African Americans – Cannonball Read 17

Happy April and Happy Poetry Month

All of Those Babies by Mylisa Larsen

Aunt Sue's Stories by Langston Hughes

Bless Our Pets : Poems of Gratitude for Our Animal Friends by Lee Bennett Hopkins

April 5, 2024 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Happy April and Happy Poetry Month. I am sure I will find other poetry books for kids, but I will start with three that I just found. All are available (or with the last one “soon” in April 2024) but all have been read via online reader copies. The first is All of Those Babies by Mylisa Larsen and illustrated by Stephanie Laberis . This book is one solid poem that rhymes and has repetition. The idea is how all babies, be they lizard, human […]

What’s that sound?

Tapping Feet by Moira Rose Donohue

August 15, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I really enjoy my job as a staff member of an independent bookstore. You never know what you will find on the shelves (for sale and reader copies, where I found an ARC, Juba! by Walter Dean Myers, that had introduced me to a few names shown here). Or in the emails we receive saying, “Hey we have these reader copies and if you’re interested email me and I’ll send you something.” In early August I had asked for a finished copy of Tapping Feet […]

Authentically Charlie

Curlfriends V01: New in Town by Sharee Miller

July 11, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I like reader copies. You get to find a good story about friendship, fitting in and being yourself before the final book comes out. And you can decide if the characters are relatable, and for what ages (such as ages 10 and up for Curlfriends V01: New in Town and yes, it is relatable), and see that the illustrations are clever, quirky and fun. You find out that Sharee Miller, while dealing with some serious themes (the fitting in, making friends when you think it is hard […]

It takes a community to make juice

Fresh Juice by Robert Liu-Trujillo

January 5, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

The picture book Fresh Juice might not become a classic, but it probably should. However, at the very least this mid-July 2023 release is going to be popular for many reasons. And the text is a good place as any to start. This story by Robert Liu-Trujillo tells the story of a father and son and their community. You might need vitamins and ginger and a little cayenne pepper for a cold-clobbering juice, but a little community added in does not hurt as well. And […]

The perfection of imperfection

Fights: One Boy’s Triumph Over Violence by Joel Christian Gill

April 16, 2021 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Fights: One Boy’s Triumph Over Violence is not a perfect book. Which is what makes it interesting and exciting. This is (as the author, Joel Christian Gill, themselves says) a memoir not a biography. These snippets of Joel growing up in Virginia, living in the ‘partments, dealing with bullies (adult and kid) are based on events that happened, people he knew and a little poetic license to move his story along. They take you on a journey of how the author learned how and when […]

Lift as you Climb

Lift as You Climb: The Story of Ella Baker. by Lift as You Climb: The Story of Ella Baker.

February 12, 2021 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Due to current events, picture books have a new source of material. They now deal with women of history and women of color of history more than before. And they are “finding” people who had grand impact but are not as well known. Or known outside of their time. And a person I was unfamiliar with was Ella Baker. A woman of both women’s history and black history. A woman who changed policies and in her own way, kicked some butt. Thankfully, Patricia Hruby Powell […]

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Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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