Category Archives: Nonfiction

Review: Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice by Tommie Smith, Derrick Barnes, and Dawud Anyabwile

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Victory. Stand!: Raising by Fist for Justice by Anyabwile, Barnes, and Smith

Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice
Tommie Smith and Derrick Barnes
Illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile
Norton Young Readers
Published September 27, 2022

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About Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice

On October 16, 1968, during the medal ceremony at the Mexico City Olympics, Tommie Smith, the gold medal winner in the 200-meter sprint, and John Carlos, the bronze medal winner, stood on the podium in black socks and raised their black-gloved fists to protest racial injustice inflicted upon African Americans. Both men were forced to leave the Olympics, received death threats, and faced … Continue reading →

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 well … 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: Pauli Murray by Rosita Stevens-Holsey and Terry Catasús Jennings

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Pauli Murray by Rosita Stevens-Holsey and Terry Catasus Jennings

Pauli Murray: The Life of a Pioneering Feminist and Civil Rights Activist
Rosita Stevens-Holsey and Terry Catasús Jennings
Yellow Jacket
Published February 8, 2022

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About Pauli Murray: The Life of a Pioneering Feminist and Civil Rights Activist

Pauli Murray was a trailblazer who spent her life fighting for civil rights and women’s rights. Writer, lawyer, activist, priest, Pauli was a champion for justice. Her life is immortalized in this biography told in verse.

Pauli Murray was a thorn in the side of white America demanding justice and equal treatment for all. She was a queer civil rights and … Continue reading →

Review: A Song for the Cosmos by Jan Lower and Gary Kelley

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A Song for the Cosmos by Jan Lower

A Song for the Cosmos
Jan Lower
Illustrated by Gary Kelley
Creative Editions
Published August 9, 2022

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About A Song for the Cosmos

Blues guitarist Blind Willie Johnson led a hardscrabble life, but in 1977, NASA’s Voyager spacecrafts were launched, each carrying a golden record to introduce planet Earth to the cosmos, and his song “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground” became the defining anthem.

Weaving together elements of Johnson’s biography with an account of how a team of astrophysicists, writers, and artists created the golden record for the Voyager mission, Jan Lower and Gary Kelley craft a tale that … Continue reading →