Sugar Hill by Carole Boston Weatherford

Historical Verse

Grade Level: K-4

Interest Level: K-4

Themes:  African American History, Harlem Renaissance, Famous African Americans

Related Text: Ellington Was Not a Street by Ntozake Shange

Sugar Hill is a delightful picture to add to your classroom library, not just for Black History month, but for always.  Sugar Hill, a historic neighborhood in New York City’s Harlem, was a thriving center for black culture during the early twentieth century. Carole Boston Weatherford takes us on a stroll through this neighborhood to learn and reflect on a time when famous African Americans, like Duke Ellington, Zora Neale Hurston and W.E.B Dubois , walked the streets with Harlem’s other black residents, and the appreciation for art, education, and culture was palpable.   

This book has great instructional possibility. It is not text heavy and the vibrant, yet simple illustrations, are perfect for picture walks through the text with emerging readers.   The simple, rhyming verse provides repetition and various font types/colors, which make it a good choice for a variety of effective read alouds. For example,  “Sugar Hill, Sugar Hill where life is sweet,” repeats five times in the book which provides an opportunity for Choral Jump In reading. The text has a rhythm that draws the reader in, helping to create the vibrancy  of life that was  Sugar Hill during this time in history.

Informational text at the back of the book is a bonus for reading instruction. There is an author’s note that provides information on Sugar Hill and it’s residents, as well as brief “Sugar Hill’s Who’s Who” biographies on some of the neighborhoods most famous residents.

Go ahead, go get it. Your classroom library will thank you.

See also - Ellington Was Not a Street by Ntozake Shange

Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors by Hena Khan

Realistic Fiction

Grade Level: PK-3

Interest Level: PK - 4

Themes: Muslim Life, Colors, Family, traditions, Muslim religious practices

An adorable Somali girl was sitting in her 1st grade class, in a Minnesota elementary school. She was a bit fidgety, and distracted. She wasn't interested in joining the story circle with the other children, despite the urgings of her teacher and the paraprofessional working with her. She sat at a desk and began to color, while the other students waited for the teacher to begin her read aloud. As the teacher began to read, the little girl continued to color, seemingly uninterested in what was going on at the front of the room. The teacher read one page, then the next. Suddenly, the little girl in the back of the room looked up and shouted, "That book is about ME!" She put down her crayons, and walked to the front of the room. She wriggled herself in between two students right in front of the teacher, and listened to the rest of the story with rapt attention. She had heard what mattered to her heart....Validated and Affirmed.

Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns is beautiful and authentic. It is not text heavy, and the illustrations are exquisite, making it a wonderful choice for early readers. This journey through daily colors, peeking into the life of a young Muslim girl, will be intriguing and enjoyable for young and older readers alike. 

There is great instructional possibility about world religions and culture. Students will be able to ask questions and make observations about similarities and differences in family traditions, beliefs and practices.  In addition, it provides an excellent opportunity for Muslim students to be the "experts" as they help to explain/discuss important Islamic terms like "hijab" or "Eid", as they come to life with Mehrdokht Amini's gorgeous, colorful pictures.

This book is a beautiful, responsive read! Go get it!

Nino Wrestles the World by Yuyi Morales

Fiction

Grade Level: Pk-3

Interest Level: PK - 4

Themes: Lucha Libre wrestling, imagination, playtime, sibling play

Sensitivity Issues: potentially scary wrestling opponents

This story is not text heavy, making it great for early readers, but  it is full of action, making it interesting for many readers!  This is a wonderful read aloud with instructional possibilities for language, onomatopoeia, picture walks and predictions. Students will relate to the imagination and playtime of a little boy during his afternoon play. Latino students will be validated and affirmed through language, images and the Lucha Libre storyline.

Little Nino is so cute in his Mexican Luchadore wrestling costume which consists of his underwear and a red lucha libre mask. We are drawn into the corner of Nino's playroom where he is planning to  take on a carnival of characters: The Mummy of Guanajuato, The Stone Olmec Head, La Llorona, the Alien and El Chamuco. Of course, he defeats them all with his own signature moves.

The illustrations are bright and energetic, as is Nino.   Nino's attacks provide  great content for a lesson on onomatopoeia  – FWAP!, BLOOP!, SLISH!  The page formatting is as engaging and action packed as the story.  Spanish words and phrases appear throughout the text, and a note at the end explains the Lucha Libre Wrestling culture. 

 This book is great way to validate and affirm Mexican culture, and the energetic, and  imaginative students in  class. Morales celebrates her Mexican heritage and the Latino cultural experience in yet another great book. Don’t wait. Go read it!

