@ Book Recommendations Thread

[keyslover]

*Totally taken from Jalapeñomel


I thought it might be nice to have a post to put books people recommend regarding what’s happening, whether it be on the BLM movement, whitewashing of history, the Spanish flu epidemic, or history of elections, anything that might help us grow our knowledge.



Please put the author, title, a brief synopsis, and age range please.


Here is a link to Black owned bookstores to purchase books: www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/06/9851084/black-owned-bookstores-independent-online

[keyslover]

DD1 is almost 12, she hasn't read this yet. It should arrive tomorrow.

I took this from Good Reads.

Ghost Boys
by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Twelve-year-old Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, he observes the devastation that’s been unleashed on his family and community in the wake of what they see as an unjust and brutal killing.

Soon Jerome meets another ghost: Emmett Till, a boy from a very different time but similar circumstances. Emmett helps Jerome process what has happened, on a journey towards recognizing how historical racism may have led to the events that ended his life. Jerome also meets Sarah, the daughter of the police officer, who grapples with her father’s actions.

[keyslover]

DD1 read this age 9 and DD2 age 8.  

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

In the summer of 1968, after travelling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp.

P.S Be Eleven by Rita Williams-Garcia

After spending the summer in Oakland with their mother and the Black Panthers, Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern arrive home with a newfound streak of independence, and the sisters aren't the only ones who have changed. Now Pa has a girlfriend. Uncle Darnell returns from Vietnam a different man. But Big Ma still expects Delphine to keep her sisters in line. That's much harder now that Vonetta and Fern refuse to be bossed around. Besides her sisters, Delphine's got plenty of other things to worry about-like starting sixth grade, being the tallest girl in her class, and dreading the upcoming school dance (her first). The one person she confides in is her mother, Cecile. Through letters, Delphine pours her heart out and receives some constant advice: to be eleven while she can. 


Gone Crazy in Alabama by Rita Williams- Garcia 

Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern are off to Alabama to visit their grandmother Big Ma and her mother, Ma Charles. Across the way lives Ma Charles’s half sister, Miss Trotter. The two half sisters haven’t spoken in years. As Delphine hears about her family history, she uncovers the surprising truth that’s been keeping the sisters apart. But when tragedy strikes, Delphine discovers that the bonds of family run deeper than she ever knew possible.

[Jalapeñomel]

I’m Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sánchez

Although the language in this book is probably not appropriate for younger ages, I think it’s fine for teenagers.

Synopsis:


Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents’ house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family.

But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga’s role.

Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed.

But it’s not long before Julia discovers that Olga might not have been as perfect as everyone thought. With the help of her best friend Lorena, and her first love, first everything boyfriend Connor, Julia is determined to find out. Was Olga really what she seemed? Or was there more to her sister’s story? And either way, how can Julia even attempt to live up to a seemingly impossible ideal?

[minzy]

Last week we read Ruth and the Green Book by Calvin Alexander Ramsay and Gwen Strauss, recommended for ages 7-11. It’s historical fiction and has beautiful illustrations. The story is about a girl and her parents going south to visit family and how they can’t stop at many places along the way because of discrimination based on the color of their skin. They learn of a Green book, which tells them where along the way other black travelers were able to find food, gas, lodging and bathrooms. The last page tells the history of the real Green book.
www.goodreads.com/book/show/8525961-ruth-and-the-green-book

[sugarbear]

Jalapeñomel that is such a good book.

I also recommend anything by:
Nic Stone
Angie Thomas
Jacqueline Woodson
Walter Dean Meyers
Jason Reynolds

Stamped is the YR version of Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. I’m reading the original, which is excellent. I’ve heard good things about the YR version.

Just Mercy also has a YR version. Both, again, are excellent (I teach this book in 8th grade, and would t go much younger than 7th.)

[underwaterrhymes]

Our kids are ages 7 and 5 and we love these:

My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood by Tameka Fryer Brown (ill. by Shane W. Evans)

The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson

Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o (ill. By Vashti Harrison)

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena (ill. by Christian Robinson)

A Kids Book About Racism by Jelani Memory

We also love One Word from Sophia by Jim Averbeck (ill. by Yameen Ismaili) and Ada Twist Scientist by Andrea Beatty (ill. by David Roberts), but I don’t believe these last two are by Black authors.



