Review Source: Rethinking Schools Book Author: Black Girl You Are Atlas is Renée Watson’s first book of poetry. Like her novels, Watson’s poems explore the intersection of race, class, and gender. And like her novels, this semi-autobiographical collection celebrates the joys and sorrows of growing up a Black girl in this country. Woven throughout the book are […]
If They Come for Us: Poems
Reviewed by @mariaelenag96 Review Source: Brown Girl Bookshelf Book Author: “Poems of vulnerability, of anger, of love,” reflects guest reviewer @mariaelenag96 on Fatimah Asghar’s work. Asghar, a queer South Asian American Muslim writer and filmmaker, crosses the borders of countries, identities, communities, and histories in her beautiful and dynamic poems. Asghar’s “Land Where My Father Died” sat […]
Other Words for Home
Review Source: Notes from an Islamic School Librarian Book Author: SYNOPSIS: Jude is a 12-year-old girl living on the beach in Syria, watching American movies with her friends and hanging out at her dad’s store. With an older brother and a little sister on the way, life as told from her own perspective is pretty […]
Kiyoshi’s Walk
Reviewed by Pat Corekin Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: “Where do poems come from?” young Kiyoshi asks his grandfather, Eto, and so begins a wonderful journey of poetic discovery. Eto takes Kiyoshi for a walk through their city. The smallest events — a cat knocking over oranges at the corner store, birds soaring […]
When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through
Reviewed by Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: The first three lines in Rendon’s poem, “What’s an Indian Woman to Do?” are these: what’s an indian woman to do when the white girls act more indian than the indian women do? From there we read about the Indian woman’s ex-husband […]
Clap When You Land
Reviewed by Shea Martin Review Source: Electric Lit Book Author: I don’t remember where I was when I heard about Covid-19, when I learned that life would never be the same. Nine months later, I am still trying to reconcile with this new normal of grief and isolation. In her highly-lauded sophomore release, Clap When You […]