Reviewed by Lyn Miller-Lachmann Review Source: Pirate Tree Book Author: In Ibi Zoboi’s debut novel, American Street, 16-year-old Fabiola Toussaint has just arrived from Haiti to the United States with her mother, but things have gone terribly wrong. While Customs & Border Patrol officials wave Fabiola through—because she was born in the U.S. but returned to […]
Our Chemical Hearts
Reviewed by Alaina Leary Review Source: Disabilities in Kid Lit Book Author: Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland bills itself as “kind of” a love story, and also “not your average story of boy meets girl.” The novel starts off with Henry Page telling readers about how he expected to first fall in love, and then […]
13 Colors of the Honduran Resistance
Reviewed by Elena Young Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: 13 Colors of the Honduran Resistance tells the story of Honduran feminists fighting for their rights against an oppressive government. The book focuses on the aftermath of the 2009 coup against President Manuel Zelaya who was labeled a communist for actions such as defending […]
The Knife and the Butterfly
Reviewed by Lynn Miller Lachman Book Author: Ashley Hope Perez Review Source: The Pirate Tree Last October I spoke on a panel with four other authors, including fellow Pirate Tree-huggers J.L. Powers and Nancy Bo Flood, on the topic of children’s literature and war. My part on children as combatants included G. Neri and Randy DuBurke’s […]
Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty
Reviewed by Lyn Miller Lachman Review Source: The Pirate Tree Book Author: We think of war as happening to children in other places. In doing so, we fail to think about young people in the United States whose everyday lives mirror the lives of young people in the world’s combat zones. For children who experience […]
Shame the Stars
Book Review by Araceli Méndez Hintermeister Review Source: Latinxs in Kid Lit Book Author: Eighteen-year-old Joaquin del Toro’s future looks bright. With his older brother in the priesthood, he’s set to inherit his family’s Texas ranch. He’s in love with Dulceña and she’s in love with him. But it’s 1915, and trouble has been brewing along […]