Black cartoonists like Jackie Ormes, George Herriman and Ollie Harrington paved the way for the diverse voices and perspectives in today's comics, and the myriad styles in which Black artists practice their craft.
All Stories
It's that time of year: construction time. Roads, bridges, sidewalks.... Whether watching from a stroller or as they walk by themselves, children are about to see a whole bunch of orange reflective material and big machines. Below are some board books that may give them some insight into what they're observing.
Where did the idea for this book come from?
On a recent armchair travel adventure, I visited Sri Lanka, a teardrop-shaped island in the Indian Ocean. Some call it the pearl earring of India, dangling as it does off India's southeastern tip. Formerly known as Ceylon, the island nation's difficult history of colonization was followed by a 25-year-long civil war that ended in 2009.
More a visual history than textual, We Were Never Intended to be Citizens tells the story of the Black American experience through images, some iconic, that have come to define a race of people. This little book delivers bite-sized lessons simple enough for youngsters to digest yet accessible to adults. The photos paint vivid pictures of the struggles blacks in America have been facing for hundreds of years, and the triumphs and successes many have attained in spite of racial and social barriers.
WHAT: This summer, the battle of all battles goes LIVE! The Children’s Trust and all the Miami-Dade Grade Level Reading Partners are looking to crown the next Great Book Warrior. In an effort to combat summer learning loss, the Summer Battle of the Books hosted by the Miami-Dade Grade Level Reading Campaign and The Children’s Trust encourages both camp teams and individual K-5th grade children and families to join the launch party and download their free preselected eBooks by grade level from the (MDPLS) library, read the books and try the free suggested activities throughout the summer. Then gather again on July 9th for the virtual field trip which includes the Battle of theBooksfeaturing college and professional athletes, coaches, dancers, Young Talent Big Dreams (YTBD) performers, read-aloud books, and interactive activities.
Have you turned to meditation to relieve some of the stress brought on by the coronavirus? If so, and you want to deepen your practice (or if you haven't but would like to), here are three great books to get you started.
What better way to celebrate 7/7 than with a list of seven seven-themed titles?
Right now, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the advice that I am getting over and over is to "stay home" and "calm the f&*k down." First one: Done. Second one: I would if I knew how.
In this extended work-from-home period, I've been craving time outside: fresh air, a break from screens and the chance to enjoy spring flowers. More recently--though I don't have much outdoor space--I've been delving into gardening books, dreaming of growing my own blooms.
Independent booksellers across the country have chosen A Burning by Megha Majumdar (Knopf) as their number-one pick for the June 2020 Indie Next List. A Burning, Majumdar's debut novel, follows three characters in contemporary India who each have different dreams: Jivan wants to rise to the middle class, PT Sir chases political power as his country barrels toward right-wing extremism, and Lovely seeks fame. After Jivan is accused of being connected to a recent terrorist attack, their loosely connected lives become intertwined in ways they never could have imagined, and all three must decide what it means to be complicit.
I was in for something spectacular the moment I began reading The World Doesn't Require You (Liveright, $25.95), the second fiction collection by Rion Amilcar Scott. In the second story, two estranged friends reconnect over a childhood game, a variation of ding-dong ditch referred to by a reclaimed slur. Tyrone is a doctoral candidate, and his thesis speculates about the game's historical significance as a diversion tactic to help the enslaved steal from plantation owners or flee via the Underground Railroad. "While white folks, or even a house slave, answered the front door, there'd be black folk taking bread and hog meat... out the back." At night, they revive the tradition in a bougie white neighborhood--but there are tragic consequences.
