Reviewed by Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: Sometimes a story reaches right into your being and makes you laugh, smile, wince, and then it makes you feel loved. That is my experience reading Chooch Helped by Andrea L. Rogers. She’s a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Illustrations are by […]
Mani Semilla Finds Her Quetzal Voice
Reviewed by Amanda MacGregor Review Source: School Library Journal Book Author: Uncovered family secrets and a growing feminist consciousness propel a seventh grader to cause good trouble and start a school-wide revolution. Twelve-year-old Manuela “Mani” Semilla, whose parents are Chinese-Filipino American and Guatemalan, feels stuck in the liminal space between childhood and adulthood. Mani is desperate […]
Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book
Reviewed by Beverly Slapin Review Source: De Colores: The Raza Experience in Books for Children Book Author: With his sugar-skull face and Día-de-los-Muertos outfit consisting of a bowler hat, wristwatch, and braces to hold his teeth in, Señor Calavera is polite yet insistent. It’s time, he says, for Grandma Beetle to come along with him. […]
Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets: A Muslim Book of Shapes
Reviewed by Mahasin Review Source: Hijabi Librarians Book Author: “Cone is the tip of the minaret so tall. I hear soft echoes of the prayer call,” begins this charming picture book which explores a variety of everyday shapes and angles, as experienced by Muslims of diverse skin tones, who are depicted living, playing, and worshiping together. […]
Heroes of the Environment
Reviewed by Lila Quintero Weaver Review Source: Latinxs in Kids Lit Book Author: This nonfiction book for grades 4 and up celebrates the environmental triumphs achieved by a dozen unsung heroes of all ages located in various parts of the United States and Mexico. I’m giving it star billing because I feel it deserves wider attention. […]
Mama, Do You Love Me?
Reviewed by Martha Stackhouse Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: The story has to have been after contact because the pictures are very colorful and the atikjuks, the outer part of the parka, are made from cloth. In looking at the pictures, the maklaks appear to be soft sole, where we mostly use […]