1. Bauer, M. D., & Holmes, E. (2018). The stuff of stars. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.
Blog: The stories of the births of the universe, the planet Earth, and a human child are told in this picture book. Bauer begins with cosmic nothing. Her powerful words build the story of the creation of the universe, presenting the science in poetic free verse. First, the narrative tells of the creation of stars by the Big Bang, then the explosions of some of those stars, from which dust becomes the matter that coalesces into planets, then the creation of life on Earth. Holmes’ digitally assembled hand-marbled paper-collage illustrations perfectly pair with the text, with their swirling colors suggestive of vast cosmos, contributing the atmosphere. It’s a stunning achievement to present to readers the factual events that created the birth of the universe, the planet Earth, and life on Earth with such an expressive, powerful creativity of words paired with illustrations so breath taking. The story goes one step further and gives the birth of a child with the same beginning, the same sense of magic, the same miracle.
Summary: Before the universe was formed, before time and space existed, there was nothing. But then BANG! Stars caught fire and burned so long that they exploded, flinging stardust everywhere. And the ash of those stars turned into planets. Into our Earth. And into us.
Similar Titles: The big bang book by Asa Stahl; It started with a big bang: the origin of earth, you, and everything else by Floor Bal
2. Bryan, A. (2003). Beautiful blackbird. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
Blog: A tale from the Ila-speaking people of Zambia gets new life in this picture book adaptation from Coretta Scott King Award winner Ashley Bryan about appreciating one's heritage and discovering the beauty within. Black is beautiful, uh-huh! Long ago, Blackbird was voted the most beautiful bird in the forest. The other birds, who were colored red, yellow, blue, and green, were so envious that they begged Blackbird to paint their feathers with a touch of black so they could be beautiful too. Although Black-bird warns them that true beauty comes from within, the other birds persist and soon each is given a ring of black around their neck or a dot of black on their wings'markings that detail birds to this very day.
Summary: In a story of the Ila people, the colorful birds of Africa ask Blackbird, whom they think is the most beautiful of birds, to decorate them with some of his blackening brew.
Similar Titles: Amari and the night brothers by BB Alston; Before the ever after by Jacqueline Woodson
3. Flournoy, V., Pinkney, J., & Johnson, A. (2019). The patchwork quilt. Solon, OH: Findaway World, LLC.
Blog: Grandmother begins to make a patchwork quilt and says, "Sometimes the old ways are forgotten." Later, incorporating pieces of the children's old clothing, she tells them, "A quilt won't forget. It can tell your life story." Grandmother calls the quilt a masterpiece and Tanya becomes so involved in it that when Grandmother gets sick, Tanya works on the quilt herself, with a little help from Mama and her brothers. Months later, Grandmother has recovered enough to complete the quilt, and the whole family gathers round to remember the pieces of themselves that make it up. It is surely to be admired.
Summary: Using scraps cut from the family's old clothing, Tanya helps her grandmother and mother make a beautiful quilt that tells the story of her family's life.
Similar Titles: The tortilla quilt story by Jane Tenorio-Coscarelli; Our granny by Margaret Wild
4. Giovanni, N., & Collier, B. (2013). Rosa. Columbus, O.H.: Zaner-Bloser.
Blog: Rosa Parks's personal story moves quickly into a summary of the Civil Rights movement in this amazing picture book. Parks is introduced showing that she cares for her ill mother and is married to a fantastic barber.Rosa sews in an alterations department. Soon the story moves to her famous refusal to give up her seat on the bus, but readers lose sight of her as she waits to be arrested. Giovanni turns to explaining the response of the Women's Political Caucus, which led to the bus boycott in Montgomery. A few events of the movement are immersed into the story, such as the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, the aftermath and reactions to the murder of Emmett Till, the role of Martin Luther King, Jr., as spokesperson. Set on colored pages, the illustrations include an effective double foldout page with the crowd of successful walkers facing a courthouse representing the 1956 Supreme Court verdict against segregation on the buses. Many readers will wonder how it all went for Parks after her arrest, and there are no added notes. Purposeful in its telling, this is a thought-provoking introduction to these watershed acts of civil disobedience.
Summary: Presents an illustrated account of Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955, and the subsequent bus boycott by the black community. Includes fold-out pages.
