and pleasing to the eye. They show a diverse set of children (kids of different skin tones, kids wearing glasses, kids using a wheelchair, etc.). These are a definite positive about this book. The message that heroes can be everyday folks who show kindness, work hard, and so forth is indeed nice; I just wish it was done slightly better here.

That all being said, I'm glad I read it for myself (in part because whenever someone in politics is elevated to the national level, I am interested in reading things that person wrote). But I'm not sure that I would necessarily recommend this book to others, or I would only do so with the caveat that it's more of a memoir for young readers than anything else.

*I also found the banner statement "Heroes are teachers." to be less than great (especially given that the other banners were all about actions, such as being reliable or standing up for what's right, and not a focus on an occupation). While there are many, many wonderful teachers working hard every day on behalf of their students, there are also many not-so-wonderful ones as well. We all know or have a heard a story about a teacher who said racist things, who acted inappropriately with children, who diminished the talents of a student, or who was in other ways simply unkind. Giving teachers a blanket hero status is not a good idea. I can only imagine a child reading this start to question if the terrible things their teacher does are in fact okay because after all, "heroes are teachers." ( )