Reviewed by Anndee Hochman Review Source: Broad Street Review Book Author: The summer I was 12, I spent weekday mornings on the tennis courts at Friends Central School in Wynnewood, swinging a clumsy backhand and counting the minutes until lunch. Each afternoon, I parked myself under a maple tree and devoured Gone with the Wind while sipping a […]
Mommy’s Khimar
Reviewed by Mahasin Review Source: Hijabi Librarians Book Author: “A khimar is a flowing scarf that my mommy wears,” explains a young African-American girl in the opening pages of Mommy’s Khimar, a new picture book from Simon and Schuster’s Salaam Reads imprint, written by first-time author, educator, and activist Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow and illustrated by Ebony Glenn. The term “khimar” […]
Escape from Aleppo
Review by Islamic School Librarian Review Source: Islamic School Librarian Book Author: N.H. Senzai’s newest book (published in January 2018), gives a face and a voice to the grave situation in Syria. Like Senzai’s other books, she uses the rich culture and history of a country to inform the reader, and a compelling front story […]
Teddy Roosevelt: The People’s President
Reviewed by: Kathleen Nganga Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Like many children’s biographies, Teddy Roosevelt: The People’s President by Sharon Gayle celebrates Roosevelt’s perseverance and rise to power, but misses his failings, shortcomings, and the nuances of his life. Thus, while imparting valuable lessons about determination, the book glorifies militarism and erases people […]
Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule
Reviewed by: Adam Sanchez Review Source: Zinn Education Project Book Author: This chapter book of historical fiction by Harriette Gillem Robinet is one of the best resources available for elementary school classrooms on the Reconstruction era. 40 Acres and Maybe a Mule tells the story of Pascal, who is still enslaved at the end of the Civil War. When […]
The Secret Project
Reviewed by Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: Some conversations about my review of Jonah and Jeanette Winter’s The Secret Project suggest that I didn’t say enough, back in March. I’m back, therefore, to say more. Some of what I wrote in March is being interpreted as innuendo and destructive. In saying more, this review […]