The Storefront

Portland’s Green Bean Books Suggests Black History Books for Every Month

“Just because February is coming to an end doesn’t mean you should stop reading and learning about Black History! We’ve got books to inspire, educate, and challenge.” –Green Bean Books, Portland, OR Children’s specialty bookstore Green Bean Books shared a list of children’s books about Black history for year ’round love in the February issue of PDXParent. A few favorites from the list: *Dream Big, Little One Written and Illustrated by Vashti Harrison *Follow Your Dreams, Little One Written and …

Feb 23, 2021

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Feb

24

2021

Face Out

The View from Cascade Head
by Bruce Byers

In The View from Cascade Head, Bruce Byers tells the fascinating story of Cascade Head in Oregon, and the people who have worked to protect it. Drawing from his lifelong relationship with the Oregon Coast and recent experience living and working at Cascade Head, Byers weaves together personal observations, ecological science, and the history and …

Feb

22

2021

Face Out

Memorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir by Natasha Trethewey

TW: Physical abuse,  domestic abuse,  emotional  abuse National Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey has written a brave and telling account of her stepfather’s systematic emotional and physical abuse and murder of her mother, a social worker. Perhaps the most chilling part of the book is the transcript of her stepfather’s last phone call, discovered by the author …

Feb

19

2021

The Storefront

Celebrate Black History Month with
Paper Boat Booksellers

From Paper Boat Booksellers in Seattle, WA: February is Black History Month, and we are celebrating this year’s theme of Family: Representation, Identity & Diversity by featuring books from wonderful black authors that tell the histories and stories of African Americans in U.S. history. We encourage our customers to ask their bookseller for recommendations as …

Feb

18

2021

Face Out

We Wait for the Sun written by Katie McCabe, illustrated by Raissa Figueroa

If you love Blueberries for Sal, take a look at this! It has the same potential as a classic, with sensory details and family connection that are wonderfully evocative plus gorgeous illustrations to bring the magic of the scenes to life. It is based on scenes from Mighty Justice by civil rights lawyer and activist …

Feb

17

2021

Face Out

The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye

The Paragon Hotel has been my favorite historical fiction recommendation since it first published. It has so many things to love, a daring escape across the country, a crime to solve, a child to find, and characters to love. Set in segregated Oregon, you’ll find out things you never knew, while turning the pages as …

Feb

16

2021

Borrowed Copy

Indie All-Stars: You’re Invited to a Virtual Event

If your local booksellers seem a little more tired than usual this week, it could be because they’ve been shoveling paths to the store during the snowpocalypse, dealing with power and internet outages, and/or they’re attending a virtual conference for booksellers all around the country, which starts very early in the day for west coasters. …

Feb

15

2021

Face Out

The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of Black America by Marcus J. Moore

Initially skeptical to read a book about a young musician with just a couple albums out (who may not have even hit his creative peak yet), I quickly understood just why, in the year 2020, this book needed to come out. Using the framework of the 4 albums of Kendrick Lamar, Marcus J. Moore writes a …

Feb

12

2021

The Storefront

Black History Month: Third Eye Books’ Black Freedom Collection

Celebrate Black History Month with books from Third Eye Books’ Black Freedom Collection. The Black-owned store’s website has 42 pages of recommended books on this theme. Third Eye Books is based in Portland but had to close their brick and mortar storefront during the pandemic. They are still seeking donations for their relocation fund, but …

Feb

11

2021

One Nightstand

Recommendations from 2021 PNBA Award Winners

On the livestreaming event celebrating the 2021 Pacific Northwest Book Award Winners, an audience member asked the authors for book recommendations. Here are some of the books that came up, some literally pulled from stacks near the authors for show and tell: Entangled Life (recommended by Silvia Morena-Garcia) The Gilded Ones (recommended by Kim Johnson. …

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