Picture Books for the New Year!

Picture books are my absolute favorite type of book for children.  I enjoy watching children see themselves represented in beautiful illustrations.  If you have witnessed the excitement of a little one making a connection to a book character that looks like them, you know that it is truly a joyful moment.  The new year is a perfect time to share new picture books with young people in your life.  Take a look at some new titles that are perfect for bedtime and story time reading, coming out in January 2020.  Make sure to visit your local bookshop or library to pick up a copy.  Happy Reading and Happy New Year!

The Oldest Student by Rita Lorraine Hubbard
1/7/2020

TAGS: nonfiction, biography, literacy, freedman, Mary Walker, ages 8-12

The Old Truck by Jerome Pumphrey
1/7/2020

TAGS: family, farm life, imagination and play, ages 0-5

Hosea Plays On by Kathleen Blasi
1/7/2020

TAGS: performing arts, kindness, Rochester NY, , ages 4-8

Magnificent Homespun Brown by Samara Cole Doyon
1/7/2020

TAGS: diversity, self-esteem, values, girls, ages 4-8

Bedtime for Sweet Creatures
1/14/2020

TAGS: bedtime, dreams, imagination and play, ages 4-8

Just Like Me by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
1/14/2020

TAGS: girls and women, social themes, self-esteem, ages 0-8

Big Papa and the Time Machine by Daniel Bernstrom
1/14/2020

TAGS: boys and men, family, fantasy and magic, ages 4-8

Boxitects by Kim Smith
1/14/2020

TAGS: technology, school, art, girls, imagination and play, ages 4-8

Black is a Rainbow Color by Angela Joy
1/14/2020

TAGS: history, rhyme, African Americans, social themes, ages 4-8

Brown Baby Lullaby by Tameka Fryer Brown
1/14/2020

TAGS: bedtime, dreams, family, new baby, ages 0-4

Just Like Mama by Alice Faye Duncan
1/14/2020

TAGS: family, foster parents, people & places, ages 4-8

New Teen Reads for the New Year

Can you believe that 2019 is almost over?  I have already started planning my "to read" list for 2020 and I can tell you that the year is going to be a great one for black children's and teen literature.  I'm most excited about a few teen/young adult titles that will release right after the New Year.  Check them out below and don't forget to pick up a copy at your favorite local bookshop or library.  Happy Reading!

145th Street: Short Stories
Walter Dean Meyers
1/14/2020

"From the award-winning author of Monster, this [Anniversary Edition] collection of powerful and poignant stories about 145th Street-an unforgettable block in the heart of Harlem- celebrates African-American life in all of its glory."

Badass Black Girl
M.J. Fievre
1/14/2020

"Explore the many facets of your identity through hundreds of big and small questions.  M.J. Fievre tackles topics such as family and friends, school and careers, body image, and stereotypes in this journal designed for teenage girls."

Black Girl Unlimited
Echo Brown
1/14/2020

"Heavily autobiographical and infused with magical realism, Black Girl Unlimited fearlessly explores the intersections of poverty, sexual violence, depression, racism, and sexism---all through a coming of age story..."

Not So Pure and Simple
Lamar Giles
1/21/2020

"High school junior Del Rainey unwittingly joins a Purity Pledge class at church, hoping to get closer to his long-term crush Kiera...but as he plots and plans, he neglects to ask the most important question: What does Kiera want?"

Saving Savannah
Tonya Bolden
1/14/2020

"From acclaimed author, Tonya Bolden, comes the story of a teen girl becoming a woman on her own terms against a backdrop of widespread social change in the early 1900's"

Say Her Name
Zetta Elliot
1/14/2020

"Inspired by the #SayHerName campaign launched by the African American Policy Forum, these poems pay tribute to victims of police brutality as well as activists insisting that Black Lives Matter"

#ICYMI: Fall Reads You Don't Want to Miss

Fall is finally here and I cannot think of a better time to find new books to share with the young people in your life. What are you excited about reading with them this season?  Do you plan to give books as gifts during the winter holidays? Not sure? I hope the recent and upcoming releases mentioned below will inspire you.  Happy Reading!

