By Lila Chavez Merritt, age 15,
KidScoop Media CorrespondentÂ
To shine, by textbook definition, means to give out a bright light. That is exactly what Justice Sonia Sotomayor endeavors to do each day. Whether that is through her work as a sitting Supreme Court justice or in her everyday life, Justice Sotomayor casts her glow into the world. On September 11th, 2025 , she gave an awe inspiring interview to this journalist privately and later to a packed audience who hung on her every word. Her new children’s book, Just Shine! teaches readers to illuminate their world through patience, understanding and compassion.
Justice Sotomayor’s book centers around her greatest role model and mother, Celina. Celina was not only a parent, she was a nurse, a friend and a blueprint for how everyone should lead their lives. “I try to copy my mother’s example and to treat people with the patience and love and kindness that she did,” the Justice said. “I also try to make sure that everyone in my life knows, like she made everyone know, how special they are. Special to me and special just generally. I said earlier that I try to find the best in people and so I think that all the lessons I was taught about how to treat others came from her.”
This was evident from her words that evening. During the private interview she gave prior to her booktalk, the energy in the room immediately shifted with her presence as she entered. Her demeanor was incredibly peaceful and assured, so much that one couldn’t help but be at ease while near her. The answers the Justice gave were both thoughtful and eloquently spoken. It was easy to recognize how intellectually gifted she was. The only rivalry to her phrasing was the beautiful lessons it communicated. In response to a question about what the most important thing her mother taught her was, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said, “To look for the good in everybody. No matter how much a person frustrates you, how much you disagree with them, how much you may not like them. If you try to find and look for the good in them, you’ll find it.”
One of the best illustrations of the Justice’s dedication to her morals is exemplified by her relationship with co-workers on the bench. “As you know, I dissent a lot, and it’s only because I, no matter how much I disagree with them, I can still stay friendly with my colleagues because I know what is good in them. Not their opinions, but at least their values as human beings.” The statement demonstrates something the world needs more people to apply to their own lives: treating others as human beings, no matter how much one’s own opinion differs from theirs.
The Justice writes children’s books to awaken the notion in the next generation that they can make a difference in the world. That children have the ability to surpass the accomplishments of adults. That anyone can make a change by simply trying. By adopting Celina and her daughter’s way of thinking, society can become a better place for all.