The author invited two teachers affiliated with their graduate program in literacy to explore how children's social identities impacted students' reading process. The teachers, Taylor and Dana, worked in urban elementary charter schools in New York City, at the time. The participants agreed to share samples from their classrooms to illustrate how they used their knowledge of children's sociocultural contexts and social identities to impact their teaching of literacy. Both teachers anchored their teaching in the recognition of the need for community. Both teachers highlighted the role literacy plays in sustaining one's connection to community. According to the author, young people need a pedagogy of hope and care, where each child can feel welcomed, seen, and heard, where each teacher nurtures all children's full humanity through an integrated, purposeful and responsive approach to literacy.