*each book includes tags about the genre, topic, and appropriate age group

Board Books & Picture Books

I Look Up To...Misty Copeland by Membrino, Anna
11/5/19

TAGS: biography, ballerinas, African- American women, black history, ages 0-4

I Look Up To...Oprah Winfrey, by Membrino, Anna
11/5/19

TAGS: biography, television personalities, African- American women, black history, ages 0-4

Love and the Rocking Chair by Dillon, Diane
10/15/19

TAGS: fiction, rocking chairs, family, love, new babies, ages 4-8

Parker Looks Up by Curry, Jessica
10/15/19

TAGS: autobiographical, Michelle Obama, African-American Girls, Self-Esteem, ages 4-8

Double Bass Blues by Loney, Andrea
10/22/19

TAGS: fiction, grandfathers, musicians, neighborhoods, ages 4-8

Saturday by Mora, Oge
10/22/19

TAGS: fiction, mothers & daughters, people & places, adaptability, ages 4-8

Happy Right Now by Berry, Julie
10/29/19

TAGS: fiction, girls, self-esteem, emotions, happiness, ages 4-8

Layla's Happiness by Tallie, Mariahadessa
11/19/19

TAGS: fiction, girls, friendship, self-esteem, emotions & feelings, ages 4-8

Chapter Books and Graphic Novels

Tristan Strong Punches a Whole in the Sky by Mbalia, Kwame

10/15/19

TAGS: fiction, adventure, supernatural, science fiction, self-confidence, ages 9-12

The Dragon Thief by Elliot, Zetta
10/22/19

TAGS: fiction, dragons, magic, Brooklyn, NY, ages 9-12

The Forgotten Girl by Brown, Indian Hill
11/5/19

TAGS: fiction, friendship, ghost stories, North Carolina, ages 9-12

Ali Cross by Patterson
11/25/19

TAGS: fiction, detective stories, action adventure, family, ages 9-12

Mia Mayhem vs. the Mighty Robot, Mia Mayhem #6  by West, Kara

11/26/19

TAGS: fiction, early reader, superheroes, action & adventure, ages 6-8

Going to Ghana, Ana & Andrew Series by Platt, Christine
12/15/19

TAGS: fiction, siblings, family, imagination & play, people & places, ages 6-8

Black Panther: Stormy Weather, Book #1 by Baker, Kyle
12/17/19

TAGS: fiction, action & adventure, superheroes, media tie-in, ages 9-12

Black History and Biography Books

The Unstoppable Garrett Morgan by Dicicco, Joan
10/1/19

TAGS: biography, African-American Inventors, technology, black history, ages 7-12

Buzzing with Questions by Harrington, Janice

11/5/19

TAGS: biography, Charles Henry Turner, African-American Biologists, zoology black history, ages 4-10

Free Your Mind by Bryant, Jen
11/12/19

TAGS: biography, August Wilson, African-American Authors, playwrights, black history, ages 7-10

Exceptional Black Men in Black History by Harrison, Vashti
11/19/19

TAGS: biography, African-American men, black history, ages 7-12

Sheroes: Harriet Tubman by Platt, Christine
12/15/19

TAGS: biography, African-American Women, black history, ages 5-8

Sheroes: Cleopatra by Platt, Christine
12/15/19

TAGS: biography, African history, Egypt, black history, ages 5-8

Teen and Young Adult Books

Shuri, vol. 2 by Ayala, Vita
9/24/19

TAGS: graphic novel, fiction, superheroes, women superheroes, Black Panther, ages 9 & Up

