Dina Nayeri has written extraordinary books for adults about the experiences of refugees, and her new nonfiction picture book for children, The Waiting Place, is equally haunting and beautiful. Nayeri went to the Katsikas refugee camp, along with photographer Anna Bosch Miralpeix, to interview and document the experiences of children living there. The cover ofContinue reading “Living In-between”
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A Home for Everyone
While reading Sanctuary: Kip Tiernan and Rosie’s Place, the Nation’s First Shelter for Women, I kept thinking, “How can this be the first time I am learning about this?” This picture book, written by Christine McDonnell and illustrated by Victoria Tentler-Krylov, is a remarkable story of persistence and love for humanity. It is also aContinue reading “A Home for Everyone”
Feeling Seen in the Books We Read
Finally Seen is Kelly Yang’s newest work for middle grade readers and will be on-sale starting on February 28. One of my favorite authors, Yang has once again developed a character and story that will resonate with readers young and old. Finally Seen is a timely work, dealing with issues of bilingualism, immigration, book bans,Continue reading “Feeling Seen in the Books We Read”
The Shortest School-to-Prison Pipeline
At one point in Promise Boys, written by Nick Brooks, a character describes attending his school as being just like going to jail. Unfortunately, I think there are a lot of students in our schools who feel similarly. Particularly our Black male students who seem to so frequently be targets of overzealous disciplinary actions. IContinue reading “The Shortest School-to-Prison Pipeline”
A Love Story for Everyone
There is a part of me that wants to call 6 Times We Almost Kissed (And One Time We Did) the best young adult, slow-burn romance I have ever read. But I don’t think “slow-burn” truly represents the love story depicted in this novel by Tess Sharpe. The love between Penny and Tate, who bothContinue reading “A Love Story for Everyone”
Living Out Loud
I knew Maulik Pancholy was an actor and I remembered that he served on an advisory committee in the Obama administration, but I had no idea that he was a children’s book author as well. Netgalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books gave me the opportunity to read and review an advanced reader copy of Nikhil OutContinue reading “Living Out Loud”
When You Can’t See the Wolves
I read an article in The New York Times this morning that referenced another youth sports organization that has been embroiled in sexual abuse scandals involving both coaches and players. While I was already planning to write about The Wolves are Waiting this week, the Times story made this book seem even more important toContinue reading “When You Can’t See the Wolves”
Queer History Lives Everywhere
One of the many important insights that readers can gain from reading Alex Gino’s Alice Austen Lived Here, is that LGBTQIAP+ people (acronym used in the text) are not new, even if they are able to live more openly in the present day. There have always been people with different gender identities and sexual orientationsContinue reading “Queer History Lives Everywhere”
A Dream Read
An exquisitely rendered depiction of life in a Black community, Dream Street is a joy to read. Written by Tricia Elam Walker with collages by Ekua Holmes, Dream Street introduces readers to the unique and dynamic individuals who make up this community. The book is based on the neighborhood in which Walker and Holmes grewContinue reading “A Dream Read”
Building Community
One of the foremost results of community activism is, of course, policy change. But another, less acknowledged, impact that community activism can have is a sense of belonging. In Laila Sabreen’s young adult novel, You Truly Assumed, three Black Muslim girls begin a blog for other young women to share their thoughts and feelings afterContinue reading “Building Community”
Teaching Social Justice with Children's Books 