Reviewed by Lila Quintero Weaver Review Source: Latinxs in Kid Lit Book Author: “It’s been six years, eleven months and twelve days since I left to go north across la línea. It’s time for you to come.” So reads the note that Miguel receives from his father on his fifteenth birthday. During the long separation (his […]
When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop
Reviewed by Derrick Weston Brown Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: In most children’s books about the history of Hip-Hop, there’s often one figure who has continuously been relegated to the background, even though he’s the architect of the sound from which Hip-Hop was born. Clive Campbell, also known as DJ Kool Herc, finally […]
Rock & Roll Highway: The Robbie Robertson Story
Reviewed by Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: Decades ago—and now, too—I revel in the music of The Band. I was amongst those who went to see the film The Last Waltz. Of course, I bought CDs, too. At the time, I knew Robbie Robertson was Native, but didn’t know much […]
Little Brother
Reviewed by Don Allen, Teaching for Change Publications Director Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Set in the very near future, Little Brother goes to technological places that Orwell’s Big Brother could not. Students that have read 1984 will love the references to Orwell’s original and will appreciate the upgrade. After a major terrorist […]
Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck
Reviewed by Deborah Menkart Book Author: Cuban American novelist Margarita Engle’s award-winning book of young adult historical fiction takes the form of poetry about the conquest and resistance. The main character is a young man whose mother is Taíno and father is Spanish. Pirates hold him captive and use him as a translator. After a […]