What If… We Used Books to Overcome Trauma

What if you had only 5 minutes to evacuate your home? Would you know what to take? What would you leave behind? Author Samantha Berger faced this scenario when her house flooded and she only had time to grab her sketchbook. Nevertheless, out of this trauma bloomed a beautiful story of creative expression and resilience.

Award-winning team, as well as friends in real life, Samantha Berger and Mike Curato bring us the beautiful story of magical art and the power of creativity.

Disclaimer: I was provided a copy of this book from the publisher to facilitate this review.  As always, all opinions are my own.

What If… Book Review

There will always be people in life who want to dim your light from shining to make themselves feel better. However, your imagination and your spirit belongs to you, and only you. When everything goes wrong and all of our expectations are smashed, what happens next? The heart warming story of What If… shows us a little girl who is determined not to allow her circumstances to stop her from achieving her goals.

If I had nothing, but still had my mind... there'd always be stories to seek and to find. @mikecurato @bergerbooks #whatif #kidlit Share on X

When this little artist dreams of creating, she takes us through a reflective journey. She imagines losing every object she would normally use to create her magic.  As her pencils, paper, and space to create her art disappear one by one, she fearlessly continues her mission.

Instead of traditional mediums, she can use floorboards and dirt, leaves and snow, light and shadows, and even her own voice to create the story she wants to tell through her art.

And as long as she lives, she will always create.

The always brilliant Mike Curato uses sugar cubes, flower petals, sand, paper bags, marbles, sequins, and more to compose these gorgeous and vibrant illustrations. The rhyming verse will have you truly visualizing what it is like in the protagonist’s world full of dreams. The culmination of a fold out spread where you literally and figuratively dive inside her mind’s eye is genius.

The Power of Losing Everything

Like author Samantha, I too went through a time where I lost everything. When the Egypt Revolution began just 3 weeks after I had my daughter was born in Cairo, I was trying to get her to sleep to the sound of gunshots. As I was reading aloud, there were military tanks roaring down my street.

All over Cairo, grocery stores were running out of food and water, the ATMs were empty, and the internet and phone lines were shut down. The country was crumbling before my very eyes, and I had no choice but to evacuate.

So 3 1/2 weeks after my C-section, I flew by myself over 7,000 miles home to California with a 3-week-old, her emergency passport, and the clothes on our backs.

You can read more of my story “Overcoming Trauma by Reading Books“, but I share this here so you can understand why I cried through the entire story of What If… because I have been there.

And so many kids have too.

Every child and the adults who are reading to them needs the chance to feel empathy or even solidarity through the struggle of overcoming real and sometimes scary obstacles. We owe them this book.

Always remember,

You are braver than you believe,

Stronger than you seem,

Smarter than you think,

and loved more than you know.

-Winnie the Pooh

We need the chance to feel empathy as well as solidarity through the struggle of overcoming real, and sometimes scary obstacles. #whatif #kidlit @mikecurato @bergerbooks @littlebrownyr Share on X

The Power of Imagination

As a teacher, I am responsible to guide students to learn a myriad of skills. One skill that I cannot teach without is imagination. The more imagination children have, the more they believe in what is possible. And the more they believe in what is possible, the more each one of my students will change the world.

The most powerful thing I can do is not have my kids memorize information, but give them the power to dream big. I have been teaching all over the world in international schools the last decade in efforts to teach globally minded kids. Some of my schools have had huge dedicated art rooms. Others schools have had one art closet for the whole school to share for the entire year.

I think you can guess which students had more powerful creations.  Like in this beautiful story of a creative, brown-skinned girl with glorious purple curls, sometimes you don’t have a choice. Sometimes this means you are better off than those with access to everything.

What If… In the Press

You can also read and listen to wonderful interviews with Samantha and Mike on Pragmatic Mom as well as The Children’s Book Podcast.

Order What If.. (released April 10th)  on Amazon | Shop your local indie bookstore

Recommended age: 4-8

Connect with the Author/ Illustrator

Mike Curato on Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Website

Samantha Berger on Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Website

Little Brown Books for Young Readers on Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Website

Teaching Kids to Read Ages 0-5

A child’s brain is 90% developed by the time they turn 5 and go to school. So besides reading amazing books like What If… right from birth, what must you do in the most important years of your child’s life?

My Teaching Kids to Read Ages 0-5 course is going to give you all the tools you need to ensure you have made the most of those crucial first 5 years.

There are fancy programs and “reading shortcuts” advertised everywhere. These are practical and effective ways that EVERY parent and caregiver can do every day. This course gives children the social/emotional and academic boost they need to excel the rest of their life.

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Enter the #giveaway this week only! Allow a little brown girl with purple curls teach you about the power of resilience, imagination, and creativity. #whatif #kidlit Share on X