Grow Up Strong
Once again, Kids’ Own have provided a lovely resource to help provide an insight into the lives of young people and communities. In this case, eleven young people from the Traveller community have shared experiences of their own lives inside and outside of school. The children focus on their hopes and dreams for the future and how it is important for their peers and especially adults to recognise they are just like everyone else.
The children highlight the difficulties, prejudice and discrimination they face daily. Many of the children felt judged at school, with some mentioning that the education system is not supportive towards them. The book highlights the hopes, dreams and ambitions of this wonderful group of young people navigating the education system. The book also highlights the ‘Cant’ language spoken by the Traveller community. Perhaps the book could have delved even deeper into these traditions and highlighted more of how this is important to the Traveller community, these traditions are important to maintain and for others to understand their significance.
Overall, this book is a touching insight into the lives of eleven lovely children with a bright future ahead. Kids’ Own have provided a voice to these children who otherwise can feel marginalised and forgotten. This book could be used as an educational resource to teach other young people about the importance of inclusion and diversity.
