Martha Jones is a giant in the field of African American history and this book is her best yet. Beautiful storytelling, which incorporates Jones’s own family history, makes this the perfect book for any armchair historian. Jones brings to light the stories of dozens of black women who are often ignored in history books, proving that …
I loved this smart, funny peek inside the high stakes world of San Francisco private schools. It has everything: social satire, family drama, friendship, a lot of laughs, a touch of romance, and lots to think about after. If you’ve been looking for that Where’d You Go, Bernadette feeling, try this. Bonus: The co-authors live in …
The poems within Parker’s second collection of poetry are astonishing and resounding, discussing the issues in today’s ongoing discussions of racism and sexism. Including many references to pop culture (including the queen Beyoncé herself), the poems are entirely accessible and enjoyable, while also deeply personal, gorgeous and hilarious. –Chase, Village Books, Bellingham, WA Get your …
…and speaking of building better tomorrows, we’re delighted to see Ibram X. Kendi has cleverly put out a baby board book. Timing is everything, and nothing happens overnight in book publishing, which makes the arrival of Antiracist Baby this week a marvel. Kendi, whose Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America and How to …
One of my childhood favorites. Justin doesn’t like to do “women’s work,” but a few days at his grandfather’s ranch teaches him more lessons than he can ask for! Great middle grade read! –Derrick, The Well-Read Moose, Coeur d’Alene, ID Revisit old book friends and introduce them to new readers at The Well-Read Moose and …
What a clever and realistic accounting of how we demonstrate what it looks like to stand up and be a true friend: through sickness and health, through buggers and bullies, swiping pocket change and wiping out on skateboards, first crushes and first kisses. This story is told through ten vignettes of individual kids who are …
Compelling narrative. Fantastic pre-teen middle reader that does an excellent job of exploring race and race-related issues via the clever mechanism of a young Black student who begins her middle school journey with some color-blind ideas and anti-Black biases that prevent her from forming meaningful relationships with other Black students. Great book to approach students …
I ordered this book around what would have been Bookstore Day in late April and it languished in a stack of to-be-read books until I watched the KidLit4BlackLives Rally—the author was one of the speakers. I pulled it out this morning and was charmed by Ryan and her family; I’m so glad to see that …
No better $35 can be spent for a book in this country than this collection of James Baldwin’s collected non-fiction— what were published as five books, from Notes of a Native Son through The Devil Finds Work, with a selection of essays not previously collected included. Timely in their day, this writing feels prophetically and astoundingly true …
From The Paris Review 3/8/19: Mitchell S. Jackson’s debut novel The Residue Years was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Fiction, the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, and the Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize, and it was the winner of both the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence and a Whiting Writers’ Award winner. He …
