The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by Jen FergusonHigh School Heartdrum/HarperCollins 384 pp. g5/22 978-0-06-308616-6 $17.99e-book ed. 978-0-06-308618-0 $12.99Lou is preparing to spend the summer scooping ice cream at her uncles’ seasonal shop, Michif Creamery, to save money for university in the fall. Unfortunately, things don’t go as planned. She...
Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds; illus. by Jason Griffin Middle School Dlouhy/Atheneum 384 pp. g 1/22 978-1-5344-3946-7 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5344-3947-4 $10.99 Reynolds’s introspective narrative poem, with a young man at home during quarantine as its speaker, shares the stage with Griffin’s emotive collagelike illustrations done in...
Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer by Traci Sorell; illus. by Natasha Donovan Primary, Intermediate Millbrook 32 pp. g 3/21 978-1-5415-7914-9 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-1-7284-1901-5 $9.99 Sorell (We Are Still Here!, rev. 5/21) opens the book with a note on four “Cherokee values” that she...
Mardi Gras Almost Didn’t Come This Year by Kathy Z. Price; illus. by Carl Joe Williams Primary Atheneum 48 pp. g 2/22 978-1-5344-4425-6 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5344-4426-3 $10.99 This moving picture book transports readers to New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina lands in August 2005. “Days before the storm / there...
Augusta Savage: The Shape of a Sculptor’s Life by Marilyn Nelson Middle School, High School Ottaviano/Little, Brown 160 pp. g 1/22 978-0-316-29802-5 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-0-316-29822-3 $9.99 Despite her prominence during the Harlem Renaissance, sculptor Augusta Savage (1892–1962) remains largely unknown to younger generations. Through her accomplished verse, Nelson (My...
When We Say Black Lives Matter by Maxine Beneba Clarke; illus. by the author Preschool, Primary Candlewick 32 pp. g 9/21 978-1-5362-2238-8 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5362-2564-8 $16.99 Clarke (The Patchwork Bike, rev. 11/18) pens a love letter from parent to child. The title page depicts a pregnant Black woman with...
Through poetry that is captivating, evocative, and informative, Marilyn Nelson introduces readers to the life, work, and legacy of a prominent Harlem Renaissance sculptor in Augusta Savage: The Shape of a Sculptor’s Life (12 years and up, Ottaviano/Little, Brown). See also our Black History Month and Black History Month 2022 coverage....
The People Remember by Ibi Zoboi; illus. by Loveis Wise Primary, Intermediate Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins 64 pp. g 9/21 978-0-06-291564-1 $19.99 Through art and words, with the framework of the seven principles of Kwanzaa, Zoboi (American Street, rev. 3/17; Black Enough, rev. 1/19) and Wise beautifully “sew together a...
Rise Up!: How You Can Join the Fight Against White Supremacy by Crystal M. Fleming Middle School, High School Holt 256 pp. g 10/21 978-1-250-22638-9 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-1-250-22639-6 $10.99 Professor and critical race sociologist Fleming introduces teens to the history of race and racism, beginning with an overview of...