I am Gandhi

November 15, 2017
Grades 1-3 This relatable and moving account of Mahatma Gandhi's life in India and South Africa is part of the Ordinary People Can Change the World series, and its graphic memoir format packs in a great deal of emotion with information. For example, the plight of the untouchables, the poorest of the poor in India, comes across vividly in panels showing young Gandhi and his father walking through streets crowded with their huddled forms. When Gandhi is kicked out of a first-class train compartment in South Africa because of his brown skin, the scene has extra force due to Gandhi's narration, the dialogue bubbles, and the punchy illustrations. Gandhi is shown throughout as an old man but child-size. As a child, he says, he was shy, afraid of the dark and snakes, and bad at sports and multiplication. This humanizing device should make readers take heart, and take to heart the lessons that Gandhi goes on to teach about the importance of taking action, protesting nonviolently, and becoming a voice for the voiceless.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)