Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Saunders
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Timeless poetry tackles 2020 events, pandemic.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
A collection of free-verse poetry, CALL US WHAT WE CARRY examines the most emotionally and practically challenging realities of its time (2020-2021): the COVID pandemic, racial strife, political unrest, climate change. It explores how history, myth, and identity, echo in these news stories.
Is It Any Good?
Scholarly and emotionally grounded, these poems are a balm. In Call Us What We Carry, by Amanda Gorman, New York Times-bestselling author of The Hill We Climb (a special edition release of the poem she performed to accolades at Joe Biden's inauguration as the 46th U.S. president), the author dives into the societal troubles that preoccupy many of us. She maps these to history, Joseph Campbell's "monomyth" (also known as "the hero's journey"), and clothes some of her words in emotionally charged visual images, including the face mask and the American flag. (The latter image, in a poem titled "American(TM)," shares a page with a poem titled "Faith and Fury.") The material in this book is best suited to mature middle-grade readers and teens; the content may go over the heads of younger readers.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how to use your voice. In Call Us What We Carry, the poet delivers some harsh criticisms of her society, its leaders, and the way citizens treat each other. What do you do to remain hopeful when you feel sad, angry, or frustrated about the world we live in?
What do you think is the poet's main intention? Are these poems meant to be reassuring, to offer a warning, or something else?
Call Us What We Carry includes poems presented in unusual visual ways, such as words printed in the American flag. Did you enjoy these presentations? How did these designs influence the way you reacted to the poems?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Poetry
- Topics : Activism , Adventures
- Book type : Non-Fiction
- Publisher : Viking
- Publication date : December 17, 2021
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 12 - 18
- Number of pages : 240
- Available on : Paperback, Nook, Audiobook (abridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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