Category Archives: News and Fun

Review: Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes

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Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes

Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance
Nikki Grimes
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published January 5, 2021

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About Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance

From Children’s Literature Legacy Award-winning author Nikki Grimes comes a feminist-forward new collection of poetry celebrating the little-known women poets of the Harlem Renaissance–paired with full-color, original art from today’s most talented female African-American illustrators.

For centuries, accomplished women–of all races–have fallen out of the historical records. The same is true for gifted, prolific, women poets of the Harlem Renaissance who are little known, especially as compared to their male … Continue reading →

Review: The Swans of Harlem by Karen Valby

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The Swans of Harlem by Karen Valby

The Swans of Harlem: Five Black Ballerinas, a Legacy of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History (Adapted for Young Adults)
Karen Valby
Delacorte Press
Published January 14, 2025

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About The Swans of Harlem (Adapted for Young Adults)

A full accounting of five incredibly talented Black ballerinas from The Dance Theater of Harlem, founding members among them, that illuminates their hard-fought, historic, and overlooked contributions to the world of classical dance at a time when racism shut out Black dancers from major dance companies.

It was true until only recently, their past … Continue reading →

Review: Black Heroes of the Wild West by James Otis Smith

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Black Heroes of the Wild West by James Otis Smith

Black Heroes of the Wild West: Featuring Stagecoach Mary, Bass Reeves, and Bob Lemmons
James Otis Smith
TOON Books
September 15, 2020

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About Black Heroes of the Wild West

True stories from the Wild West, but not like you’ve seen in the movies.

This graphic novel by James Otis Smith celebrates the extraordinary true tales of three black heroes who took control of their destinies and stood up for their communities in the Old West. Born into slavery in Tennessee, Mary Fields became famous as “Stagecoach Mary,” a cigar-chomping, cardplaying coach driver who never missed a … Continue reading →

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, California, … 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 →