Michelle H. Martin
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Review of The Camping Trip
The Camping Trip by Jennifer K. Mann; illus. by the author Primary Candlewick 56 pp. g 5/20 978-1-5362-0736-1 $17.99 City-dweller Ernestine has never been camping, but when Aunt Jackie and cousin Samantha invite her, she gets her dad’s okay and starts preparing: new flashlight and sleeping bag, a homemade batch...
Five questions for Alice Faye Duncan
Alice Faye Duncan’s picture book Just like a Mama (Millner/Simon, 3–7 years), illustrated by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow, explores the special bond between a young girl and her “right now” caretaker Mama Rose, who is “just like a mama to me.” The story was inspired by Duncan’s own family and is...
Review of Just like a Mama
Just like a Mama by Alice Faye Duncan; illus. by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow Preschool, Primary Millner/Simon 32 pp. 1/20 978-1-5344-6183-3 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5344-6184-0 $10.99 An homage to all the African American women who are mothering children not biologically their own. Carol Olivia Clementine lives with Mama Rose because “Mommy...
Review of Bedtime for Sweet Creatures
Bedtime for Sweet Creatures by Nikki Grimes; illus. by Elizabeth Zunon Preschool Sourcebooks Jabberwocky 32 pp. g 1/20 978-1-4926-3832-2 $17.99 Grimes puts an animal-centric spin on a youngster’s innovations for bedtime stalling. This lushly illustrated story, on double-page spreads full of bold, saturated color, opens with an African American child’s...
Review of Astro Girl
Astro Girl by Ken Wilson-Max; illus. by the author Preschool, Primary Candlewick 32 pp. 9/19 978-1-5362-0946-4 $16.99 As young Astrid gazes out her bedroom window at the stars, using a hand-held telescope, we see visual evidence of her astronomy obsession all around: a helmet, model rocket ship, etc. The straightforward...
Black Kids Camp, Too...Don't They?: Embracing "Wildness" in Picture Books
My mother was a Girl Scout leader, my father was a Boy Scout leader, and my brother was a Tiger Cub in the Boy Scouts. Practically from the time I could walk, I tagged along with family to scout meetings and events. When I became a Girl Scout, and eventually...
Review of Hands Up!
Hands Up!by Breanna J. McDaniel; illus. by Shane W. EvansPreschool, Primary Dial 32 pp. g1/19 978-0-525-55231-4 $17.99 In this affirmation of self-love for children of color, an exuberant brown-skinned girl recounts many situations in which she puts her “hands up”: playing peek-a-boo as a very young child, then, as she gets...
Review of What Is Given from the Heart
What Is Given from the Heartby Patricia C. McKissack; illus. by April HarrisonPrimary, Intermediate Schwartz & Wade/Random 40 pp. g 1/19 978-0-375-83615-2 $17.99Library ed. 978-0-375-93615-9 $20.99e-book ed. 978-0-375-98800-4 $10.99 From the late Patricia McKissack, a story of giving — even when it seems one has nothing to spare. James Otis and his...
Field Notes: Camp Read-a-Rama: Learning to “Live Books”
Leader: Hey Nick.Nick: Yeah!L: Hey Nick.N: Yeah!L: Can you Gruff?N: Gruff-a-what?L: Can you Gruff?N: Gruff-a-lo.N: My hands are high, my feet are low, and this is how I Gruffalo. [Nick dances]All: His hands are high, his feet are low, and this is how he Gruffalos! [Everyone mimics Nick’s dance]All: Gruff-a-lo,...