Eclipse by Andy Rash (Scholastic Press, 40 pages, ages 4-8). ”Two months ago, I learned there would be a total solar eclipse,” the narrator begins. ”A month ago, I picked out the perfect place and time to watch the eclipse.” The countdown is on as he orders official eclipse glasses a week before the eclipse, travels with his dad a day before to a campsite near the big event, packs up to go to the perfect viewing site an hour before, and arrives a minute before. ”Now, Dad and I are in the dark.” Following this climactic moment, he and his dad will sit in traffic, finally get home, and savor their memories.
I learned from reading this book that there’s a total solar eclipse in the United States on April 8! It looks like my school will be at about 90-95% totality, occurring right at dismissal, which could very well spell the end of the world. To prepare, I plan to read this fun and informative book to as many classes as I can. I liked the format of story, placing the eclipse as the central event, with the past and future referenced from the moment of totality. There’s additional information about different types of eclipses at the end, and the endpapers have a map showing annular and total eclipses in the US from now until 2048. I couldn’t see the path the April 8 one will take over Massachusetts, because it was hidden by the taped-down dust jacket.
Climbing the Volcano: A Journey in Haiku by Curtis Manley, illustrated by Jennifer K. Mann (Neal Porter Books, 48 pages, ages 4-8). A boy narrates his family’s adventure to climb South Sister, a dormant volcano in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, using haiku poetry to tell the story. It’s an all-day hike, up past the tree line, into the snow, and finally to the summit! The descent is easier, and they finish the day back at their campsite for dinner and a well-earned rest. There’s additional information at the end about South Sister, the Cascades, what to bring on a hike, the flora and fauna encountered in the book, and haiku.
I love Jennifer Mann’s illustrations; just like in The Camping Trip, she makes you want to get out in nature. And of course, haiku is all about nature, making it an excellent format for describing the journey. This haiku doesn’t follow the 5-7-5 rule that’s often taught in schools, so read the end material to prepare if you’re reading with kids who know that format.
More Than a Dream: The Radical March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom by Yohuru Williams and Michael G. Long (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 272 pages, grades 6 and up). What many Americans know about the 1963 March on Washington begins and ends with Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. But the march, the full name of which was the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, was much more radical than that one speech might suggest. Impatient with the slow pace of the Kennedy administration to pass even a watered-down civil rights bill, organizers A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin wanted to advocate for more sweeping changes such as school integration, an end to police brutality, and economic justice for all races, including the possibility of replacing capitalism with socialism.
I was fascinated by this story, and there may be extra interest generated from last year’s movie Rustin, about Bayard Rustin, a queer Black Quaker who was an outsider in every way possible, but who never gave up on his vision of justice. Filled with photos, sidebars, and stories of ordinary people who went to incredible lengths to organize and/or attend the march, this is an engaging read, and the 15 pages of notes at the end are a testament to how well-researched it is. If you’re a Kennedy fan, prepare for some disillusionment, such as when Robert Kennedy casually refers to the march as “that old black fairy’s anti-Kennedy demonstration.”
We Are Your Children Too: Black Students, White Supremacists, and the Battle for America’s Schools in Prince Edward County, Virginia by P. O’Connell Pearson (Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 288 pages, grades 5-8). As promised in an earlier post, here’s a more in-depth look at what happened when the Prince Edward County, Virginia public schools closed down for four years to prevent integration. The book starts with a 1951 walkout organized by high school student Barbara Johns to bring attention to the deplorable conditions of her all-Black high school. Her case eventually became part of Brown vs. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruling that ultimately led to the shutdown of the schools.
While a segregated private academy solved the problem of education for the county’s white residents, Black families scrambled to find a way to send their children to school. Quakers and other activists around the country offered to host kids, while other students lived with relatives or traveled long distances each day. Some tried to get an education through hastily organized schools in homes or churches. But all suffered in some way; even those who graduated from high school usually had to leave their families and go live in unfamiliar communities, often the only Black students in their new schools. And many simply missed the four years of school, leading to poor economic outcomes for them as adults.
Sadly, this felt like reading a blueprint of efforts today to use vouchers and “school choice” to keep schools segregated and to diminish or even eliminate public education. The story is infuriating, and so is the fact that it’s not more widely known about. There’s a lengthy timeline at the end that puts the events of the book into context with what else was happening in the civil rights movement at the time, as well as a bibliography, index, and notes.
Unequal: A Story of America by Michael Eric Dyson and Marc Favreau (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 368 pages, grades 7-12). ”This is a book of truth. So we’ll start by telling you the stone-cold fact that there are many people who do not want you to read it.” American history has been whitewashed time and again, the authors state in their prologue, by people who don’t want to “feel victimized or collapse in a puddle of guilt.” True history is important, though, and they relate it in twenty chapters, each opening with a contemporary scene demonstrating that the injustices of the past often continue into the present.
