Amanda Gorman stopped by Anderson Cooper’s CNN show to discuss her new children’s book.
Viking published the poet’s Something, Someday, illustrated by Christian Robinson, on Tuesday. In a starred review, a critic for Kirkus called the book, about a young boy who starts a community garden, “an engaging offering whose hopeful message will resonate with readers of all ages.”
Cooper asked Gorman, who made history in 2021 when she became the youngest poet to read at a presidential inauguration, what the idea behind her book was.
“I meet with so many young children, especially elementary school and middle school, and they are incredibly emotionally intelligent,” she said. “They know there’s disruptions and transformations happening in the world, and they really want to understand what their place is within it, even from a very young age. And I wanted to write a book that safeguarded and preserves their hope and their power and their spirit and their vibrancy.”
She said she was inspired by the legacy of songs like Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come.”
“I don’t know when [change] is going to happen; I can’t tell you if it’s tomorrow or the next day, or what it’s going to look like, but I know it’s arriving soon, someday, because of the young people we have in the world right now,” she said.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
