11x01 - Amazing Grace

[bunniefuu]

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

♪ Butterfly in the sky ♪

♪ I can go twice as high ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can go anywhere ♪

♪ Friends to know ♪

♪ And ways to grow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can be anything ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

Welcome to
one of my favorite places--

The theater.

Here onstage,
I'm in the spotlight,

The center of attention.

That can be exciting,
but it's pretty scary, too.

What if I trip
as I walk across the stage?

Or--ahem--my voice squeaks?

Or I forget
what I'm supposed to say?

A lot can go wrong onstage.

When everything goes right,
the feeling's fantastic.

Actors dream
of being in the spotlight.

One young actor discovered

It takes more than talent
to get here.

Her story is in this book--
amazing grace.

Grace loved stories.

She didn't mind
if they were read, told,

Or made up in her head,

Or if they were in books,
movies, or from nana's memory.

Grace just loved stories.

After she'd heard them

And sometimes while
they were still going on,

Grace would act them out.

She'd give herself
the exciting part.

Grace went into battle
as joan of arc

And wove a wicked web
as anansi the spider.

She hid inside the wooden horse
at troy.

She went exploring
for lost kingdoms.

She sailed the seven seas
with a peg leg.

She was hiawatha sitting
by the shining big-sea-water

And mowgli
in the back-yard jungle.

Grace acted out
adventure stories.

When no one else
was around,

Grace played
all the parts.

She sought her fortune
with her trusty cat

And found a city of gold,

Or she was aladdin,

Rubbing his lamp
to make the genie appear.

Grace's teacher said
they'd do the play peter pan.

Grace knew who she'd be.

She raised her hand.
Raj said, "you can't be peter.

That's a boy's name."

"You can't be peter pan,"
whispered natalie.

"He isn't black."

Grace kept her hand up.

"All right,"
said the teacher.

"Many want to be peter pan.

We'll have auditions."

She gave them words to learn.

When grace got home,
she seemed sad.

"What's the matter?"
Asked ma.

"Raj said I can't be peter pan,
because I'm a girl."

Ma said,
"a girl can be peter pan."

Grace cheered up.

Later,
she remembered something else.

"Natalie says I can't be
peter pan, because I'm black."

Ma looked angry.

Before she could speak,

Nana said,
"natalie don't know nothing.

You can be anything you want,
if you put your mind to it."

On saturday,
nana and grace

Caught a bus and a train
into town.

Nana took grace
to a grand theater.

The sign outside read...

"Are we going
to the ballet, nana?"

"Yes, but first,
look at this picture."

Grace saw a beautiful
young ballerina in a tutu.

Above the dancer it said,
"stunning new juliet."

"That's little rosalie from
back in trinidad," said nana.

"Her granny's always asking
do I want to see her dance.

This time, I said yes."

After the ballet, grace played
the part of juliet,

Dancing around
in her imaginary tutu.

"I can be anything I want,"
she thought.

On monday, the class met

To choose who was best
for each part.

When it was grace's turn
to be peter,

She knew what to do.

She'd been peter pan
all weekend.

She took a deep breath
and imagined herself flying.

When it was time to vote,

Raj was chosen as captain hook
and natalie as wendy.

There was no doubt
who'd be peter pan.

Everyone voted for grace.

"You were fantastic!"
Whispered natalie.

The play was a big success,

And grace was
an amazing peter pan.

After it was over,
she said,

"I feel as if I could fly
all the way home."

"You probably could,"
said ma.

"Yes," said nana.

"If grace put her mind to it,
she can do anything she want."

Some of grace's classmates said
she couldn't be peter pan,

Because she was a girl,
and her skin was black.

Grace refused to believe them.

She was lucky.

Other people in her life
believed in her, too.

Grace's mother and grandmother
helped her see

That she could do
whatever she wanted.

If you believe in your dream
and try hard enough,

Almost anything is possible.

My dream has
always been to act.

I think it happened at birth.

I came out, people applauded,

And I think I knew
in the hospital delivery room

That was going
to be my thing.

That sounded like
an intense discussion.

[Levar burton]
whoopi goldberg
followed her dream,

And now, well, she's a star.

That's why
the enterprise

Is being sent
back to earth.

It's something,
isn't it?

I love performing.

It's always been the thing
that made me the happiest

Because you could be anybody.

I never let people tell me

That because
I'm a woman or black,

This isn't possible.

I grew up in a household

That never made me think
that I couldn't

Or that what I was doing
was weird.

My mom never did that.

This is my long,
luxurious blond hair.

Ain't it pretty?

Yeah!

Want to see
a ponytail?

Yeah!

No.

The little girl who wants
the luxurious blond hair

Comes from when I was little,

Magazine covers had
the breck girl.

