I Have the Right to Be a Child (I Have the Right #1)
by Alain Serres (Author) Aurelia Fronty (Illustrator)
With a very simple text accompanied by rich, vibrant illustrations a young narrator describes what it means to be a child with rights -- from the right to food, water and shelter, to the right to go to school, to the right to be free from violence, to the right to breathe clean air, and much more. The book emphasizes that these rights belong to every child on the planet, whether they are "black or white, small or big, rich or poor, born here or somewhere else." It also makes evident that knowing and talking about these rights are the first steps toward making sure that they are respected.
A brief afterword explains that the rights outlined in the book come from the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1989. The treaty sets out the basic human rights that belong to children all over the world, recognizing that children need special protection since they are more vulnerable than adults. It has been ratified by 193 countries, with the exception of Somalia and the United States. Once a country has ratified the document, they are legally bound to comply with it and to report on their efforts to do so. As a result, some progress has been made, not only in awareness of children's rights, but also in their implementation. But there are still many countries, wealthy and poor, where children's basic needs are not being met.
To read a summary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, go to www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf.
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Publishers Weekly
The United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child is written in dense legalese, making it hard for the group it protects to understand it. Serres (And Picasso Painted Guernica) reframes the document's articles in the voice of a child: "I have the right to go to school and to refuse to go to work. I'll choose a job when I've learned everything I want to know!" Fronty (Animals of the Bible for Young Children) paints naif, folk art-like figures in a palette of jewel colors, suggestive of a series of slightly surreal Persian miniatures. Read aloud, the cumulative effect of Serres's words is inspiring; children may sit up straighter as they hear that someone has thought about all the things they need: "I have the right to be free from any kind of violence, and no one has the right to take advantage of me because I am a child. No one." In the context of a classroom discussion, this is a powerful work, and a handsome one. An afterword notes that the U.S. is one of only three countries not party to the convention. Ages 4-7. (June)
Copyright 2012 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
— from the book
