Jonda C. McNair
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100 Years Old and Still Relevant: A Conversation About The Brownies' Book
The Brownies’ Book was one of the first periodicals created primarily for Black youth, or “children of the sun,” as the magazine referred to them. It was published monthly between January 1920 and December 1921, for a total of twenty-four issues, and is freely available online. Each issue opened with...
Profile of 2023 Children's Literature Legacy Award winner James E. Ransome
Jonda C. McNair and James E. Ransome in 2001. Photo: James J. Bishop. One of the highlights of my time as a doctoral student was serving as a hostess for esteemed authors and illustrators when they came to town to participate in the now-defunct The Ohio State University Children’s Literature...
A Fascinating Term as 2021 Newbery Chair
In hindsight, it seems fitting that I would be contacted about the possibility of serving as chair of the 2021 John Newbery Award Selection Committee on the same day I attended a children’s literature conference in March 2019. At the time, I was a professor at Clemson University and had...
Review of The Undefeated
The Undefeatedby Kwame Alexander; illus. by Kadir NelsonPrimary, Intermediate, Middle School Versify/Houghton 40 pp. g4/19 978-1-328-78096-6 $17.99e-book ed. 978-0-358-05761-1 $12.99Alexander and Nelson honor the achievements, courage, and perseverance of ordinary black people as well as prominent black artists, athletes, and activists. The free-verse poem begins: “This is for the unforgettable. /...
Review of This Promise of Change: One Girl's Story in the Fight for School Equality
This Promise of Change: One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equalityby Jo Ann Allen Boyce and Debbie LevyIntermediate, Middle School Bloomsbury 311 pp. g1/19 978-1-68119-852-1 $17.99e-book ed. 978-1-68119-853-8 $12.59 In 1956 in the small town of Clinton, Tennessee, twelve African American students integrated the all-white high school. Jo Ann Allen...
Review of Dragons in a Bag
Dragons in a Bagby Zetta Elliott; illus. by Geneva BPrimary, Intermediate Random 154 pp. g10/18 978-1-5247-7045-7 $16.99Library ed. 978-1-5247-7046-4 $19.99e-book ed. 978-1-5247-7047-1 $10.99There are two things you should never do when dealing with dragons. First, do not let them out of the bag; and second, do not feed them anything...
Reflections on Black Children’s Literature: A Historical Perspective
The ideas expressed below were originally written in response to an opinion piece written by publisher Denene Millner, which ran in The New York Times on March 10, 2018. Though most of the write-up below speaks to this particular opinion article, it has been slightly modified to address some of...
“To Be Great, Heroic or Beautiful”: The Enduring Legacy of The Brownies’ Book
Heretofore the education of the Negro child has been too much in terms of white people. All through school life his text-books contain much about white people and little or nothing about his own race. All the pictures he sees are of white people. Most of the books he reads...
Review of Muddy: The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters
Muddy: The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Watersby Michael Mahin; illus. by Evan TurkPrimary, Intermediate Atheneum 48 pp.9/17 978-1-4814-4349-4 $17.99e-book ed. 978-1-4814-4350-0 $10.99McKinley “Muddy Waters” Morganfield (1915–1983) is known for his role in establishing the musical genre known as the “Chicago blues.” This picture-book biography begins with his childhood in...
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