The breck girl
had perfect hair.

It seemed that people thought
that was the only way

You could be considered
beautiful or exciting.

It don't do nothin'.

It don't blow in the wind.

It don't casca--
cascaskadade down my back.

And I discovered that everyone
at some point in their life

Wants to look
like somebody else,

Wants to be not who they are,

But something that
will be different or better.

What you learn
the older you get

Is that it's not as exciting
to be like somebody else.

It's much more interesting
to be an individual.

You've seen my hair.

It's long.
It's got my dreads.

When I first started out,

You wouldn't believe
what people were saying.

They called me raggedy anne.

Now you look around,

You see nothing
but braided hair and dreads.

You see it on black,
white, asian.

It's pretty neat.

I think being an individual
is much more interesting.

The roles that I do

Are the roles
that I'm interested in.

Molly, you're in danger.

You can't
blurt it out!
Quit moving around!

I'll tell her
myself!

Molly, you
in danger, girl.

I don't want
your children

To grow up
scared of mine.

It's just that
a lot of the wives
are scared.

I'm a little scared.

We all scared.

What's scaring you,

Who you are
or who mr. Thompson
wants you to be?

In six months,
she'll be gone.

We'll say
maggie went to tibet

To visit the dalai lama.

The dalai lama moved.

Well, some other lama.
Fernando lama.

No!

Keep your finger
on that dream.

You can do anything
you set your mind to do.

You may not do it overnight.

You may not be
incredibly successful.

You may not become
really wealthy or really famous,

But you may find yourself
feeling really good

About what you find
that you have within you.

Find the people who will
help you achieve your dream.

I think dreams come true.

I'm sitting here
talking to y'all.

I'm on the television.
Who knew?

[Levar burton]
ice hockey's a tough sport.

Meet co-captain

Of the northport high school
tigers--ms. Lauren turner.

At first, it was difficult.

No one had had a girl
on the northport team before.

Now I fit in.

I love playing hockey.

I like skating fast
and sh**ting hard.

My job is to keep the other team
from scoring.

I use my body, my stick,
and my smarts.

And there's nothing
like scoring one.

When I score,
my teammates love it.

Any problems with
referees tonight...

Before games,
coach gives us a pep talk.

This game's
too important

To open your mouth.

If you get a penalty,
let it slide.

She was on
the jv team.

We had tryouts.
She made the team.

I said, "there's a girl
on the team.

We'll take some ribbing.
So what?"

On my team,
everyone treats me fairly.

Other teams haven't
accepted me yet.

I work hard.

Sometimes I feel I have to play
better than the guys.

When I first
started playing,

It was the stares,
the whispers.

On the ice,
people were more physical.

They didn't want
you to come back.

Once you've passed that,
people start to accept you.

You didn't cry
when they hit you.

When I get hit,

I go back at the guy,
make him respect me.

When I get hit hard,

I wonder if they're doing this
because I'm a woman.

Would they have
hit a man as hard?

Girls can do
anything boys can.

Girls shouldn't
play on guys teams.

If she's good, she'll get credit
on a girls team.

I'll hear,
"there's this girl

"On the hockey team.

She can't be that good."

I'm like,
"that's my sister.

"She's really good.

You wouldn't want to
meet her on the ice."

I'm proud of her.

I couldn't
ever do that.

I skated when
I was young.

I couldn't play
hockey with boys.

If anyone doesn't believe
that I can play hockey,

I tell them
to come see me play.

I'm the same as the guys.

Go!

Girls can play
on boys teams.

If they're as good
in the sport,

They should
be able to play.

Tigers!

Let's go, tigers!

It's remarkable
to see a woman

Playing on a team

That's traditionally
aggressive,

A male-dominated
sport.

It's terrific.

I had my doubts at first.

Everybody says girls
aren't able to play with boys.

She proved us wrong.

She goes
right in there

And tries to win.

You have to want it.

It has to come
from within.

It can't be
parents pushing you.

It has to be your drive.

Things were really bad
for me and my three children.

My husband left,
I didn't have a job,

And we were really poor
and desperate.

We had nothing to eat.

I found a flier.

The flier said, "nontraditional
employment for women."

This means
they would get us jobs

Women don't usually do.

I applied, I got the job,
and here I am.

I'm sheila haynes.

I'm a heating plant technician.

I work in the boiler room
for the housing project.

I make sure the boilers
are in working order

And that all the tenants
get heat and hot water.

I work with five guys.

I'm the only lady there,

But we all do the same job.

Before I got there,
it was a man's job,

But now it's anybody's job,

And that's where
I make the difference.

I'm like anybody else.

I know as much as anybody else.

I made an effort to know
as much as everybody else.

The guys treat me well
because I'm capable.

