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

Gr 2-6–This true story of the rock band The Slants’s recent legal fight to trademark their own name presents a fresh and contemporary example of a case being fought all the way up to the Supreme Court, and prevailing against the odds. The Portland rockers, led by frontman Simon Tam, sought to take back a term of offense to Asian people, but were told they could not trademark their name because it was “racist.” The book follows Tam’s path from a young kid being picked on for his ethnicity, through his love of music, to his ultimate success in proving the power of taking ownership over a stereotype. Along the way, the support from fans fueled Tam and the Slants and led them to ultimately refocus their efforts on a foundation that supports Asian American artists. Wenjen does not shy away from discussing racism and naming and defining several derogatory terms against Asians. Many pages feature contextual definitions, along with interspersed song lyrics from “We Sing from the Heart,” the Slants’s anthem about the court case. Gómez, in his first book for children, captures the drama of the struggle with flat graphic illustrations, playing with size and perspective to add further emotion to the story. Mono- and duo-chromatic pages in muted retro colors, all full spreads, make the pages feel like album art.