Book Lists

Diversity in MG Lit #23 Dec 2020 Holiday books

By on December 25, 2020   /   Articles, Book Lists, WNDMG  
When it comes to holiday books for kids European and white American versions of the holiday are easy to find. Here are a few new and more diverse offerings to put you in the holiday spirit.
Nicholas the Maker by Brian and Josie Parker. Here’s a little gem of a book from the micro-press Believe in Wonder Publishing. It’s the story of Nicholas, the son of Bishop Nicholas of Myra. He’s a half-elf in search of his mother’s people. It’s a magical quest tale leading to the origins of our modern myth of Santa Claus. It is beautifully illustrated throughout with pictures that make it clear that Nicholas is a brown boy. Historically fitting as the real person Bishop Nicholas of Myra, who became St. Nicholas, is from the southern coast of modern day Turkey.
Ten Ways to Hear Snow by Cathy Camper illustrated by Kenard Pak.
Here is a celebration of snow which reminds me a bit of another favorite, Before Morning by Joyce Sidman and Beth Krommes. Lina goes on a wintery walk to her grandma’s to make their special holiday treat, warak enab. Along the way she reflects on all the sounds that snow makes. It’s a sweet ode to holiday baking and it celebrates so much more than the Arab-American culture in which it is rooted.
Simon & the Bear by Eric Kimmel illustrated by Matthew Trueman. Like Cathy Camper, Eric Kimmel is a fellow Portlander. He’s written many Hanukkah stories. This one is his most fanciful yet. It features an immigrant struggling to survive, a highly unlikely rescue, and an even more unlikely Hanukkah guest. Throughout it highlights eight everyday miracles: family, friendship, hope, selflessness, sharing, faith, courage, and love.
And finally if you are a fan of the Netflix holdiay extravaganza Jingle Jangle, there is a novelized version of it. Jingle Jangle by Lyn Sison Albert
Not holiday related but I wanted to make quick mention of these books which are coming out Jan 21st.
Sea in Winter by Christine Day
I found this story particularly resonant because all of my  children are dancers and they have struggled at times, like Maisie in Christine Day’s book, with injuries that cause them to call their whole sense of self into question. Maisie lives in Seattle and is Makah/Piscataway. This book runs deep with questions of identity and history set against the backdrop of the Makah whale hunts and ancient archaeological sites. A great read for a thoughtful and tenderhearted child.
Amari & the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston is the first in a trilogy of books about a black girl with a magical destiny. This has already been made into a movie, so it stands poised to take its place in the realm of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson.
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The Month of Best Book Lists!

By on December 17, 2020   /   Articles, Book Lists, Fiction, MUF Contributor Books, Nonfiction  

It’s nearing the end of 2020 (finally!), and that means the best book lists are starting to roll out. Here are some great lists of middle grade books published this year (including some from our very own MUF bloggers)!

National Science Teaching Association
Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12

https://www.nsta.org/ostb-2021

NSTA’s winners of the Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12: 2021 includes some fantastic, award-winning books about science, engineering, and design. Here are a few:

Changing the Equation: 50+ US Black Women in STEM

Tonya Bolden
ABRAMS / Abrams Books for Young Readers

This book is filled with the profiles of notable, inspiring, and pioneering black women in STEM. Their accomplishments and contributions throughout American history are an inspiration to all women of color.

 

Wildlife Ranger Action Guide: Track, Spot & Provide Healthy Habitat for Creatures Close to Home

Mary Kay Carson
Storey Publishing

Learn about the importance of lizard lodges and bee boxes. Using everyday materials, this field guide suggests activities to turn backyards into personal learning and conservation zones.

 

The Children’s Book Council
2021 Best STEM Books

https://www.cbcbooks.org/cbc-book-lists/2021-bsb/

Book recommendations for educators, librarians, parents, and guardians of the best children’s books with STEM content in 2020. Here are a few:

Beastly Bionics

Jennifer Swanson
National Geographic Kids

Discover how the natural world inspires innovation in science and technology to create the latest and greatest breakthroughs and discoveries in this exciting book.

 

 

All Thirteen

Christina Soontornvat
Candlewick

A unique account of the amazing Thai cave rescue told in a heart-racing, you-are-there style that blends suspense, science, and cultural insight.

 

 

Wood, Wire, Wings

Kirsten W. Larson
Tracy Subisak
Boyds Mills & Kane

This riveting nonfiction picture book biography explores both the failures and successes of self-taught engineer Emma Lilian Todd as she tackles one of the greatest challenges of the early 1900s: designing an airplane.

 

New York Public Library
Best Books for Kids  2020

https://www.nypl.org/books-more/recommendations/best-books/kids

NYPL’s expert librarians choose their favorite books for  kids in 2020. Here are a few from their long list:

Fighting Words

Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Dial Books

A candid and fierce middle grade novel about sisterhood and sexual abuse.

 

 

Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice

Mahogany L. Browne, Elizabeth Acevedo, Olivia Gatwood, Theodore Taylor, III, (Illustrator) Jason Reynolds
Roaring Brook Press

Historically poets have been on the forefront of social movements. Woke is a collection of poems by women that reflects the joy and passion in the fight for social justice, tackling topics from discrimination to empathy, and acceptance to speaking out.

