book list – Page 2 – Andrea Is Reading

January 14, 2023January 14, 2023

Five Winter Reads

It was fall for about five minutes where I live, and then winter came. And with it came a lot of snow. Did the snow melt right away? No, of course not. Is it still around? Indeed it is. It seems like winter makes itself known every time I look out the window these days, which means it’s time to grab my blanket and head for the couch. Today I want to share five books perfect for these cold, wet days.

The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld

Naomi Cottle is a private investigator called upon to find a missing child who disappeared when she and her family searched for a Christmas tree in the forest. A former missing child herself, Naomi is specially equipped to find the missing girl. But, as she begins her search in the snowy woods, memories from her past come back in dreams and force her to face things she thought she’d forgotten. This novel is as atmospheric as they come.

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

I love novels with a strong sense of place, and The Hunting Party delivers. The story is set at a luxurious, remote lodge where a group of friends come together to celebrate the new year. A blizzard snows in the group, ensuring no one can leave the property. When someone is found dead on New Year’s Day, everyone becomes a suspect as old memories and resentments surface.

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

Small Things Like These is a novella set during the Christmas season in Ireland. It’s 1985, and Bill Furlong is an honest and hardworking husband, father, and man of faith. He works as a coal merchant and makes a startling discovery when he drops off a delivery to a local convent. This is a slim book but one that will stay with you.

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Set in 1920s Alaska, The Snow Child tells the story of Jack and Mabel, a childless couple who builds a child out of snow. The snow child disappears, but a little girl named Faina appears in the woods. Who she is and where she came from are the questions that power this memorable story. This type of book isn’t what I usually reach for, but I’m glad I read this one. The isolation and brutal cold of winter felt palpable in these pages.

Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May

January and February can be difficult months. The holidays are over, your New Year’s resolutions are probably broken, and winter days can seem longer than ever. Wintering is the perfect book for times like those. Katherine May writes about difficult seasons in her own life and how she learned the importance of rest and reflection. Reading this book felt like a warm hug, but not in a creepy way. You get it.

Do you have any go-to winter reads? Are there certain books you like to pick up in the colder months?

October 10, 2021October 9, 2021

My Favorite Book Settings

Photo by Mikołaj on Unsplash

I’m not a fan of traveling. I’m a homebody who’d rather be in my favorite cozy chair than on an airplane or exotic vacation. Despite my lack of interest in globetrotting, I like visiting different places when I read.

Book settings are something I’ve only started thinking about somewhat recently. I never paid much attention to them a few years ago, but my reading life improved when I realized what books I’m drawn to and why. Knowing what settings you like in your books is a quick and easy way to help you find your next read, so I’m sharing my favorites today.

NYC skyline — Photo by Emiliano Bar on Unsplash

New York City

I’ve always been interested in New York City, even though I’ve never been to the East Coast. I have a feeling I’d be overwhelmed in NYC after only 10 minutes of being there, but my fascination persists. I’m intrigued by how people live there: apartments instead of houses, public transportation instead of having your own car, affording rent, and having so many options for what to eat and drink and do. I follow several Instagram and TikTok accounts of New Yorkers who share what it’s like in the city, and they’re a delight. Armchair travel is my favorite.

Here are some of my favorite books set in New York City:

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler
Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin

London

One of the reasons I’m intrigued by London is its history. When I drive around my city, I see coffee stands and Old Navy. There are no old, gothic buildings, palaces, or famous museums, which is quite disappointing.

Here are some of my favorite books set in London:

The Downstairs Neighbor by Helen Cooper
Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
One Day in December by Josie Silver
About a Boy by Nick Hornby

College campus with a bike rack and ivy — Photo by Ryan Jacobson on Unsplash

Campuses

I love when books are set in the world of academia. (I just wrote about this.) I don’t care whether it’s a university, boarding school, high school, elementary classroom; I want all of it. I’ve noticed a trend on social media of highlighting dark academia as a genre, and while I do enjoy that, I also appreciate less-dark takes, like satire.

