Uncle John’s City Garden by Bernette G. Ford; illus. by Frank MorrisonPrimary Holiday 32 pp. g5/22 978-0-8234-4786-2 $18.99e-book ed. 978-0-8234-5308-5 $11.99Family + gardening = a great summer feast. Li’l Sissy, the youngest of three African American siblings, tells how she and her siblings help their uncle John cultivate a garden...
My Hands Tell a Story by Kelly Starling Lyons; illus. by Tonya EngelPrimary Reycraft 32 pp. g5/22 978-1-4788-7061-6 $17.95Zoe loves baking cinnamon-swirl bread with her grandmother. As Grandma kneads the dough with a “push and pull,” she recalls how her own mother taught her to make bread. When Zoe tries...
Kick Push: Be Your Epic Self by Frank Morrison; illus. by the authorPrimary Bloomsbury 40 pp. g4/22 978-1-5476-0592-7 $18.99e-book ed. 978-1-5476-0593-4 $13.29How can a budding skateboard pro navigate being in a new place and leaving his posse behind? Ivan, a brown-skinned, big-afro-wearing skateboarder, has “moves so big, his friends call...
Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler by Ibi Zoboi Intermediate, Middle School Dutton 128 pp. g 1/22 978-0-399-18738-4 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-0-399-18739-1 $9.99 A biography that’s as unique in form and content as the groundbreaking sci-fi/fantasy author herself. Zoboi (The People Remember, rev. 11/21) came to this...
We Wait for the Sun by Dovey Johnson Roundtree and Katie McCabe; illus. by Raissa Figueroa Primary Roaring Brook 40 pp. g 2/21 978-1-250-22902-1 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-250-82195-9 $10.99 Dovey Johnson Roundtree (1914–2018) would grow up to be a civil rights warrior; this picture-book biography focuses on a pivotal moment...
Dream Street, the locale for this breathtaking book of the same name, serves as a garden for growing a thriving community, rich relationships, and strong children who know who they are and what kind of difference they want to make in the world. The picture book opens with a warm welcome...
Your Legacy: A Bold Reclaiming of Our Enslaved History by Schele Williams; illus. by Tonya Engel Primary, Intermediate Abrams 48 pp. g 9/21 978-1-4197-4875-2 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-1-64700-072-1 $15.54 A message from the African ancestors to today’s African American children. Narrated in the second person, this picture book tells African...
Dream Street by Tricia Elam Walker; illus. by Ekua Holmes Primary, Intermediate, Middle School Schwartz/Random 32 pp. g 11/21 978-0-525-58110-9 $17.99 Library ed. 978-0-525-58111-6 $20.99 e-book ed. 978-0-525-58112-3 $10.99 Dream Street: a microcosm of the African Diaspora where relationships matter and dreams thrive. It’s “the best street in the world,”...
The Whole Hole Story by Vivian McInerny; illus. by Ken Lamug Primary Versify/Houghton 40 pp. g 1/21 978-0-358-12881-6 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-358-12948-6 $12.99 Zia, a brown-skinned girl with a huge afro puff and an expansive imagination, discovers a hole in her pocket. Then the hole moves to the ground and enlarges,...