Common Sense Media Review
By Monica Encarnacion
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Inspiring portrait of service urges kids to give back.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 5+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
JUST HELP! HOW TO BUILD A BETTER WORLD is a meaningful story about making the world -- and your community -- a better place, one action at a time. The story features a young Sonia and her Latina mother, Mami, who every morning asks her, "How will you help today?" Since Sonia wants to help her community, just like her Mami does, she always makes sure she has a good answer to Mami's question. This relatable story takes young readers on a journey through Sonia's neighborhood where kids and adults, activists, community workers, friends and strangers, all come together to help one another build a better world and a better community for themselves.
Is It Any Good?
Author Sonia Sotomayor continues to inspire us with her journey, and in this lively picture book she wonderfully captures the energy and joy of giving to others. In Just Help! How to Build a Better World, beautifully illustrated by Angela Dominguez, the first Latina justice on the U.S. Supreme Court shares some of her fondest childhood memories and shows how we can each do our part to help make the world a better place. Young readers will walk away understanding that it's often the little things each of us do every day that can have the biggest impact and ultimately improve our communities.
A letter to readers is included at the beginning of the book and shares the backstory for this book, including details about the author's childhood, her mother's own life of service, and insight into how Sotomayor found different ways to participate in civic life and help her community through a career in law. Her letter also encourages kids to make a difference, even asks them the same question her mom asked her daily: "How will you help today?
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how they can help their own communities and ask themselves the questions asked of the main character in Just Help!: How to Build a Better World. "How will you help today?" Or "How did you help others today?"
Read through this book and identify the different ways in which the characters help one another and their community. What are some different ways kids can help? Who are some of the other people in the community that help? How do they help?
Come together as a family and make a list of ways that you can help your community. Who will you help? How will you help? Are there other people in your community that you can enlist to help?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Angela Dominguez
- Genre : Picture Book
- Topics : Activism
- Book type : Non-Fiction
- Publisher : Philomel
- Publication date : January 25, 2022
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 4 - 8
- Number of pages : 32
- Available on : Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Award : Common Sense Selection
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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