Review Source: Rethinking Schools Book Author: Marc Lamont Hill’s newest book is small and urgent. Focused on the racist roots of the 2020 pandemic and uprising, it is a book about right now, written right now. Hill writes, “It’s not enough just to recount the things that have happened in this crazy year of 2020. […]
Milo Imagines the World
Reviewed by Nell Beram Review Source: Self-Awareness Book Author: Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson’s Milo Imagines the World, like their justifiably celebrated Last Stop on Market Street, centers on a child’s regular ride on public transportation to a destination initially unknown to readers. But while Market Street‘s CJ asks his grandmother why they’re going where they’re […]
Missing Daddy
Reviewed by Rethinking Schools Staff Review Source: Rethinking Schools Book Author: According to author Mariame Kaba, 2.7 million children under the age of 18 have an incarcerated parent. In an author’s note, Kaba says that she wrote Missing Daddy because of her frustration finding materials that can help children deal with the “loss, grief, and trauma” […]
Dear Martin
Reviewed by Zetta Elliott Review Source: Zetta Elliott Book Author: When a friend asked me last fall to address the problems she found in Dear Martin, I hedged. Few people thanked me for pointing out the issues I had with All American Boys (though many were quick to praise Jason Reynolds for his “gracious” response), and I didn’t want […]
The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary
Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: On many levels, The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary is a brilliant book. It’s open and raw, exposing almost every level of damage inflicted upon the young teenage protagonist, Macy Cashmere. Themes of racism, misogyny, foster care, drug use, prostitution, and “mental illness” create a fast-paced and erratic read. Told […]
Uninterrupted View of the Sky
Reviewed by Lyn Miller-Lachmann Review Source: De Colores: The Raza Experience in Books for Children Book Author: Because Francisco’s father is Indigenous, the police consider him guilty of Bolivia’s infamous Ley 1008, with no way of proving himself innocent. Unable to cope as a single mother with the stigma of a husband in prison, Francisco’s Mestiza […]