The Crossover [the graphic novel] by Alexander, Kwame
9/24/19

TAGS: graphic novel, fiction, fathers and sons, siblings, basketball, ages 10-16

King Shaka: Zulu Legend by Molver, Luke W.
10/1/19

TAGS: graphic novel, biographical fiction, Zulu people, kings and queens, Africa, ages 12-18

By Any Means Necessary by Montgomery, Candice
10/8/19

TAGS: fiction, families, self-identity, LGBTQ, ages 15-18

Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir by Grimes, Nikki
10/8/19

TAGS: autobiographical, poetry, childhood and youth, African-American Poets, ages 12-17

Light It Up by Magoon, Kekla
10/22/19

TAGS: fiction, race relations, police shootings, social themes, ages 14-18

Naomi: Season One by Bendis, Brian Michael

10/29/19

TAGS: graphic novel, fiction, women superheroes, family secrets, adoption, ages 17 & Up

Girls Like Us by Pink, Randi
10/29/19

TAGS: fiction, social themes, 1972, teenage pregnancy, ages 13-18

Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Adeyemi, Tomi
12/3/19

TAGS: fiction, fantasy, action & adventure, Legacy of Orisha series, ages 14-17

Zora! by Fradin, Dennis Brindell
12/17/19

TAGS: biography, black history, African American Writers, African American women ages 10-14

For the Love of Poetry

Earlier this year in January I had an opportunity to attend the American Libraries Association's Midwinter Conference in Atlanta, GA.  There, I sat in on a panel discussion featuring author Kwame Alexander and illustrator Ekua Holmes who I both absolutely respect and admire for the gifts and works that they lend to the children's book world.  The panel focused mostly on discussing an upcoming release by Kwame Alexander and other fellow writers that focuses on celebrating poets and poetry titled "Out of Wonder".  The book is composed of original poems that celebrate poets of many eras.  Classic poets like E.E. Cummings and Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes from the Harlem Renaissance, contemporary poets like Sandra Cisneros and Nikki Giovanni, and even international poets Basho (Japanese) and Okot p'Bitek (Uganda) are just a few of the fabulously gifted poets celebrated in the upcoming release.  Ekua Holmes ingeniously takes each original poem and crafts an illustration to represent the text.  You may imagine that I was enthralled hearing about the process and what work went into producing this book of poetry.  Yes, I was!

 



Kwame Alexander (author/poet) reading his poem "I Like Your"



Ekua Holmes (illustrator) sharing her creative process

 

Growing up I fell in love with the idea of being a professional poet.  I loved the idea of using words in an unconventional way to create a story, a song, an expression of an idea or thought.  I found myself keeping a journal of poems in high school and college, but somewhere in adulthood I got busy with life and stopped writing.  It seems as if today young people are not being introduced to poetry in the way that I was.  When I had a book talk at my library during the summer last year, the teens looked at me with confusion when I stated we would be focusing on books of poetry.  They couldn't understand why someone would just want to read a book of poems with no typical beginning, middle and end storyline.  After an hour of discussion and digging into books written by contemporary authors the teens walked away excited about the possibility of being poet themselves.  It was a successful moment.  I thought about this while I listened to Alexander and Holmes talk about how they, like me, want to bring back an appreciation for poetry amongst our young people.


I am now on a mission to bring back poetry appreciation to youth one verse at a time.  Come back to my blog later to learn about my poetry adventures this summer with teens at the library where I work in Queens, NY.  I hope that you will return and while you're at it check out some of these recent and upcoming works for middle grades and teen readers that celebrate poetry in both traditional and unconventional ways.

One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance (2017) Grimes, Nikki

Garvey's Choice (2016) Grimes, Nikki

Brown Girl Dreaming (2014) Woodson, Jacqueline

The Crossover (2014) Alexander, Kwame

The Red Pencil (2014) Pinkney, Andrea Davis

Words with Wings (2013) Grimes, Nikki


Coming Soon!

Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets (3/14/17) Alexander, Kwame; Colderley, Chris; Wentworth, Marjory