Jennifer Maruno is a Canadian writer and a retired educator who has written some really interesting books, including Momma’s Going to March, winner of the 2025 Horace Mann Upstander Award. But right now, when many of us are on the streets carrying our signs to challenge the Fascism we are seeing in our country, this book is extremely timely.
Our annual book award, the Horace Mann Upstander Award, was designed to encourage the reader to take a stand and not be a bystander. I invite you to look at the amazing books that have won this award over the past 15 years. But today I spent time with three first grade classrooms and Maruno, who zoomed in to share her book Momma’s Going to March with the students.
When asked why she wrote the book she recounted that she had taken a train ride and ended up riding with people who were carrying signs as they headed to a women’s march. Jennifer was not going to the march but she wondered if any picture books about the topic were on the market. Finding none she wrote one.
The book shows a mom and her child making signs, getting dressed for the march and attending. This sweet book presents a very straightforward story. But Jennifer has added lots of important information about the history of different marches and what the participants were trying to accomplish. In the book, the word march is repeated and today Jennifer had the children chant it with her.
As we see many different marches and rallies happening now perhaps our young people will become curious and add their voices and their energy to being engaged for change. We hope they will become upstanders rather than bystanders.
Progressive Teachers Network 
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