Similar Titles: Rosa Parks by Eloise Greenfield; Rosa Parks: a life of courage by Ann-Marie Kishel
5. Hamilton, V., Dillon, L., & Dillon, D. (2016). The people could fly: American Black Folktales. New York: A.A. Knopf.
Blog: This anthology boasts stunning black-and-white artwork and stirringly told stories with such evocative titles as ``The Beautiful Girl of the Moon Tower'' and ``Wiley, His Mama, and the Hairy Man.'' The book is organized into four sections: animal tales, fantasy, supernatural and tales of freedom. The final one ("Carrying the Running-Aways: And Other Slave Tales of Freedom") is by far the most effective for the contemporary reader; the best of these stories convey great heroism, beauty and nobility. There are also the fantasy tales, "Wiley, His Mama, and the Hairy Man", and the supernatural tales (they frequently entertain, and several would be excellent as read-alouds). The animal tales move the reader as well. Hamilton's approximation of dialect speech is laudable for its readability. The Dillons have lent handsome black-and-white paintings to the work. This is a useful collection and a valuable undertaking. It brings a good sampling of lore from the past to a new generation of readers.
Summary: Retells twenty-four African-American folktales of animals, fantasy, the supernatural, and desire for freedom, each followed by a note explaining its history and meaning.
Similar Titles: African-American folktales by David Haynes; The people could fly: the picture book by Virginia Hamilton
6. Johnson, A. (2010). Heaven. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Blog: After spending most of her life in bucolic Heaven, Ohio, a teenager finds her certainties come tumbling down. Marley Carroll likes her family, has two steady friends, and a wandering uncle, Jack, who sends her poetic letters describing his travels and asking about her thoughts and dreams. Her peace is shattered by the arrival of a different sort of letter, addressed to "Monna Floyd," from an Alabama deacon trying to reconstruct a burnt church's records; the people she calls Momma and Pops apologetically explain that they are actually her aunt and uncle, that Jack is her father, and that her mother died in an auto accident when she was very young. Devastated, cast adrift, Marley searches for her parents in a small box of mementos, and in early memories, meanwhile struggling, in light of her new knowledge, to redefine her other relationships. Ultimately, in her friends' situations as in her own, Marley finds clear evidence that love, more than blood, makes a family. Johnson uses the present tense to give her sparely told story a sense of immediacy and communicates a clear sense that Marley and Jack, still working through his grief, are going to be all right.
Summary: Marley believes her life with Momma, Pops, and Butchy in the perfect town of Heaven, Ohio, is as wonderful as it can be until she learns some long kept secrets that open up a world of questions...her mother and father are not her real parents.
Similar Titles: See no color by Shannon Gibney; My road trip to the pretty girl capital of the world by Brian Yansky
7. Nelson, K., & Allen, D. (2019). Heart and soul: The story of America and African Americans. Solon, OH: Findaway World, LLC.
Blog: Nelson tells the story of African-Americans and their often central place in American history. Directly after the prologue, the narrative begins with the U.S. Capitol, built by slaves and freeman before Nelson steps back and shows the intricate ways American and African-American history were intertwined from the earliest days of the country's founding. Using an unnamed female narrator, Nelson fashions a unique mode of storytelling that is both historical and personal. The narrator guides readers through major events in American history through the perspective of, first, enslaved people, then those legally free but hindered by discrimination and, finally, citizens able to fully participate in American life following the Civil Rights Movement. As with any work by this talented artist, the accompanying illustrations are bold and arresting. The dramatic oil paintings heighten the dignity of this story, whether they are of well-known historical figures, common folk or landscape. With such a long time period to cover, the careful choices Nelson makes of which stories to tell make this a successful effort. While there is little room for historical nuance, Nelson does include the way events such as World War I and the fight for woman suffrage affected the Black community. This intimate narrative makes the stories accessible to young readers and powerfully conveys how personal this history feels for many African-Americans
Summary: The story of America and African Americans is a story of hope and inspiration and unwavering courage. This is the story of the men, women, and children who toiled in the hot sun picking cotton for their masters; it's about the America ripped in two by Jim Crow laws; it's about the brothers and sisters of all colors who rallied against those who would dare bar a child from an education. It's a story of discrimination and broken promises, determination, and triumphs. Told through the unique point of view and intimate voice of a one-hundred-year-old African-American female narrator, this inspiring book demonstrates that in gaining their freedom and equal rights, African Americans helped our country achieve its promise of liberty and justice--the true heart and soul of our nation.
Similar Titles: Tell all the children our story: memories and mementos of being young and Black in America by Tonya Bolden; The souls of Black folk by WEB Du Bois
8. Pinkney, A. D., & Pinkney, J. B. (2012). Hand in hand: Ten black men who changed America. New York: Disney/Jump at the Sun.
