JUST ASK! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You

This production opens with the voice of Justice Sonia Sotomayor explaining in a straightforward tone that, like gardens, children are full of variety. Her own childhood experience involved the finger pricks and insulin shots of diabetes, which made her feel isolated and different. Sotomayor urges listeners to ask questions when they encounter differences. The second narrator, Ali Stroker, portrays 11 children with medically related challenges ranging from asthma, nut allergy, ADHD, and Tourette's syndrome to using a guide dog or wheelchair. Stroker's voice is breezy and childlike. She moves briskly from one child to the next, propelled by questions such as "How do you get from place to place?" and "How do you use your senses?" Sotomayor champions the diversity in gardens and the unique qualities of each child. A.R. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2020]