Nicholl Denice Montgomery
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I Am Every Good Thing
One of the criteria for the Caldecott Medal is excellence of pictorial interpretation of story, theme, or concept. One look at Derrick Barnes's and Gordon C. James's I Am Every Good Thing and it is clear that the theme of the book is love for Black boys. The cover of the...
Review of Dear Justyce
Dear Justyce by Nic Stone High School Crown 288 pp. g 9/20 978-1-9848-2966-5 $18.99 Library ed. 978-1-9848-2967-2 $21.99 e-book ed. 978-1-9848-2968-9 $10.99 In this sequel to Dear Martin (rev. 11/17), we are reintroduced to Quan, best friend of that book’s protagonist. Dear Justyce opens with a flashback to Quan and...
An Interview with MacArthur Fellow Jacqueline Woodson
On October 19, 2020, Horn Book executive editor Elissa Gershowitz and Horn Book reviewers and contributors Monique Harris, Nicholl Denice Montgomery, and Dr. Kim Parker had a phone conversation with newly named MacArthur Fellow Jacqueline Woodson. Huge thanks to Moné Dixon, assistant to Jacqueline Woodson, and Edelman representative Amaya Starkey, for the...
Review of Before the Ever After
Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson Intermediate Paulsen/Penguin 176 pp. g 9/20 978-0-399-54543-6 $17.99 In her latest novel in verse, Woodson (Locomotion, rev. 3/03; Brown Girl Dreaming, rev. 9/14) explores the impact of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) on football players and their families from the perspective of ZJ, son...
Overground Railroad
On June 24, 1944, my grandparents boarded a northbound train in Mount Olive, North Carolina, headed for New Haven, Connecticut, where my grandfather’s sister lived. For my grandparents, leaving Mount Olive meant opportunities for jobs other than working on the farm or cleaning someone’s house. It meant leaving behind the...
Review of The True Definition of Neva Beane
The True Definition of Neva Beane by Christine Kendall Intermediate, Middle School Scholastic 240 pp. g 9/20 978-1-338-32489-1 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-338-32493-8 $10.99 Twelve-year-old Neva Beane loves words and consults her dictionary to help find the right ones for any situation. But lately, with the changes that come with puberty,...
Happy Anniversary: The People Could Fly
The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales told by Virginia Hamilton, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon, was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1985. We look back on this iconic Coretta Scott King Author Award winner (also a CSK Illustrator honor) as it celebrates its thirty-fifth anniversary. Since...
Review of We Are Water Protectors
We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom; illus. by Michaela Goade Primary Roaring Brook 40 pp. g 3/20 978-1-250-20355-7 $17.99 The book opens with a young Indigenous girl collecting water with her grandmother, who tells her that “water is the first medicine.” Vibrant blues, greens, and purples depict the river...
Review of Clean Getaway
Clean Getaway by Nic Stone; illus. by Dawud Anyabwile Intermediate Crown 229 pp. 1/20 978-1-9848-9297-3 $16.99 Library ed. 978-1-9848-9298-0 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-1-9848-9299-7 $9.99 When G’ma asks Scoob to go on “a little adventure” during spring break, he doesn’t hesitate to say yes (especially since he’s been grounded for fighting...