Reviewed by Sophia Hines Review Source: Reading Is Resistance Book Author: My hands tell a story if you listen. In My Hands Tell a Story by Kelly Starling Lyons, a grandmother and granddaughter stand in the kitchen making cinnamon bread together with the sun shining through the window. While making bread, the grandmother tells granddaughter […]
Dream Builder: The Story of Architect Philip Freelon
Reviewed by: Rebecca Lehr Book Author: Dream Builder: The Story of Architect Philip Freelon tells of the celebrated architect’s path from his childhood in 1950’s Philadelphia to designing the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). Beginning with Freelon’s personal struggles with reading and strengths in math and visual arts, it then takes […]
Sing a Song: How “Lift Every Voice and Sing” Inspired Generations
Reviewed by Deborah Menkart Review Source: Rethinking Schools Book Author: We should all know the story and words of the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” and now thanks to this picture book, we can. Author Kelly Starling Lyons tells the 120-year history of the song through generations of her family who have […]
Ellen’s Broom
Reviewed by Deborah Miller Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Ellen’s Broom is a sweet yet powerful story about a young girl who learns the significance of a so-called broom wedding. Slavery has ended and Reconstruction just begun. This means that the marriages of formerly enslaved people, like Ellen’s parents, can be formally recognized […]
Tea Cakes for Tosh
Reviewed by Amy Rothschild Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: An invaluable new resource/picture book: Tea Cakes for Tosh written by Kelly Starling Lyons, author of Ellen’s Broom, and illustrated by the masterful E.B. Lewis. Tosh, a young African-American boy, learns from his grandmother Honey how to make teacakes, a family recipe passed down from his great-great-great-great-grandmother Ida. “Long […]