Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre
by Carole Boston Weatherford (Author) and Floyd Cooper (Illustrator)
Booktalk: The Tulsa Race Massacre a hundred years ago was one of the worst incidents of racial violence in our nation’s history. This picture book for grades 3-6 traces the history of African Americans in Tulsa’s Greenwood district and chronicles the devastation that occurred in 1921 when a white mob attacked the Black community.
Let’s Explore Chocolate! (Food Field Trips)
by Jill Colella (Author)
Booktalk: Chocolate is a delicious food that people around the world enjoy. Have you ever seen where chocolate comes from? Visit a cacao farm, look inside a cacao pod, and learn how to make hot chocolate and chocolate-covered pretzels.
How I Survived: Four Nights on the Ice
by Serapio Ittusardjuat (Author) and Matthew K. Hoddy (Illustrator)
Booktalk: After his snowmobile breaks down halfway across the sea ice on a trip back from a fishing camp, Serapio Ittusardjuat recounts the traditional skills and knowledge he leaned on to stay alive. This harrowing first-person account of four nights spent on the open sea ice–with few supplies and no water–shows young readers the determination and strength necessary to survive in the harsh Arctic climate, even when the worst occurs.
Music Is . . .
by Stephen T. Johnson (Author / Illustrator)
Booktalk: Experience ten different types of music–classical, Latin, jazz, country, heavy metal, hip-hop, rock and roll, rhythm and blues, electronica, pop, and a surprise finale in this accordion book with an in-depth glossary for each genre on the reverse side.
The Impossible First: An Explorer’s Race Across Antarctica (Young Readers Edition)
by Colin O’Brady (Author)
Booktalk: Prior to December 2018, no individual had ever crossed the landmass of Antarctica alone, without support, and completely human-powered. But Colin O’Brady was determined to do just that–even though ten years earlier a tragic accident raised doubts that he’d ever walk again normally.
O’Brady’s quest drew him into a head-to-head battle with British SAS Captain Louis Rudd–also striving to be “the first.” Enduring Antarctica’s sub-zero temperatures and pulling a sled that initially weighed 375 pounds in complete isolation and through a succession of whiteouts, storms, and a series of near disasters, O’Brady journeyed 932 miles to a world first.
Snippet: The plane shuddered and shook as it landed, its skis rattling on the sea ice. The crew helped me pull off the sled, offered a few bang-bang handshakes of good luck, and jumped back in with a schedule to keep, taxiing off to deliver Rudd to his drop-off a mile away, the same distance as me from the starting line waypoint at the continent’s edge.
Booktalk: Born in a small town in India, growing up to study law, Mahatma Gandhi became a powerful voice for change and is now known all over the world as a symbol of perseverance and peace.
The Fangirl’s Guide to the Universe: A Handbook for Girl Geeks
by Sam Maggs (Author) and Kat Goodloe (Illustrator)
Booktalk: Fandom, pop culture, feminism, cosplay, cons, books, memes, podcasts, vlogs, OTPs and RPGs and MMOs and more–there’s never been a better time to be a fangirl, or a better guide to navigate the wide universe of fandoms. Experience the joys of the fandom community in this fun, feminist take on the often male-dominated world of geekdom.
The Efficient, Inventive (Often Annoying) Melvil Dewey
by Alexis O’Neill (Author) and Edwin Fotheringham (Illustrator)
Booktalk: When Melvil Dewey realized every library organized their books differently, he wondered if he could invent a system all libraries could use to organize them efficiently. A rat-a-tat speaker, Melvil was a persistent (and noisy) advocate for free public libraries. And while he made enemies along the way as he pushed for changes–like his battle to establish the first library school with women as students, through it all he was EFFICIENT, INVENTIVE, and often ANNOYING as he made big changes in the world of public libraries–changes still found in the libraries of today!
Booktalk: Detailed photos and straightforward text examine the featured sport’s history, equipment, primary positions, and common rules. Also included is a biographical story about professional football player Tom Brady.