Blog: Andrea Davis Pinkney selected ten black men who have made significant contributions to American history, from Colonial America to the present day. In her depictions of these men, she explores the background behind their accomplishments in detail. Arranged according to the year of their birth, the ten include Benjamin Banneker, Frederick Douglass, Thurgood Marshall, Jackie Robinson, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Barack Obama. Each biographical section begins with a poem about the subject's life as well as information about his birth and death. The poems could be used to support Common Core Standards. Brian Pinkney's expressive portraits complete each section. Banneker's biography provides an opportunity to explore primary sources with letters between Banneker and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson.
Summary: Hand in Hand presents the stories of ten men from different eras in American history, organized chronologically to provide a scope from slavery to the modern day. The stories are accessible, fully-drawn narratives offering the subjects' childhood influences, the time and place in which they lived, their accomplishments and motivations, and the legacies they left for future generations as links in the "freedom chain."
Similar Titles: Frederick Douglas: a noble life by David A. Alder; Ain't nothing but a man: my quest to find the real John Henry by Scott Reynolds Nelson
9. Schroeder, A., & Pinkney, I. B. (1996). Minty: The story of young Harriet Tubman. New York: Dial.
Blog: This fictionalized account of Tubman's childhood on a Maryland plantation provides a cruel snapshot of life as a slave and the horrid circumstances that fueled the future Underground Railroad leader's passion and determination. At eight years old, Minty boils with rebellion against her brutal owners and bucks their authority whenever possible. Deeming her too clumsy for housework, Mrs. Brodas banishes Minty to harder work in the fields. Toiling in the hot sun only intensifies Minty's desire to run away to freedom, and soon her father teaches her how to survive in the wild, so that she'll be prepared to make her break one day. With color and feeling Schroeder humanizes a historic figure, coaxing readers to imagine or research the rest of the story. Pinkney's full-bodied watercolors evoke a strong sense of time and place. The scenes consistently depict young Minty's point of view, giving the harshness of her reality more resonance for readers. A formal author's note follows the text and both Schroeder and Pinkney have included personal messages about the history of the book project. A firm stepping stone toward discussions of slavery and U.S. history.
Summary: Young Harriet Tubman, whose childhood name was Minty, dreams of escaping slavery on the Brodas plantation in the late 1820s.
Similar Titles: Harriet Tubman by Monica Rausch; Harriet Tubman and the freedom train by Sharon Shavers Gayle
10. Woodson, J. (2020). Before the ever after. New York, NY: Nancy Paulsen Books.
Blog: What happens after all your dreams come true? ZJ's dad always wanted to be a football player. Through hard work, he achieved his goal and became an NFL player and hero to many. Unfortunately, his football fame came with a price. Now he experiences debilitating headaches, mood swings, and forgetfulness brought on by one too many concussions. ZJ remembers a time before his father changed; when his father would laugh, play with him and his friends, and support him with his music. That was the before-now he lives in the after. All ZJ has is memories of the incredible man his father was, and the fear of the unknown issue causing his father's problems. Set in the early 2000s when concussion research on NFL players was at its inception, Woodson's latest novel in verse conveys that not all success stories have a fairy-tale ending. Readers will feel an immediate connection to ZJ and his group of authentic, complex friends and family. The idea of showing the dark side of fame through the experiences of a young family member is a unique perspective that will resonate with readers of all ages. ZJ's story will stay with the audience long after the last page is read.
Summary: Woodson's stirring novel-in-verse explores how a family moves forward when their glory days have passed and the cost of professional sports on Black bodies. For as long as ZJ can remember, his dad has been everyone's hero. As a charming, talented pro football star, he's as beloved to the neighborhood kids he plays with as he is to his millions of adoring sports fans. But lately life at ZJ's house is anything but charming. His dad is having trouble remembering things and seems to be angry all the time. ZJ's mom explains it's because of all the head injuries his dad sustained during his career. ZJ can understand that--but it doesn't make the sting any less real when his own father forgets his name. As ZJ contemplates his new reality, he has to figure out how to hold on tight to family traditions and recollections of the glory days, all the while wondering what their past amounts to if his father can't remember it. And most importantly, can those happy feelings ever be reclaimed when they are all so busy aching for the past?
Similar Titles: Garvey's choice by Nikki Grimes; Turning point by Paula Chase
No comments:
Post a Comment