A Powerful Story
Wednesday night, we had a fabulous story time and read aloud with counselor and author, Dr. Deshunna Monay Ricks and her beautiful children’s book, I AM Valuable! Dr. Ricks wrote this story from her own perspective as a foster child who understood what it was like to miss her parents and hope that she would be somebody someday. Foster children often experience trauma and Dr. Ricks and her siblings lived through it, themselves. The social emotional learning in this story is powerful and relatable. If you want a story to encourage children that they are worthy, amazing, beautiful, powerful…and valuable, you’ll want to add this one to your library. And until you are able to get this book in your hands, here is the read aloud to share! Oh yeah, just in time for #WorldKindnessDay too!
The Making of I AM Valuable
But even more incredible, to me, was the real life build up to Dr. Ricks’ children’s story. Watch and listen about her incredible story and even the absolute miracle of forgiveness.
Dr. Deshunna Monay Ricks hadn’t dreamed of releasing this book during a pandemic, but here it is and we all agreed, in faith, that it was released at the absolute best time. With so much happening all around us, our social and emotional health has taken a hit like no other time. This is even more true for our children. I would love to see the I AM Valuable mantra that Dr. Ricks has in her book be a theme to encourage and inspire us for the days ahead. It’s for the hopeful child in all of us.
About the Author
Melody McAllister is a wife, mother of five, educator, and author. She and her family relocated to Alaska from the Dallas area in 2019. McAllister is 2017 Garland NAACP Educator of the Year and author of the I’m Sorry Story. She is also the Logistics Manager for EduMatch Publishing and Alice Keeler, LLC. McAllister has spoken at ISTE and ASTE about equity issues in education, and writes about her journey in her blog, HeGaveMeAMelody.com. If you would like to schedule an author read with your class, please contact her on Twitter or email her at melody@mjmcalliwrites.com.
Join Melody’s BookChat every Wednesday at 8pm EST at YouTube.com/melodymcallister