Topics range from school segregation to Jim Crow and lynching to voting rights to police brutality. Each chapter could easily stand on its own to teach a particular topic and tie it to current events. The writers tell their stories compellingly in a way that would undoubtedly engage both middle school and high school students. The final chapter, about Nikole Hannah-Jones and her struggles to teach Black history, would make an excellent introduction to a wide range of history classes. Almost 30 pages of notes and a comprehensive index round out this well-researched book.
I can’t remember how I heard about this book, but somehow I had it in my mind that it was from 2024. After reading it, I discovered it was actually published in 2022, but it’s certainly still timely and having put in the effort to read it, I’m including it with the 2024 books.
Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang, illustrated by LeUyen Pham (First Second, 352 pages, grades 6 and up). In my quest to mix things up a bit more this year, I’m hoping to expand my horizons, occasionally anyway, to young adult literature. When I saw the three starred reviews for this graphic novel by an award-winning team, I decided it was a good place to start. I was right.
Valentina used to love Valentine’s Day until her freshman year in high school, when she learned that her mother, gone her whole live and presumed (by Valentina) to be dead, is still alive and estranged from her and her dad. The ghostly Cupid who has long been her friend turns into a more menacing spirit of St. Valentine and tells Valentina that her family is doomed never to find true love.
Her crush on Les leads her to try lion dancing, and her passion for the dance becomes intertwined with her new romance with Les. But Les is a player, and before long, Valentina begins to wonder about his quieter, more serious cousin Jae. A series of misunderstandings keeps them apart, almost forever, but as Valentina grows and learns more about herself and her family, she finally finds the courage to set things right.
Wow, YA romance is a more serious business than the innocent middle school crushes of middle grade literature! There is true love to be found here, but I can’t think of anything that would raise red flags for middle school librarians. Most of the reviews I saw recommend it for grades 8 and up, but I think some sixth and seventh graders would enjoy it, too. Even if they’re not into romance, there are plenty of interesting family and cultural issues to keep many readers satisfied. And the art is truly spectacular, particularly the renditions of the lion dancing. Although it’s only February, I’m sure this will be an awards contender next January!
With Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January and Black History Month in February there are always new books about Black history to start the year off. Today, I bring you three nonfiction picture books, but there’s more to come! Stay tuned for some historical fiction and longer nonfiction–even a YA book, as I expand my horizons in the new year.
Fighting With Love: The Legacy of John Lewis by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by James Ransome (Simon and Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books). This comprehensive look at Lewis’s life begins with John’s Alabama childhood, surrounded by the love of family and church, and continues through his early years of activism, particularly with the Freedom Riders, ending with him about to lead the march across the Edmund Pettus bridge.
The back matter gives some additional information about Lewis’s life, including a timeline, sources, a bibliography, and photos of the author and illustrator with John Lewis. At 48 pages, each with a pretty good chunk of text, it’s a great and thorough biography, although perhaps a tad long for younger listeners. (48 pages, grades 2-5)
When the Schools Shut Down by Yolanda Gladden, as told to Dr. Tamara Pizzoli, illustrated by Keisha Morris (HarperCollins). When Yolanda Gladden was ready to start school, the public schools in her town of Farmville, Virginia were closed. From 1959-1963, Prince Edward County closed its schools to avoid integration, opening a private academy for white children. Black parents scrambled to find ways to educate their children, and Yolanda went to school at First Baptist Church until she was 10 years old, when the public schools finally re-opened. She was at the top of her class and kept the lessons she had learned in resiliency and pride in her heritage. Includes authors’ notes, photos, a timeline, and sources for further reading.
This is an inspiring story about an important–and shocking–chapter of U.S. history that has often been neglected. However, having just finished a longer book on this topic (coming soon in another blog post), I found Yolanda’s story a bit too rosy. The real story is more complicated and didn’t have this happy of an ending for many kids. (40 pages; grades 1-4)
We Dream a World by Yolanda Renee King, illustrated by Nicole Tadgell (Orchard Books). Yolanda Renee King, the only grandchild of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King, expresses gratitude to her grandparents for their vision and hard work. She then shares her own dreams for the future, inviting others of her generation to create a better world. Yolanda has been an activist from a young age, as her parents explain in the back matter, describing the 2018 March for Our Lives where she was asked to address the crowd and made an excellent impromptu speech (watch it here). There are plenty of photos in the back matter, too, as well as some information about Martin Luther King, Jr.
