We Sing From the Heart: How The Slants® Took Their Fight for Free Speech to the Supreme Court

Mia Wenjen

Oct 2024 · Abrams

About this ebook

• Junior Library Guild Gold Selection
• California Eureka Non-Fiction Award Honor Book
• NCTE Orbis Pictus Award Recommended Book

A compelling account of Simon Tam’s fight for free speech that ended with a landmark Supreme Court decision
Music is a way to transcend cultures and divides. Simon Tam used his band’s name, The Slants®, to make a powerful statement that racist insults could no longer be hurtful to Asian Americans. But then the U.S. Trade and Patent Office tries to stop him. In his eight-year battle to win trademark protection, Simon would go all the way to the Supreme Court in a landmark case to rout out structural racism in our government systems. Mia Wenjen takes us back to Simon’s early days and the formation of the band, to the long battle to claim the name they chose to use. We learn of his motivations and the years-long struggle that leads ultimately to the Supreme Court of the United States. Told using lyrics from the band’s hit song about their trademark fight, this compelling story will keep readers riveted until the dramatic ending. We Sing from the Heart gives background and context to the significance of Simon’s quest, not just for him and his band, but for free speech rights for us all. Newcomer to children’s books, Victor Bizar Gómez, channels the indie music world with dynamic artwork that compliments the storytelling and is sure to draw in readers with his exciting graphic approach.

About the author

Mia Wenjen blogs about parenting, children’s books, and education at PragmaticMom.com and is the co-creator of Read Your World, celebrating Multicultural Children’s Book Day, a nonprofit celebrating diversity in children’s books. She is the author of several illustrated nonfiction children’s books, including Changing the Game: Asian Pacific American Female Athletes, Asian Pacific American Heroes, and Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World. Mia Wenjen lives in Boston with her husband and three kids. Follow her at #PragmaticMom on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. Victor Bizar Gómez is a painter, illustrator, and graduate of Pacific Northwest College of Art. He was raised in the desert of Phoenix, AZ, and now lives in the green forests of Portland, OR. He has worked with several clients including Disney, LA Times, Dark Horse, and Portland Monthly. We Sing from the Heart is his debut as a picture book artist. You can find more about Victor at bizarthestar.com and Instagram at @bizar_gomez.