Category Archives: News and Fun

Review: All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson

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All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto
George M. Johnson
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Published April 28, 2020

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About All Boys Aren’t Blue

In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. From the memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea marketing with his loving grandmother, to his first sexual relationships, this young-adult memoir weaves together the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys.

Both a primer for teens eager to be allies as … Continue reading →

Review: Outdoor School: Tree, Wildflower and Mushroom Spotting by Mary Kay Carson and John D. Dawson

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Outdoor School: Tree, Wildflower and Mushroom Spotting by Mary Kay Carson and John D. Dawson

Outdoor School: Tree, Wildflower and Mushroom Spotting
Mary Kay Carson and John D. Dawson
MacMillan
Published February 28, 2023

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About Outdoor School

With 448 full-color, highly-illustrated pages, Outdoor School is your indispensable tool for the outdoors.

This interactive field guide to plant and mushroom spotting includes:
– Immersive activities to get you exploring
– Write-in sections to journal about experiences
– Next-level adventures to challenge even seasoned nature lovers.

No experience is required—only curiosity and courage. Inside you’ll find easy-to-follow instructions on how to:
– Grow mushrooms with cardboard
– Compare bark types
– Count tree rings
– … Continue reading →

Review: They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker

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They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker

They Called Us Enemy
George Takei
Justin Eisinger
Steven Scott
Illustrated by Harmony Becker
Top Shelf Productions
Published July 16, 2019

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About They Called Us Enemy

A graphic memoir recounting actor/author/activist George Takei’s childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps during World War II. Experience the forces that shaped an American icon — and America itself.

Long before George Takei braved new frontiers in Star Trek, he woke up as a four-year-old boy to find his own birth country at war with his father’s — and their entire family forced from their home into an uncertain future.

In 1942, … Continue reading →

Review: A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow

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A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow

A Song Below Water (A Song Below Water #1)
Bethany C. Morrow
Tor Teen
Published June 2, 2020

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About A Song Below Water

Tavia is already at odds with the world, forced to keep her siren identity under wraps in a society that wants to keep her kind under lock and key. Nevermind she’s also stuck in Portland, Oregon, a city with only a handful of black folk and even fewer of those with magical powers. At least she has her bestie Effie by her side as they tackle high school drama, family secrets, and unrequited crushes.

But everything changes in the aftermath of a … Continue reading →

Review: Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin

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Ain't Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin

Ain’t Burned All the Bright
Jason Reynolds
Illustrated by Jason Griffin
Atheneum
Published January 11, 2022

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About Ain’t Burned All the Bright

Prepare yourself for something unlike anything: A smash-up of art and text for teens that viscerally captures what it is to be Black. In America. Right Now. Written by #1 New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jason Reynolds.

Jason Reynolds and his best bud, Jason Griffin had a mind-meld. And they decided to tackle it, in one fell swoop. In about ten sentences, and 300 pages of art, this piece, this contemplation-manifesto-fierce-vulnerable-gorgeous-terrifying-WhatIsWrongWithHumans-hope-filled-hopeful-searing-Eye-Poppingly-Illustrated-tender-heartbreaking-how-The-HECK-did-They-Come-UP-with-This project about oxygen. … Continue reading →

Review: The Severed Thread by Leslie Vedder

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The Severed Thread by Leslie Vedder

The Severed Thread (The Bone Spindle #2)
Leslie Vedder
Razorbill
Published February 7, 2023

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About The Severed Thread

Which threads of fate will hold—and which will break?

Clever, bookish Fi and her brash, ax-wielding partner Shane are back in this action packed sequel to the bestselling THE BONE SPINDLE, the gender-flipped Sleeping Beauty retelling, perfect for fans of SORCERY OF THORNS and THE CRUEL PRINCE.

Fi has awakened the sleeping prince, but the battle for Andar is far from over. The Spindle Witch, the Witch Hunters, and Fi’s own Butterfly Curse all stand between them and happily ever after.

Shane has … Continue reading →