It’s an inspiring read that encourages kids to dream and to speak up for what they think is right, all beautifully illustrated with soft watercolors. It would be easy to get some writing prompts from the text, and I can imagine kids being extremely interested in the backmatter with the photos and description of Yolanda’s activism. A little more editing would have served the book well, giving it a sharper focus. (40 pages; grades K-5)
I usually start posting books for the new year around this time, but I’ve decided to extend my hiatus this year. In December I found myself feeling burned out by this blog as I have never felt before, and it took some serious will power to get through the end of the year.
After nine years and over 3,000 posts, I’m feeling like it’s time for a change. A couple of weeks ago, I was ready to shut the whole operation down, but as I’ve started to see new books being released in 2024, I’m experiencing some new energy.
I have a few ideas about what I think will come next, and right now I’m guessing that it won’t be a daily review with a summary, pros, and cons. But I want to take a little more time for consideration, so I hope you will bear with me and watch this space for further developments.
I’d love to hear your thoughts! Feel free to leave a comment or email me at jkdawson115@gmail.com.
A nuanced and timely story about a family’s losses during a wildfire and the emotions that go with that experience, as well as feelings of powerlessness in the face of climate change.
Slime Shop created by Karina Garcia with text by Kevin Panetta, illustrated by Niki Smith
Published by Versify
I didn’t expect to get so emotionally invested in a bunch of slime characters in this cute and charming graphic novel.
This 1970’s road trip memoir strikes the perfect balance between funny and poignant, featuring a memorable immigrant family with ties to both Mexico and the United States. I’d love to see this win some awards next month.
Betty Tang drew on her own experiences and those of other immigrant families to create this rich and engaging story about three siblings trying to make it in the United States while their parents stay in Taiwan to financially support them.
Based on a true story about one of the first girls’ high school basketball teams, this graphic novel is fun and fast-paced, showing the uphill battle female athletes faced in the early days of Title IX.
My wish for a really good map book for young kids finally came true this year. This one covers all the basics and is super interactive in a way that will greatly appeal to early elementary students.
Truly one of the quirkiest nonfiction books I’ve ever read, this would make a fun read-aloud for older elementary kids. I enjoyed the running gag that there was one untrue thing in the story, demonstrating that truth really is stranger than fiction.
I’m a huge fan of Jennifer Thermes’s art, and she successfully combines it here with the riveting story of Irish explorer Tom Crean. This book inspired me to see a one-man show about Crean when I was in Dublin this summer, which I also highly recommend.
I’m always up for a biography of an interesting woman, and I enjoyed learning about Lotte Reininger, whose extreme perseverance and dedication to her art revolutionized the world of animation.
Dogtown by Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko, illustrated by Wallace West
Published by Feiwel and Friends
Readers will take Chance to heart as he valiantly strives to help his friends at the dog shelter. A perfect read-aloud for any elementary grade, as well as a good first chapter book for new-ish readers.
Andrew Eliopulos drew on his own middle school experiences of dealing with a Crohn’s diagnosis and figuring out his sexuality to create Will, one of my favorite fictional characters this year.
Racism, multigenerational living, incarcerated parents, and bullying are all deftly handled in this story about a middle school chess team. Definitely a contender for a Coretta Scott King or Newbery award.
It wouldn’t be an end-of-the-year roundup without at least one book by Christina Soontornvat. Her Thai-inspired fantasy series is perfect for those not quite ready for Harry Potter.
I’m the first to admit that my taste in picture books is a bit quirky and heavily influenced by what my students are drawn to.
The Umbrella by Beth Ferry, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld
Published by Clarion Books
I read this book to preschoolers, and both the kids and their teachers were happily surprised by the final twist in the story. An homage to hope and perseverance.
One of the most affirming books for socially anxious introverts that I have ever read, with an ending that encourages readers to seek quality over quantity in friendships.
I found the Caldecott pickings a little slim this year, but here are a few that I think could be contenders. I’m selling my mock Caldecott slideshow over at Teachers Pay Teachers if you want to see more choices.
As with Aaron Becker’s Journey trilogy, you will continue to discover new details each time through this wordless masterpiece that chronicles the rise and fall of a civilization and offers a tiny hope for renewal in the last few pages.
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Kwame Alexander’s powerful poem tells the story of American slavery, making the case that this history must be taught to children. Dare Coulter’s incredible illustrations combine sculpture and paintings and are equally powerful. I will be shocked if this doesn’t win a bunch of awards.
It’s not often that a group of jaded fifth graders spontaneously burst into applause at the end of a read-aloud, but that’s what happened when I read them this book. Funny, creepy, and slightly disturbing, this early chapter book is sure to become a classic. Don’t miss the author’s note at the end for an interesting take on folklore.
A Kids Book A Day 