Pauletta Brown Bracy,  Jun 18, 2024

One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome Intermediate, Middle School    Holiday    240 pp. 3/24    9780823450169    $18.99 e-book ed.  9780823457496    $10.99 In 1879, Lettie’s African American family begins a westward journey from Natchez, Mississippi, to Nebraska, where her father seeks a better life for them. “We can’t live free / on...

Pauletta Brown Bracy,  May 15, 2024

A Crown of Stories: The Life and Language of Beloved Writer Toni Morrison by Carole Boston Weatherford; illus. by Khalif Tahir ThompsonPrimary, Intermediate    Quill Tree/HarperCollins    48 pp.4/24    9780062911032    $19.99In an expressive second-person text addressed to her subject, Weatherford celebrates the life and legacy of the esteemed novelist, professor, and Nobel...

Pauletta Brown Bracy,  May 08, 2024

Jimmy’s Rhythm & Blues: The Extraordinary Life of James Baldwin by Michelle Meadows; illus. by Jamiel LawPrimary, Intermediate    Harper/HarperCollins    48 pp.1/24    9780063273474    $19.99In this picture-book biography, Meadows’s expressive free verse beautifully contributes to an engaging narrative about Baldwin’s (1924–1987) literary prowess and staunch activism, making his story accessible to young...

Pauletta Brown Bracy,  Apr 24, 2024

Pauletta Brown Bracy,  Mar 06, 2024

Fighting with Love: The Legacy of John Lewis by Lesa Cline-Ransome; illus. by James E. RansomePrimary    Wiseman/Simon    48 pp.1/24    9781534496620    $18.99e-book ed.  9781534496637    $10.99The prolific author-illustrator couple (most recently The Story of the Saxophone, rev. 1/23) teams up again to offer this inspiring picture-book biography of the late human rights...

Pauletta Brown Bracy,  Feb 07, 2024

There Was a Party for Langston by Jason Reynolds; illus. by Jerome Pumphrey and Jarrett PumphreyPrimary    Dlouhy/Atheneum    56 pp.10/23    9781534439443    $18.99e-book ed  9781534439450    $10.99An intriguing photograph of writers Maya Angelou and Amiri Baraka dancing at a party at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture...

Pauletta Brown Bracy,  Nov 29, 2023

Coretta’s Journey: The Life and Times of Coretta Scott King by Alice Faye Duncan; illus. by R. Gregory ChristieIntermediate    Calkins/Astra    48 pp.9/23    9781662680045    $18.99e-book ed.  9781662680052    $11.99In a sophisticated, poetic picture-book biography, Duncan alternates double-page spreads featuring prose or poems in a variety of forms that highlight Coretta Scott King’s...

Pauletta Brown Bracy,  Nov 20, 2023

A Walk in the Woods by Nikki Grimes; illus. by Jerry Pinkney and Brian PinkneyPrimary  Porter/Holiday    40 pp.9/23    9780823449651    $18.99Shortly after his father’s death, a boy opens an envelope his father left him to find a map of the woods with a bright red X marking a destination. Still coping...

Pauletta Brown Bracy,  Sep 12, 2023

Once in a Blue Moon by Sharon G. FlakeIntermediate, Middle School    Knopf    336 pp.7/23    9780593480984    $17.99Library ed.  9780593480991    $20.99e-book ed.  9780593481004    $10.99In sparkling free verse, Flake delivers a rich and compassionate story of family love centered on forgiveness. Eleven-year-old James Henry and his twin sister, Hattie Mae, live with their...