ETA: I included books featuring Black characters since I think it’s important to have books in our collection that include characters of color, as well as to support Black authors.

[ny96]

Jun 29, 2020 9:00:17 GMT -5 underwaterrhymes said:

Our kids are ages 7 and 5 and we love these:

My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood by Tameka Fryer Brown (ill. by Shane W. Evans)

The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson

Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o (ill. By Vashti Harrison)

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena (ill. by Christian Robinson)

A Kids Book About Racism by Jelani Memory

We also love One Word from Sophia by Jim Averbeck (ill. by Yameen Ismaili) and Ada Twist Scientist by Andrea Beatty (ill. by David Roberts), but I don’t believe these last two are by Black authors.



ETA: I included books featuring Black characters since I think it’s important to have books in our collection that include characters of color, as well as to support Black authors.

I love The Undefeated and Last Stop on Market Street. I wish my kids would love them too.

Jabari Jumps and Max Speed are favorites in our house (both have white authors).

[InBetweenDays]

Thanks for starting this topic! School just ended two Fridays ago and the kids have a goal of reading 5 books this summer. So nice to have the recommendations here!

Right now DS (11) is reading (DD has already read) Backfield Boys by John Feinstein. It's a fictional story about two friends - one who is Jewish and one who is black - and their experience with racism in high school sports.

DD (14 tomorrow!) is reading the young readers version of Born a Crime by Trevor Noah. His memoir of growing up in South Africa during the final years of apartheid. DS will read it next.

[minzy]

Jun 29, 2020 9:00:17 GMT -5 underwaterrhymes said:

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena (ill. by Christian Robinson)

We saw them both speak awhile ago, so I was coming in to add Carmela Full of Wishes, which they also collaborated on. Age range is 4-8 years. It’s about a Hispanic girl wishing on a dandelion for things like her mother to sleep in one of the fancy hotel beds she makes at work and father to return to the family after he was (presumably) deported. www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/33110891-carmela-full-of-wishes

And then I read that Matt de la Pena has some sexual harassment allegations, ugh. www.pragmaticmom.com/2018/07/sexual-misconduct-in-childrens-book-publishing-metoo-timesup/

Also, can confirm Andrea Beaty is a Caucasian woman (we’ve met her too). I love all of hers, but Sofia Valdez, Future Prez (Hispanic girl who rallies her community to clean up a landfill) might be my favorite. Age range 5-7 years. www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/44095598-sofia-valdez-future-prez

[nsl]

New Kid by Jerry Craft is the first graphic novel to win a Newbery. Both DS 1 (12) and DS 2 (9) loved it.

Other Words from Home by Jasmine Warga is a lovely book about a Muslim girl and her mother who immigrate to the U.S. from Syria while her brother and father stay behind. It's solidly for middle grade, probably 10 years old and up.

Dante and Aristotle Explore the Universe is about two teen boys who form a hard-fought friendship and fall in love. Most of the characters are Mexican-American. It's more for teens--I'd recommend it starting in 9th grade.

[penguingrrl]

My daughters and I loved “With the Might of Angels” by Andrea Davis Pinkney. It follows the story of Dawnie Rae Johnson, a top student in her black middle school, as she is chosen to be the first black student in the white middle school in town. It’s written in the form of a diary written by Dawnie and all about her thoughts and experiences being the first student to integrate, including having a police presence protecting her in her early days and students, parents and teachers who never accepted her.

They read it in 4th grade, to give an idea of age.

[Jalapeñomel]

Last House on Market Street by Matt de la Peña is a great book for young kids (pre-K).


www.amazon.com/Last-Stop-Market-Street-Matt/dp/0399257748

[sporklemotion]

When my girls were very young (under 3), they liked Three Little Birds by Cedella Marley— it’s the song. She also did a book based on One Love. Ziggy Marley has a book or two they liked, too.

For HS, I’d recommend American Street or Pride by Ibi Zoboi— American Street is about a girl who moves to Detroit from Haiti and whose mother is detained. It is quite intense. Pride is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice— much lighter but gets into gentrification and some other issues.