Here are some of my favorite books set on campuses:

The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Stoner by John Williams
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
Adequate Yearly Progress by Roxanna Elden

A beach view through a window — Photo by Johannes W on Unsplash

Vacation Homes

One of my friends and I have a running joke that someday we’ll have a house in the Hamptons. While I definitely will not ever have a home in the Hamptons, I can read about people who do. The home could also be a cabin in the woods, a beach house, a deserted property once in the family; all I want is for a family to go there together and entertain me in the pages of my book.

Some of my favorite vacation home books are:

Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel
The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
Maine by Courtney J. Sullivan
Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead

Inside of a bookstore looking out onto the street — Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

Bookstores & Libraries

There are few places I’d rather be than a bookstore or library. I went to both places just the other day, and I was in bookish nirvana. Since I love these spots so much in my real life, it’s fitting that I want to experience them in my reading life, too.

Here are some of my favorite books set in bookstores and libraries:

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
The Shelf: From LEQ to LES: Adventures in Extreme Reading by Phyllis Rose
Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry
Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew J. Sullivan

What about you? What are you favorite book settings?

September 12, 2021September 12, 2021

Ten Books for Back-to-School Season

Photo by Kelli Tungay on Unsplash

Since I work in education, September feels more like a new year than January does. When I go back to work, sometimes I want to pick up a book that mirrors my current season. If a book is set inside a school or is about a professor, I’m interested right away. I’m not sure if my intrigue stems from working in schools or fond memories of college, but no matter the reason why, I love academic settings and characters. Today I’m sharing ten books that are just right for back-to-school season. Sharpen your pencils, and let’s begin.

Adequate Yearly Progress by Roxanna Elden

This novel presents a satirical look at a public high school in Texas. We meet an earnest English teacher who yearns for a deeper connection with her students. The principal ends up in the news for saying something controversial on camera. Other main characters include a math teacher, biology teacher, football coach, and a second-year history teacher who blogs about the school and starts to go viral.

I found this novel to be equal parts funny and insightful. Many of the characters are people I feel like I’ve met over the years. If you’re looking for a lighthearted book to welcome you into a new school year, this is the one.

The All-Night Sun by Diane Zinna

I wrote about this book in last week’s recap, so I’ll repeat what I said then:

Lauren is a lonely, 30-year-old woman teaching college writing near Washington, D.C. She lost her parents years ago in a car accident and is still trying to find her way after their deaths. When Siri shows up in Lauren’s classroom, the two women strike up a friendship. Siri has also lost her parents, so the two feel a special kinship. Siri invites Lauren back to her home in Sweden, and Lauren, blurring professional boundaries, accepts.

The All-Night Sun follows the two women through their time in Sweden. This novel explores friendship, loneliness, and professionalism through beautiful prose and memorable characters. The cover of this book caught my eye at my local indie bookstore, and I’m so glad it did. I think most literary fiction fans will enjoy this story.

Good Girls Lie by J. T. Ellison

Good Girls Lie is set at a prestigious all-girls prep school in Virginia. The Goode School is for the rich and influential, the types of girls who will head off to Yale and Harvard. Beneath the impressive exterior is a secret society whose members push past the strict behavioral lines the administration has drawn for them. When a popular student ends up dead, people say it was suicide, but there are too many questions about the death for the interest to end there.

While I didn’t love this book’s conclusion, I did love the setting and the story’s fast pace. Good Girls Lie is the perfect escapist novel for anyone in the mood for a dark academic tale.

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Looking for Alaska is the first novel by young adult legend John Green. (It’s also my favorite of his books.) The story follows a boy named Miles who attends a coed boarding school. It’s there he meets a girl named Alaska. He’s immediately smitten and is soon drawn into her fascinating, self-destructive world. When tragedy strikes, Miles is forced to reevaluate everything he thought he knew.

I’ve read all of the novels Green has authored alone, and this is the one that has stuck with me the most. He writes teenagers so well, and their desperation and strivings toward adulthood are profound in this story.

