On Her Wings: The Story of Toni Morrison by Jerdine Nolen; illus. by James E. Ransome Primary, Intermediate Wiseman/Simon 48 pp. g 9/22 978-1-5344-7852-7 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5344-7853-4 $10.99 This picture-book biography of writer Toni Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford), by the team behind Freedom Bird (rev. 1/20), pays homage...
Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement by Angela Joy; illus. by Janelle Washington Primary, Intermediate Roaring Brook 64 pp. g 8/22 978-1-250-22095-0 $19.99 This powerful picture-book biography reverently portrays the life of Mamie Till-Mobley (1921–2003), whose defiant act of bravery following the 1955...
Twice as Perfect by Louisa OnoméHigh School Feiwel 416 pp. g7/22 978-1-250-82350-2 $18.99e-book ed. 978-1-250-82351-9 $10.99While busy, high-achieving seventeen-year-old Nigerian Canadian high-school senior Adanna Nkwachi helps to plan her cousin’s traditional wedding to a Nigerian superstar, she is also dealing with her own feelings for two totally different boys....
The Deep Blue Between by Ayesha Harruna AttahMiddle School, High School Carolrhoda Lab 256 pp. g3/22 978-1-7284-4288-4 $18.99This novel (first published in the U.K. in 2020) offers a compelling view of West African history as a backdrop for a story of sibling bonding and coming of age. In 1892, ten-year-old...
Seeking Freedom: The Untold Story of Fortress Monroe and the Ending of Slavery in America by Selene Castrovilla; illus. by E. B. Lewis Primary, Intermediate Calkins/Astra 40 pp. g 1/22 978-1-63592-582-1-1 $18.99 A true story from the Civil War offers insight into a little-known aspect of African American history. In...
Sonny Rollins Plays the Bridge by Gary Golio; illus. by James Ransome Primary Paulsen/Penguin 32 pp. g 10/21 978-1-9848-1366-4 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-9848-1367-1 $10.99 When, in 1959, the renowned jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins takes a break from a successful career to hone his skills, he finds the perfect place to...
Shirley Chisholm Dared: The Story of the First Black Woman in Congress by Alicia D. Williams; illus. by April Harrison Primary Schwartz/Random 48 pp. g 6/21 978-0-593-12368-3 $17.99 Library ed. 978-0-593-12369-0 $20.99 e-book ed. 978-0-593-12370-6 $10.99 Williams (Genesis Begins Again, rev. 1/19; Jump at the Sun, rev. 3/21) and Harrison...
A Day for Rememberin’: Inspired by the True Events of the First Memorial Day by Leah Henderson; illus. by Floyd Cooper Primary, Intermediate Abrams 40 pp. g 5/21 978-1-4197-3630-8 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-68335-560-1 $15.54 Through the eyes of a formerly enslaved ten-year-old boy, Henderson recounts the story of what some...
A Sitting in St. James by Rita Williams-Garcia High School Quill Tree/HarperCollins 480 pp. g 5/21 978-0-06-236729-7 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-236732-7 $10.99 Williams-Garcia, whose YA titles include the 1995 classic Like Sisters on the Homefront and Jumped (rev. 3/09), offers an unusual angle on the subject of slavery with this...