We Are Here by Tami Charles; illus. by Bryan CollierPreschool, Primary Orchard/Scholastic 40 pp.1/23 9781338752045 $18.99Charles says in her appended note that this book, its companion All Because You Matter (rev. 11/20), and a planned forthcoming title are intended to “affirm, celebrate, and confirm the power and greatness that lie...
Love Is Loud: How Diane Nash Led the Civil Rights Movement by Sandra Neil Wallace; illus. by Bryan CollierPrimary, Intermediate Wiseman/Simon 48 pp.1/23 9781534451032 $18.99e-book ed. 9781534451049 $10.99“During the 1960s, Diane Nash was one of the most influential and effective leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, yet most people don’t...
Maya’s Song by Renée Watson ; illus. by Bryan Collier Primary, Intermediate Harper/HarperCollins 48 pp. g9/22 978-0-06-287158-9 $19.99 In free-verse poems, Watson describes key experiences in Maya Angelou’s life. She highlights influential family members, such as Maya’s brother (a source of strength) and Momma (grandmother...
Music Is a Rainbow by Bryan Collier; illus. by the authorPrimary Little, Brown 48 pp. g6/22 978-0-316-53742-1 $18.99“Son, life is full of holes. / You may want to close them up to keep / out the storm / But make sure to leave room for that / rainbow to find...
Music has always been at the core of the Black experience in America. The myriad songs of a stolen people intermingling and creating Negro spirituals, gospel, jazz, etc., gave voice to a people. Within the music, there is a singular longing for freedom, a hope for future generations, and a protest...
There are many ways one could enter this (singular, spectacular, heartstopping) book, but I can’t imagine starting anywhere other than with the face on the cover. Has a book jacket ever boasted an image so strong, so tender, or so radiant? A portrait of a young boy’s face is encompassed...
All Because You Matter by Tami Charles; illus. by Bryan Collier Preschool, Primary Orchard/Scholastic 40 pp. g 10/20 978-1-338-57485-2 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-338-67474-3 $10.99 A richly illustrated affirmation for Black children — especially boys. An African American expectant mother and father eagerly await the arrival of their child, embracing him...
By and By: Charles Albert Tindley, the Father of Gospel Music by Carole Boston Weatherford; illus. by Bryan Collier Primary Atheneum 48 pp. 1/20 978-1-5344-2636-8 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5344-2637-5 $10.99 Born to a free mother in 1851 Maryland, Charles Albert Tindley was technically considered free. However, the law didn’t protect...
Thurgood by Jonah Winter; illus. by Bryan Collier Primary Schwartz & Wade/Random 40 pp. 9/19 978-1-5247-6533-0 $17.99 Library ed. 978-1-5247-6534-7 $20.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5247-6535-4 $.10.99 Thurgood Marshall (1908–1993) — who grew up to “change the law of the land” — was a skilled debater and orator from a young age....
At 5 o’clock on Saturday, I headed down to Blue Hills Bank Pavilion on Boston’s waterfront to see Trombone Shorty’s Voodoo Threauxdown, the thirty-two-year-old’s star-studded new tour to celebrate the 300th anniversary of his hometown, New Orleans. While it was my first time seeing Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews in concert,...