The most dangerous place on earth book cover

The Most Dangerous Place on Earth by Lindsey Lee Johnson

In some ways, The Most Dangerous Place on Earth is the opposite of Adequate Yearly Progress. While that novel was satirical and followed teachers at a struggling school, this novel is much darker and primarily follows students at a school full of privileged families. The staff member readers get to know the most is a new teacher named Molly. She’s unaware of a tragic event that happened in middle school, an event still reverberating through the high school years later.

I appreciated how Lindsey Lee Johnson juxtaposed privilege and tragedy, earnestness and facade. This novel felt achingly real and has some critical things to say about how our actions can haunt us.

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

As the #MeToo movement continued to pick up steam in 2017, allegations come out against Jacob Strane, the man who groomed and started a relationship with his student Vanessa when she was just 15. The two are still entwined years later, even though Vanessa is in her late 20s and living her own life. Because of the allegations, she’s forced to remember what she had with Strane and reevaluate it. In her mind, she was in love. She’s not a victim. She chose Strane. Or did she?

This novel focuses on an abusive relationship between a high school teacher and his student, so know that My Dark Vanessa is not for everyone. It’s sad and disturbing, but I ended up loving it. It has important things to say about responsibility and consent.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

This novel is set at a small, elite college in New England. A group of eccentric students grows close with an equally eccentric classics professor. Readers find out within the first few pages that one of the students is dead. The tension of this book is how it got to that point.

The Secret History is probably the most popular, beloved book of the dark academia theme, and for good reason. It’s beautifully written and is full of memorable characters who you’re never quite sure you trust. This book is one of my all-time favorite novels, one I wish I could read again for the first time. It’ll never leave my personal library.

Stoner by John Williams

Stoner is a simple book with a simple story. The novel follows a man named William Stoner throughout his life in Missouri. Stoner is expected to take over the family farm, but he is fascinated by literature and becomes a professor. We follow Stoner through his work life and marriage as he struggles with the things we all struggle with: being present, working hard, and showing up for the people who need us.

This book has been called a perfect novel, and I wholeheartedly agree. Stoner is not to be missed for readers who appreciate character development and a deep look into a person’s mind and spirit. It might be a simple story, but John Williams has profound things to say about being human.

Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber

If you like nonfiction, here’s a recommendation for you. Surprised by Oxford is a memoir of Carolyn Weber’s time as a student. She begins attending Oxford as an agnostic but ends up becoming a committed Christian. This book is the story of how and why she converted. It’s a love story between Weber and Jesus, but also between Weber and her future husband.

Weber talks about faith with such nuance, intelligence, and warmth. The prose in this book is gorgeous, and you can’t ask for a much better setting than Oxford. If you’re a fan of Lauren Winner or Sara Miles, make sure to find a copy of this book and read it immediately.

Trust Exercise by Susan Choi

This novel begins in the 1980s at a performing arts high school. The two primary characters are students David and Sarah, who fall in love. Their classmates’ rolling eyes can’t dim their passion or commitment. About halfway through this book, something changes, and readers are faced with a new reality that’s hard to explain.

Trust Exercise is a book that has kept on surprising me. The initial twist surprised me when I read it and ultimately left me disappointed. But I couldn’t stop thinking about this book after I finished it. The characters and their stories kept rolling around in my head. While Trust Exercise won’t be for everyone, I do believe it’s worth your time. (And so did the people who gave it the National Book Award.)

That’s my list! What novels would be on your back-to-school syllabus?

August 13, 2020August 12, 2020

Literary Superlatives: The Books Most Likely To. . .

Photo by Alireza Attari on Unsplash

One of my favorite things to do is make lists. I like to make lists of anything and everything. I especially enjoy lists that include additional lists. Welcome to this blog post, which features ten bookish categories and six recommendations per group. This post was a delight to write and reminded me of many of my favorite reads. I hope this is as fun for you to read as it was for me to put together. Enjoy the superlatives!

