Author: Anastasia Suen

From her studio in Northern California, developmental editor Anastasia Suen reads, writes, and edits books for creators of all ages.
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Let ‘er Buck!

Let ‘er Buck!: George Fletcher, the People’s Champion
by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson (Author) and Gordon C. James (Illustrator)

Booktalk: In 1911, three men were in the final round of the famed Pendleton Round-Up. One was white, one was Indian, and one was black. When the judges declared the white man the winner, the audience was outraged. They named black cowboy George Fletcher the “people’s champion” and took up a collection, ultimately giving Fletcher far more than the value of the prize that went to the official winner.

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Copyright © 2019 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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Carter Reads the Newspaper

Carter Reads the Newspaper
by Deborah Hopkinson (Author) and Don Tate (Illustrator)

Booktalk: As the father of Black History Month, he spent his life introducing others to the history of his people. Carter G. Woodson was born to two formerly enslaved people ten years after the end of the Civil War. Though his father could not read, he believed in being an informed citizen. So Carter read the newspaper to him every day. When he was still a teenager, Carter went to work in the coal mines. There he met a man named Oliver Jones, and Oliver did something important: he asked Carter not only to read to him and the other miners, but also research and find more information on the subjects that interested them.

Snippet: At Harvard, so the story goes, one of Carter’s professors said that Black people had no history.

Carter remembered his father’s pride, his mother’s courage, and Oliver’s determination to read. He remembered reading the newspaper.

Carter spoke up. “No people lacked a history,” he said. The professor challenged Carter to prove him wrong.

For the rest of his life, Carter did just that.

BONUS! Download the Teacher’s Guide

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Copyright © 2019 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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Abraham Lincoln: The Making of America

Abraham Lincoln: The Making of America #3
by Teri Kanefield (Author)

Booktalk: Born in a cabin deep in the backwoods of Kentucky, growing up in a family considered “the poorest of the poor,” Lincoln rose to become the sixteenth president of the United States. As president, he guided the United States through the Civil War, helped end slavery in America, and strengthened the federal government.

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Nonfiction Monday

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Copyright © 2019 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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Planting Stories

Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré
by Anika Aldamuy Denise (Author) and Paola Escobar (Illustrator)

Booktalk: When she came to America in 1921, Pura Belpré carried the cuentos folklóricos of her Puerto Rican homeland. Finding a new home at the New York Public Library as a bilingual assistant, she turned her popular retellings into libros and spread story seeds across the land. Today, these seeds have grown into a lush landscape as generations of children and storytellers continue to share her tales and celebrate Pura’s legacy.

Snippet: The library needs a bilingual assistant.
Pura speaks Spanish, English, and French.
She is perfect for the job.

But where are her abuela’s stories?
Not one folktale from Puerto Rico is on the shelves.

Nonfiction Monday

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Copyright © 2019 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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The Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights Movement
by Eric Braun (Author)

Booktalk: The Civil Rights Movement started in the 1800s and remains a prominent movement within our modern society. Find out how activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Fannie Lou Hamer set the stage for activists in modern times and learn how activists are speaking out today to expand rights for African Americans.

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Nonfiction Monday

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Copyright © 2019 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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The Vast Wonder of the World

The Vast Wonder of the World: Biologist Ernest Everett Just
by Mélina Mangal (Author) and Luisa Uribe (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Ernest Everett Just was not like other scientists of his time. He saw the whole, where others saw only parts. He noticed details others failed to see. He persisted in his research despite the discrimination and limitations imposed on him as an African American. His keen observations of sea creatures revealed new insights about egg cells and the origins of life.

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Copyright © 2019 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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Herstory: 50 Women and Girls Who Shook Up the World

Herstory: 50 Women and Girls Who Shook Up the World
by Katherine Halligan (Author) and Sarah Walsh (Illustrator)

Booktalk: It’s time for herstory–a celebration of not only what girls can do, but the remarkable things women have already accomplished, even when others tried to stop them. Follow the stories of fifty powerhouse women from around the world and across time who each managed to change the world as they knew it forever.

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Nonfiction Monday

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Copyright © 2018 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.