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Review: The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steve Sheinkin

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The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steve Sheinkin

The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights
Steve Sheinkin
Roaring Brook Press
Published January 21, 2014

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About The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights

An astonishing World War II military story of civil rights from New York Times bestselling author and Newbery Honor recipient Steve Sheinkin.

A National Book Award Finalist
A YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

On July 17, 1944, a massive explosion rocked the segregated Navy base at Port Chicago, … Continue reading →

Review: Black Girl You Are Atlas by Renée Watson

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Black Girl You Are Atlas by Renee Watson

Black Girl You Are Atlas
Renée Watson
Illustrated by Ekua Holmes
Kokila
Published February 13, 2024

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About Black Girl You Are Atlas

A thoughtful celebration of Black girlhood by award-winning author and poet Renée Watson.

In this semi-autobiographical collection of poems, Renée Watson writes
about her experience growing up as a young Black girl at the intersections of race, class, and gender.

Using a variety of poetic forms, from haiku to free verse, Watson shares recollections of her childhood in Portland, tender odes to the Black women in her life, and urgent calls for Black girls to step … Continue reading →

Review: The Six: The Untold Story of America’s First Women Astronauts, Young Readers Edition by Loren Grush with Rebecca Stefoff

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The Six: The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush and Rebecca Stefoff

The Six: The Untold Story of America’s First Women Astronauts, Young Readers Edition
Loren Grush with Rebecca Stefoff
Simon & Schuster
Published February 11, 2025

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About The Six: The Untold Story of America’s First Women Astronauts, Young Readers Edition

The extraordinary true story of America’s first female astronauts hailed as “suspenseful, meticulously observed, enlightening” by Margot Lee Shetterly, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Figures, now adapted for young readers.

Sally Ride may have been the first US woman in space, but did you know there were five … Continue reading →

Review: Away by Megan E. Freeman

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Away by Megan E. Freeman

Away
Megan E. Freeman
Simon & Schuster
Published February 11, 2025

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About Away

A group of children investigate the threat that prompted large-scale evacuations in this powerful and dramatic companion novel to the New York Times bestselling Alone told in multiple POVs.

After an imminent yet unnamed danger forces people across Colorado to leave their homes, a group of kids, including an aspiring filmmaker and a budding journalist, find themselves in the same evacuation camp. As they cope with the aftermath of having their world upended, they grow curious about the mysterious threat.

And as they begin to investigate, they … Continue reading →

Review: The Color Purple by Alice Walker

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The Color Purple by Alice Walker

The Color Purple
Alice Walker
Penguin Books
Published December 10, 2019 (Orig. 1982)

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About The Color Purple

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award

A powerful cultural touchstone of modern American literature, The Color Purple depicts the lives of African American women in early twentieth-century rural Georgia. Separated as girls, sisters Celie and Nettie sustain their loyalty to and hope in each other across time, distance and silence. Through a series of letters spanning twenty years, first from Celie to God, then the sisters to each other despite the unknown, the novel draws readers into its rich and … Continue reading →

23 Most-Anticipated Middle Grade Books Coming Winter 2025

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23 Most-Anticipated Middle Grade Books Coming Winter 2025

23 Most-Anticipated Middle Grade Books Coming Winter 2025

I’m wildly late getting this post together, but there are some amazing middle grade books coming winter 2025 that I desperately want to talk about, so here we are. Better late than never, I guess!

This is a pretty eclectic list, ranging from horror to fantasy to historical to contemporary to memoir. There are novels in verse and some more experimental formats. Pretty much something for everyone.

These are the books I’m most looking forward to, so there are bound to be some other highly anticipated books that I don’t have on my radar. Please leave a comment and let me know if you’re looking forward … Continue reading →