Most Likely to Make You Cry

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Moving to New York to pursue creative ambitions, four former classmates share decades marked by love, loss, addiction and haunting elements from a brutal childhood.

I rarely cry when I read, but I sobbed like a baby when I finished this book. Yanagihara’s real, deeply sympathetic characters earned my compassion and empathy. I felt like I was in a daze for a while after finishing A Little Life. I’m thankful for books like this that leave a mark.

For more tear-jerkers, try:

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Most Likely to Change Your Mind

How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

From the National Book Award–winning author comes a bracingly original approach to understanding and uprooting racism and inequality in our society—and in ourselves. Ibram X. Kendi’s concept of antiracism reenergizes and reshapes the conversation about racial justice in America—but even more fundamentally, points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other.

When I started seeing the word “antiracist,” I assumed it referred to someone who wasn’t racist. After reading How to Be an Antiracist, I realized antiracism is much more than a position or belief system. Antiracism is about our actions and decisions determining our way of being. There’s a reason this book has appeared on many recent book lists featuring Black voices.

For more blow-your-mind books, try:

White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race edited by Jesmyn Ward
I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) America by Morgan Jerkins

Most Likely to Make You Laugh

Southern Lady Code by Helen Ellis

A riotous collection of essays on the art of living as a “Southern Lady” that explores subjects ranging from marriage and manners to women’s health and entertaining.

Helen Ellis is from Alabama but moves to New York City with her husband. The essays in this collection discuss how she assimilates to NYC while keeping her Southern roots. The mark of a good humor book is that it makes me laugh out loud, and this one did that repeatedly.

For more funny books, try:

Calypso by David Sedaris
Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood
Here For It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America by R. Eric Thomas
One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter by Scaachi Koul
I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron

Most Likely to Open Your Eyes

Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc

Follows two teenagers coming of age in the midst of the Bronx drug trade as they experience budding sexuality, teen parenthood, and gang identity in a social examination of the challenges of family life in the face of violence.

This book opened my eyes to many things, but the most impactful thing was finally realizing how poverty is the root of so much trauma and pain. This book is a difficult one to read, but I’m thankful I read it. I think about the characters a lot and often wonder what their lives look like today. (This book was published in 2004.)

For more eye-opening books, try:

Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America by Beth Macy
Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs by Johann Hari
Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America by Jill Leovy
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick
Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town by Jon Krakauer

Most Likely to Inspire You

Becoming by Michelle Obama

An intimate memoir by the former First Lady chronicles the experiences that have shaped her remarkable life, from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago through her setbacks and achievements in the White House.

Becoming is one of those rare books that I want to hand to every high school student I work with at my schools. Obama’s passion for education and her drive to succeed should make this book required reading for any student.

For more inspiring memoirs and biographies, try:

Educated by Tara Westoever
I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai
Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon
First Women: The Grace and Power of America’s Modern First Ladies by Kate Andersen Brower
Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber

Most Likely to Keep You Reading
All Night Long

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

An expertly planned celebrity wedding between a rising television star and an ambitious magazine publisher is thrown into turmoil by petty jealousies, a college drinking game, the bride’s ruined dress and an untimely murder.

For this category, I looked for books I read in just a day or two. This thriller is the most recent addition to that list. I love many things about The Guest List, including the twists, but the star of the show is the setting: an abandoned island that’s rumored to be haunted.

For more unputdownable books, try:

Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke
The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
The Dry by Jane Harper
The Lies We Told by Camilla Way
The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani

Most Likely to Keep Your Book Club Talking for Hours

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Add this to the list of the books that I want to hand out to everyone. No other books have opened my eyes to the horrors of slavery the way this book did. Though slavery is a thread running through the stories in this novel, Homegoing is full of love and hope. There is so much to talk about thanks to the book’s long list of characters.

For more book-club-friendly books, try:

Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld
Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
The Mothers by Brit Bennett

Most Likely to Encourage You

Miracles and other reasonable things book cover

Miracles and Other Reasonable Things: A Story of Unlearning and Relearning God by Sarah Bessey

The author tells her story of recovering from a traffic accident and how this experience changed everything she believed about God.