Yuyi Morales

Zora and Me by Victoria Bon, T.R. Simon

Historical Fiction

Grade Level: 4-7

Interest Level: 4-7

Themes: racism, segregation/Jim Crow south, storytelling, curiosity and imagination, southern roots/life, absence of father’s

Sensitivity Issues: Use of the ‘N’ word, black males die (not graphic)

This book is delightful. The voice of the narrator will draw the audience into the world of the small, all black, community of Eatonville, Florida and Zora Neale Hurston's friends and family. We get a glimpse of how Zora's creative imagination keeps everyone trying to figure out if her stories are truth, lies, or just the way she makes sense of the world. We do learn that early on, Zora is confident of her ability to tell stories and entertain others with them.

This book was written to be read aloud, in true folklore/tall-tale fashion. It has great instructional possibility. The language is rich, the historical facts are compelling, and the dialogue creates humor and suspense. The female leads are strong, and well developed for the books 180 pages. Zora's curiosity, and imagination are central to the movement of the story. The book also contains a biography of Zora Neale Hurston, and a timeline of her life.

The book does have a few sobering moments, as it opens with man being killed by an alligator. Subsequently, we learn that the main characters father left town to find work, and never returned, a traveling man the children meet and befriend is found murdered with his head missing, and then a strange, quiet man who is the subject of Zora's tall-tales dies in his sleep. All of this misfortune concerning the men of Eatonville however, lends itself to many discussion and instruction possibilities, not the least of which is Zora's "coming of age" and learning the truth about life. These truths, include one characters decision to "pass" for white which is the source of both confusion and tragedy. Zora wades through it all within her circle of family, friends and support and does so with audacious determination and curiosity.

How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon

Realistic Fiction

Grade Level: High School

Interest Level: 7-12

Themes: choices, courage, community, crime/violence, having different points of view, relationships, urban life/experiences, black male life,

Sensitivity Issues: profanity, a couple of subtle sexual references

Related Texts: You Don’t Even Know Me by Sharon Flake

I was reluctantly eager to read this book because of it’s immediate application to all that is going on in urban cities across America, and because of my own experience with young black men dying too soon.   I wanted however, to read and find an engaging story,  but more importantly I wanted to find cultural authenticity.

I did find cultural authenticity. The depictions of  urban/black youth, generational perspectives, socio-economic perspectives, community relationships, complicated choices, loyalties and sometimes contradictions, were all authentic. And although at some points the narrative felt stereotypical and/or superficial, overall the story is a nuanced glance into seven sad, devastating days for a black community and black family.

This book will work well for instruction and/or in a classroom library. Many students will find his/her experiences validated and affirmed, but will also find stories that help build and bridge towards an empathy and understanding for different viewpoints/perspectives.

Each chapter is a character/community member who is touched by the death of Tariq Johnson in some way. We get to see inside the hearts and minds of many people who knew him, or knew of him, but painfully, as in real life, we never get to hear from the victim himself.  We see the victim through the eyes of many, as a hero, a thug, and a  threatening black male.  More importantly however we see Tariq, as a typical adolescent, a brother, a son, a friend,  and a human being.

Kekla Magoon writes a story with strong instructional possibility, even within the areas that might seem problematic, such as characters or situations that might seem stereotypical such as Tariq’s connection with a gang. It is typical for black male victims to be vilified and while I didn’t initially want to see this in this story, it provides an opportunity for critical discussion.  At some points the multiple characters/viewpoints seem to blur together, but in the midst of tragedies such as these where social media, images  and sound bytes converge, the feelings, viewpoints and truth do often meld together in a commotion of separate realities. 

Get this book. Read it for yourself.  Read it with your students.

Firebird by Misty Copeland

Biographical Verse

Grade Level: K-3

Interest Level: K-5

Themes:  perseverance, believing in yourself, overcoming obstacles, determination, hard work, following your dreams

Firebird, by Misty Copeland is a picture book that you want in your collection. Especially, but not only for little brown girls dreaming of dancing, but for any girls dreaming of being something or somewhere that  rejects their skin color, body type and/or circumstance.

Copeland’s story is authentic because it subtly captures the dreams and the fears of children who want to be more than their experience dictates. It also reflects the very real barriers of rejection that marginalized people face. 

It is not text heavy, and Christopher Meyer’s illustrations are perfect for picture walks through the text with beginning readers.   While the text is simple enough for those learning to read, it is also rich in imagery and figurative language, making it instructionally appropriate for many grade levels. Copeland’s figurative language is sprinkled with a few dance terms, and there is a beautifully, effective culturally specific simile “pirouetting tightly as the curls on our heads”. This will resonate with  many little black girls dreaming of doing things that black girls “don’t do”. We know from Copeland’s real life story, that this tale has a  happy ending. She teaches of not giving up, or listening to the naysayers, but instead pressing on as she did to spin wishes for other children.

Copeland ends her book with an inspirational letter to her readers telling of her journey from a little girl who didn’t fit in,  to the second African American soloist at the American Ballet Theater. 

Beautiful book. Don't walk, dance to get it.