Kirkus
Best Middle Grade Books of 2020

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/best-of/2020/middle-grade/

Kirkus has a whole list of “best of 2020” lists of middle grade books. There are plenty of books to check out–from graphic novels to books about immigration and refugees. Here are a few:

Class Act

Jerry Craft
Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins

New York Times bestselling author Jerry Craft returns with a companion book to New Kid, winner of the 2020 Newbery Medal, the Coretta Scott King Author Award, and the Kirkus Prize. This time, it’s Jordan’s friend Drew who takes center stage in another laugh-out-loud funny, powerful, and important story about being one of the few kids of color in a prestigious private school.

The Land of the Cranes

Aida Salazar
Scholastic Press

From the prolific author of The Moon Within comes the heart-wrenchingly beautiful story in verse of a young Latinx girl who learns to hold on to hope and love even in the darkest of places: a family detention center for migrants and refugees.

 

This is just a sneak peek into all of the amazing middle grade books published this year, and the beginning of the best of lists. Be sure to check out the links to see many more middle grade books that came out in 2020!

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Indie Spotlight: Ashay ByThe Bay, Black Children’s Bookstore Vallejo CA

By on December 14, 2020   /   Articles, Book Lists, children's bookstores, Diversity, Fiction, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, Homeschool Resource, independent bookstores, Indie Spotlight, Nonfiction  

Given the challenges of the pandemic, many independent bookstores have turned  increasingly to online sales to survive. Deborah Day, founder and CEO of  “The #1 Black Children’s Bookstore,” Ashay By The Bay, Vallejo, California, made hers an online shop from the beginning in 2000. It survived the recession of 2008 and is still going strong. Fittingly, Ashay is a powerful Yoruba word that means “it shall be so.” It is also Deborah Day’s given name.

So! Day has developed an engaging and user-friendly website (www.ashaybythebay.com) with over 800 titles, from  baby books to picture books to fiction and nonfiction for middle grade and young adult readers. Most have black American and African subjects, themes, and characters.  But since there is a large Latin American community nearby she also has school collections of Spanish and bilingual books for them. More about her school collections in a moment.

It’s exciting to see so many books for kids about black culture, people, and history gathered onto one curated site. I have now added several titles to my staggering must read pile. For instance, though I’m not a fantasy or science fiction fan at all, I can’t wait to read Tomi Adeywmi’s West-African inspired fantasy, Children of Blood and Bone.  Before the week is out I will probably also dip into Nnedi Okarafor’s imaginative and highly praised tale of magic and adventure in Nigeria, Akata Witch. As Day understands, good books for kids are good for everybody!

Before COVID, Day advertised grew her business by going to events, holding book fairs, and helping groups to conduct book fairs. She loved making in-person contacts that way. Now that those events are no longer possible she is relying more on social media ads, and she is hearing from people across the country.

The Pandemic also poses a challenge to her goal of getting children’s books about black subjects and black experience into the schools where they can have more impact on students’ understanding. Few schools are buying books right now and many students are doing distance learning. What an important time to build a home library, Day says. Of course there are many digital book available online, but the students are already screen-weary from school work. Day loves books and believes and holding a book to read is a more satisfying experience.

During shutdown, people can consult the Ashay website for the lists of the book collections, organized by age/grade e level, that Day offers to schools, and find ideas for books to order. These collections include many core curriculum books, but also give a chance for some independent publishers to become better known. Here are just a few of the many titles on her lists for middle graders:

Biographies: The Truths We Hold: An American Journey (Young Readers’ Edition) by Kamala Harris ; Portraits of African- American Heroes, by Tonya Bolden , including figures from dance, law athletics, science, and more. Who Was Jesse Owens? By James Buckley and Gregory Copeland; Brave. Black. First, 50+ African American Women Who Changed the World, by Cheryl Hudson; Hidden Figures, Young Reader’s Edition, byMargot Lee Shetterly; Black Women in Science: A Black History Book for Kids by Kimberly Brown Pellum;

Award-winning Fiction:

P.S. Be Eleven, Rita Williams-Garcia; The Season of Styx Malone, by Kekla Magoon; Harbor Me by Jaqueline Woodson; Ghost and Look Both Ways, by Jayson Reynolds; A Sky Full of Stars by Linda Williams Jackson;Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes; The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney.

Nonfiction:

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba;28 Days: Moments in Black History That Changed the World by Charles R. Smith; The Talk: Conversations about Race, Love, and Truth, edited by Wade and Cheryl Hudson; Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men who Changed America, by Andrea Davis Pinkney.

The Arts:

Radiant Child: The story of Young Artist Jean Michel Basquiat by Javaka Steptoe; Who is Stevie Wonder? By Jim Gigliotti; The Legends of Hip Hop by Justin Bua; The Rose That Grew from Concrete,by Nikki Giovanni and Tupak Shakur; Poetry for Young People: African American Poetry, edited by Arnold Rampersad and Marcellus Blount; Who is Stevie Wonder? By Jim Gigliotti and Who HQ’; Misty Copeland: Life in Motion.

December 2020:  an ideal time to get to know more about black culture from the excellent books being published for children.   It’s also an ideal time to give beautiful, real books to children who’ve been doing schoolwork online all day. And let’s please bypass the chains when we buy these books (Amazon will survive the economic crisis) and support independent booksellers like Ashay instead. A triple win!

 

 

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