Sometimes I need a pep talk, and this book provided one. It’s also one of the most beautifully written and compelling stories I’ve read in a long time.

For more encouraging books, try:

Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brené Brown
Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig
Stitches: A Handbook on Meaning, Hope, and Repair by Anne Lamott
Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed
The Inner Voice of Love by Henri Nouwen

Most Likely to Surprise You

Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough

The secretary of a successful psychiatrist is drawn into the seemingly picture-perfect life of her boss and his wife before discovering a complex web of controlling behaviors and secrets that gradually reveal profound and dangerous flaws in the couple’s relationship.

I can’t think of another ending that surprised me as much as the one in Behind Her Eyes. While this book isn’t my favorite thriller, it is the one that kept me frantically turning pages until the last twist. Sometimes–like when there’s a global pandemic happening–that’s all I want.

For more surprising books, try:

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Lock Every Door by Riley Sager
The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Most Likely to Make You Feel
Warm and Fuzzy Inside

We Met in December by Rosie Curtis

An American, Jess, follows her dream and moves to London where she becomes enmeshed in a love triangle with Alex and Emma all who live as housemates in a grand, Notting Hill house share.

Warm and fuzzy stories are what I read the least, but sometimes I need a palette cleanser for the more substantial stories I gravitate toward in my reading life. We Met in December is a lovely book with a feel-good story. It was the perfect Christmas break book and one I can see myself revisiting when I want a sweet tale.

For more warm and fuzzy books, try:

One Day in December by Josie Silver
How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry
Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham
Landline by Rainbow Rowell
Glaciers by Alexis M. Smith

June 2, 2020

A Black Lives Matter Book List for Teens and Children

Photo by Suad Kamardeen on Unsplash

The other day I posted a book list for adults who support the Black Lives Matter movement and want to learn more. Today I want to share a list of books for the teens and kids in your life.

Summaries are from NoveList.

Teen Books

Most of the books in this category are already on the shelves in my high school libraries, and the rest I’ll be purchasing soon.

Black Enough: Stories of Being Young and Black in America
Edited by Ibi Zoboi

Edited by National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi, and featuring some of the most acclaimed bestselling Black authors writing for teens today—Black Enough is an essential collection of captivating stories about what it’s like to be young and Black in America.

I'm not dying with you tonight book cover

I’m Not Dying with You Tonight by Gilly Segal and Kimberly Jones

Told from two viewpoints, Atlanta high school seniors Lena and Campbell, one black, one white, must rely on each other to survive after a football rivalry escalates into a riot.

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You
by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

A history of racist and antiracist ideas in America, from their roots in Europe until today, adapted from the National Book Award winner Stamped from the Beginning.

We Are Not Yet Equal: Understanding Our Racial Divide
by Carol Anderson with Tonya Bolden

From the end of the Civil War to the tumultuous issues in America today, an acclaimed historian reframes the conversation about race, chronicling the powerful forces opposed to black progress in America.

Dark Sky Rising: Reconstruction and the Dawn of Jim Crow
by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. with Tonya Bolden

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. presents a journey through America’s past and our nation’s attempts at renewal in this look at the Civil War’s conclusion, Reconstruction, and the rise of Jim Crow segregation.

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

Writing letters to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., seventeen-year-old college-bound Justyce McAllister struggles to face the reality of race relations today and how they are shaping him.

Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation
Adapted by Damian Duffy; illustrated by John Jennings

Presents a graphic novelization of Octavia E. Butler’s Kindred in which a young African-American woman is mysteriously transferred back in time leading to an irresistible curiosity about her family’s past.

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

In a timely update of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, critically acclaimed author Ibi Zoboi skillfully balances cultural identity, class, and gentrification against the heady magic of first love in her vibrant reimagining of this beloved classic.

Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson

Tired of being singled out at her mostly-white private school as someone who needs support, high school junior Jade would rather participate in the school’s amazing Study Abroad program than join Women to Women, a mentorship program for at-risk girls.

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

Driven by the secrets and vengeance that mark his street culture, 15-year-old Will contemplates over the course of 60 psychologically suspenseful seconds whether or not he is going to murder the person who killed his brother.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

After witnessing her friend’s death at the hands of a police officer, Starr Carter’s life is complicated when the police and a local drug lord try to intimidate her in an effort to learn what happened the night Kahlil died.

March: Book One
Written by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin; illustrated by Nate Powell

A first-hand account of the author’s lifelong struggle for civil and human rights spans his youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., and the birth of the Nashville Student Movement.

Middle School
& Elementary Books

Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams

Thirteen-year-old Genesis tries again and again to lighten her black skin, thinking it is the root of her family’s troubles, before discovering reasons to love herself as is.

Ghost by Jason Reynolds

Ghost, a naturally talented runner and troublemaker, is recruited for an elite middle school track team. He must stay on track, literally and figuratively, to reach his full potential.

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes

After seventh-grader Jerome is shot by a white police officer, he observes the aftermath of his death and meets the ghosts of other fallen black boys including historical figure Emmett Till.

The blossoming universe of violet diamond book cover

The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond by Brenda Woods

A biracial girl finally gets the chance to meet the African American side of her family.

Frederick’s Journey: The Life of Frederick Douglass
Written by Doreen Rappaport; illustrated by London Ladd

Shares the life of the abolitionist, including his life as a slave, how he learned to read even though it was illegal for him to do so, and his work speaking out against slavery.

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

In vivid poems that reflect the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, an award-winning author shares what it was like to grow up in the 1960s and 1970s in both the North and the South.

One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance
by Nikki Grimes

The Coretta Scott King Award-winning author of What Is Goodbye? presents a collection of poetry inspired by the Harlem Renaissance and complemented by full-color artwork by such esteemed artists as Pat Cummings, Brian Pinkney and Sean Qualls.

Blended by Sharon M. Draper

Piano-prodigy Isabella, eleven, whose black father and white mother struggle to share custody, never feels whole, especially as racial tensions affect her school, her parents’ both become engaged, and she and her stepbrother are stopped by police.

Picture Books

Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut
Written by Derrick Barnes; illustrated by Gordon C. James

Celebrates the magnificent feeling that comes from walking out of a barber shop with newly-cut hair.

Hair Love
Written by Matthew A. Cherry; illustrated by Vashti Harrison

An ode to self-confidence and the love between fathers and daughters by the former NFL wide receiver depicts an exuberant little girl whose dad helps her arrange her curly, coiling, wild hair into styles that allow her to be her natural, beautiful self.

Woke Baby
Written by Mahogany L. Browne; illustrated by Theodore Taylor III

This lyrical and empowering book is both a celebration of what it means to be a baby and what it means to be woke. With bright playful art, Woke Baby is an anthem of hope in a world where the only limit to a skyscraper is more blue.

Dream Big, Little One by Vashti Harrison

Features female figures of black history, including pilot Bessie Coleman, politician Shirley Chisholm, mathematician Katherine Johnson, poet Maya Angelou, and filmmaker Julie Dash.

The Undefeated
Written by Kwame Alexander; illustrated by Kadir Nelson

The Newbery Award-winning author of The Crossover pens an ode to black American triumph and tribulation, with art from a two-time Caldecott Honoree.

I Am Enough
Written by Grace Byers; illustrated by Keturah A. Bobo

This is a gorgeous, lyrical ode to loving who you are, respecting others, and being kind to one another—from Empire actor and activist Grace Byers and talented newcomer artist Keturah A. Bobo.

I Am Perfectly Designed
Written by Karamo Brown with Jason “Rachel” Brown; illustrated by Anoosha Syed

In this empowering ode to modern families, a boy and his father take a joyful walk through the city, discovering all the ways in which they are perfectly designed for each other.