I'm willing to work.
I'm not afraid to work.

This surprises people,
but it's true.

My first day on the job,

I was so nervous.

They'd never had a female
working that project before.

It was really difficult

Because the guys
didn't really accept me.

To test me,
they gave me a real dirty job,

A job nobody else
had ever done before.

I went and did the job,

And I did it in such a way

That they had no doubt
as to my ability.

From that day on,

I had the respect
of everybody there.

I got the plug out.
Open it up.

Cool.

I'm going to pull it out.

I love it.

I love it
when I take my little tweezers

And take a little plug out
and put it back together.

If I don't put this back
exactly right,

It will not run right.

Sometimes I'll get
an emergency call.

I'll knock on the tenant's door.

They open it.

They're shocked
to see me standing there.

They'll look for
the other person.

They're looking for the guy.

You have
a heat complaint, sir?

You'll do it?

In the living room.

O.k.

And they're really surprised
that I come in and do the job.

They'll talk about me
for days later--

"That lady gave me heat."

That makes me happy.

O.k., You should
get heat now.

I like fixing things.

I like working
on pumps and motors.

I like taking the burner apart.

This is what I like.

We're feminine. We're feminine.

We're smaller.

A lot of us
don't have big muscles.

We can still do the job.

When I look at myself,
I see a smart lady.

I see a lady
who's going places.

I like her very much.

There aren't any limits.

I can be whatever I want to be,

Go wherever I want to go,

Be whoever I want to be.

I don't set limits.

I can do whatever I want to do.

[Levar burton]
each of us wakes up every day
to new challenges.

In the theater,

An actor faces them
when the curtain rises.

Every challenge
an actor faces onstage

Begins with the script.

A good script has characters
with interesting stories.

The same is true of books.

If you liked amazing grace,

Here are three others
that deserve applause.

Don't take my word for it.

Imagine walking
on a high wire over the city.

That would take courage.

That's what the girl
in this story found out.

It's called
mirette on the high wire.

Mirette lives
with her mother in france.

Her mother runs
a boardinghouse.

That's like a hotel.

One day,
a special visitor comes.

He is bellini,
the great high-wire walker.

Mirette watches him
walk the wire.

Her feet tingle to do the same.

Mirette practices and practices
on the wire.

Mirette and bellini
become good friends,

So good that
mirette helps bellini

In a surprising way.

This story proved that
you should never give up hope.

Keep on trying.
Your dreams will come true.

My name is farrad.
Read mirette on the high wire.

Courage, pride,
and determination

Are three things
these women have in common.

Find out more by reading
great women in the struggle.

This book is about
black female heroes.

Each has
her own story to tell.

I learned about alice coachman,

The first black woman
to get an olympic gold medal.

I know harriet tubman.
She helped free the slaves.

What about
charlotte e. Ray?

She was the first
black female lawyer.

There's an index.

You choose
who to read about--

Mahalia jackson,

Toni morrison,

Ella fitzgerald,

And coretta scott king.

These women are great.

I'm teddy stern.

I recommend this book
to all ages.

It's filled with amazing stories
about amazing women.

Hi. I'm allison.

Roses sing on new snow
is a beautiful book.

It's about a lady
named maylin

Who succeeds because
she believes in herself.

Maylin is the cook
for her dad's restaurant.

She likes to cook.
She's good at it.

Her dad is mean.

He gives the credit
to her brothers

For the delicious food.

One day, the governor
comes all the way from china.

Maylin's dad wants her
to whip up something special.

Of course she does.

Of course the governor loves it.

Maylin becomes famous
for her cooking.

The part of her I like best
is her personality.

This book has
the right ingredients.

When you look into the mirror,
who do you see?

Grace saw someone who could be
anyone she wanted to be.

It didn't matter that some
people said that she couldn't.

Throughout your life,
you'll discover your own dreams.

As you reach for them,

Some people
may try to discourage you.

Don't let them.

Listen to the people who
understand and care about you.

With their help,

You'll be able to hear
that all-important voice--

The one inside you--

And I know that you'll find that
you're an amazing person, too.

I'll see you next time.

♪ Butterfly
in the sky ♪

♪ I can go
twice as high ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪♪

Today's reading rainbow books
are...

Amazing grace, by mary hoffman,
illustrated by caroline binch,

Published by dial books
for young readers,

A division
of penguin books usa inc.

Mirette on the high wire,
by emily arnold mccully,

Published by
g.p. Putnam's sons.

Great women in the struggle,

By toyomi igus,
veronica freeman ellis,

Diane patrick,
and valerie wilson wesley,

Published by
just us books, inc.

Roses sing on new snow:
a delicious tale,

By paul yee,
illustrated by harvey chan,

Published by
macmillan publishing company

And groundwood books, canada.