This is a window into the life of a young girl named Beatrice living in slums of Nairobi, Kenya. The photographs follow her daily life. Though she lives in abject poverty, she is happy and optimistic about her future. I love how the teacher is challenging gender stereotypes and encouraging her students to do the same.
American children are so ignorant about the outside would and books like this one are vital for developing and understanding of how so many other people in the world actually live. Beatrice's story is our story. We need more books just like this for children from every part of the world. ( )

The first thing I loved about this book was the photographs. I felt like I was Beatrice, the main character, experiencing a normal school day. I also liked the photographs because it showed the aspects of Kenyan culture I did not know. I loved Beatrice because she was a window into a culture I was unfamiliar with. The introduction was striking, “My father died in a car accident and my mother died of tuberculosis when I was nine”. I felt empathy for her and wanted to know more about her life. I also loved how she aspired to be a doctor. I hope she gets to achieve being a doctor. The main message of the book is to showcase what it is like to live in the slums of Kibera. ( )

Beatrice’ s Dream: A story of Kibera slums
There is a lot about this story that I like. For example, I like that the book uses photographs to walk us through Beatrice’s life during the biography portion of this text. In one picture, we see her walk to school through the slums of Kibera through the mud, getting sand trapped in her mouth. Through the photographs we can look at the setting of the story feels authentic as though we could actually be there with her. This book also goes into detail about how Beatrice wants to leave the slums and become a nurse one day, which we find out at the end she is well on her way.
Another thing I like about this text is that after the biography portion is over it provides informational text on the Kibera slums and what it is like to be living there. Before this reading I did not know much about Kibera, but after looking at Beatrice’s home and school life I feel like I have come out of the book knowing more about the conditions of the Kibera slums than when I began. I see now that in a place with no roads, gender stereotypes, and the poor conditions the slums are in that education acts like a gateway to new possibilities for Beatrice. I really like the message of the book. At the end you see Beatrice overcome her adversity of the slums and go to medical school to become a nurse. It can inspire others to follow Beatrice’s example and how education can be a pathway to success. ( )

Summary: Beatrice lives in a Kibera slum where life is much different than in the U.S.
Genre: informational text
Illustrations: photographs
Age Group: 5-10
Themes: global awareness,
My impressions: This book can be very valuable in the classroom, it is just important that other parts of Africa are also represented.
Lesson Plan: Present this book in a text set about Africa. Lead a discussion about how different life is in different parts of Africa. Leave students with the question "what parts of Beatrice's life are familiar to yours?" Then have the students draw their answers. ( )

I was surprised by the fact that I really enjoyed this book. I thought that it was going to be a tough read because by the title and pictures you can tell that the main character Beatrice doesn’t live in a good area and was going to have a tough life. I really loved that this book was so positive about school. Beatrice loved going to school and when the story would talk about school it was in a very positive light. The school provided a safe space for Beatrice and the other students who lived in the village. I think that by portraying school in such a positive light it shows the reader how important an education is to some children and it showed me that I shouldn’t take my going to school for granted.
Another aspect of the book that I enjoyed was that the photographs were real pictures of Beatrice’s life. This allowed the reader to see what a day in her shoes is really like. The reader was able to really grasp what area in Africa she was growing up in. The fact that the roads were dirt and where her home was the floor was also dirt. This left a large impact on me and allowed me to emotionally connect with the story.
Finally I thought that the main idea of the story, putting in hard work and perseverance pays off in life, was a good main theme to have. This theme is seen in stories, but they are normally fiction. To see it in a non-fiction book with the young girl was the main character is very empowering and makes the reader want to go out and do the same. ( )