Anastasia Suen

March 11, 2024March 9, 2024

Guts for Glory

Guts for Glory: The Story of Civil War Soldier Rosetta Wakeman
by Joanna Lapati (Author / Illustrator)
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Booktalk: In 1862, the war between North and South showed no signs of stopping. In rural New York, nineteen-year-old Rosetta Wakeman longed for a life beyond the family farm. One day she made a brave, bold choice: she cut her braid and disguised herself as a man. No one suspected that “Lyons” was a woman–not even when she signed up to fight for the Union. As Rosetta’s new regiment traveled to Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Louisiana, she sent letter after letter home to New York. Army life wasn’t easy, but Rosetta knew it was where she belonged–supporting her family and serving her country.

Snippet: She practiced speaking in deep, low tones and pondered a name for her new self. “Lyons Wakeman,” she whispered.

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

March 4, 2024March 2, 2024

I Am a Masterpiece!

I Am a Masterpiece!
by Mia Armstrong (Author) and Alexandra Thompson (Illustrator)
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Booktalk: Mia likes many of the things other people like–going to the beach, the color blue, drawing. But she doesn’t like when strangers stare at her because she looks different from them.

Down syndrome allows Mia to see and understand the world in a way that may not make sense to others. She considers it her superpower–and instead of it making her strange, she considers herself a masterpiece. As we all are.

Snippet: I know people aren’t used to seeing someone like me. I tell them, “Don’t whisper. Don’t look away. Do say hello.” I have Down syndrome and I like myself exactly the way I am. I just want people to be nice to me and to like me for who I am, too.

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

February 26, 2024February 24, 2024

Small Shoes, Great Strides

Small Shoes, Great Strides: How Three Brave Girls Opened Doors to School Equality
by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson (Author) and Alex Bostic (Illustrator)
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Booktalk: Leona Tate, Gail Etienne, and Tessie Prevost didn’t set out to make history. But when these three Black first graders stepped into the all-white McDonogh No. 19 Public School in New Orleans on November 14, 1960, that’s exactly what they did. They integrated their school just ten minutes before Ruby Bridges walked into her school, also in New Orleans. Like Ruby, the trio faced crowds of protestors fighting against public school desegregation efforts and relied on US Marshals (seen in the excerpt below) to keep them safe. Their teacher protected them every step of the way, and the girls formed a close bond, becoming friends for life.

Snippet:

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

February 12, 2024February 10, 2024

A History of the World in 25 Cities

A History of the World in 25 Cities (The British Museum)
by Tracey Turner (Author), Andrew Donkin (Author), Libby VanderPloeg (Illustrator)
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Booktalk: Visit cities from every inhabited continent on Earth, from the walled city of Jericho built over 10,000 years ago, to the modern-day metropolis of Tokyo, the most-densely populated city in the world today. Each carefully researched map takes readers on a city tour at a unique moment in time–from exploring Athens in ancient Greece during the birth of democracy, to walking the beautiful lamplit streets of medieval Benin, deep in the West African rainforest. Cities featured include Jericho, Memphis, Athens, Xianyang, Rome, Constantinople, Baghdad, Jórvík, Benin City, Tenochtitlán, Granada, Beijing, Venice, Delhi, Cuzco, Amsterdam, Sydney, Paris, London, Bangkok, Saint Petersburg, New York City, Berlin, San Francisco, and Tokyo.

Snippet:
BENIN CITY
1500s
In the middle of the West African rain forest, huge walls and deep moats surrounded a city that gleamed with brass. Benin City was the heart of a rich and powerful empire that stretched for hundreds of miles.

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

February 5, 2024February 2, 2024

Ketanji Brown Jackson: Supreme Court Justice

Ketanji Brown Jackson: Supreme Court Justice
by Emily Dolbear (Author)
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Booktalk: On June 30, 2022, Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in as the 116th Supreme Court justice. In that moment, she also became the first Black woman to serve on the highest court in the United States. This middle grade biography explores Jackson’s childhood, education, and adulthood, providing readers with a better understanding of who Jackson is and what led to her historic seat on the US Supreme Court.

Snippet: “On this vote, the yeas are 53, the nays are 47, and this nomination is confirmed,” announced the vice president. Loud applause broke out on the Senate floor of the US Capitol. For almost a minute, many senators recognized the historic moment with clapping and cheers.

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

January 29, 2024January 26, 2024

Black Achievements in Arts and Literature

Black Achievements in Arts and Literature: Celebrating Gordon Parks, Amanda Gorman, and More
by Elliott Smith (Author)
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Booktalk: There are many forms of art, and all of them have changed over time. In literature, dance, and fine arts, artists and writers have shared Black life, culture, and history. Many of them have broken barriers and inspired future generations. Celebrate the artists and writers who have excelled in the past and present, including author Jason Reynolds, dancer Misty Copeland, artist Kehinde Wiley, and poet Nikki Giovanni.

Snippet:

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

January 22, 2024January 21, 2024

There Was a Party for Langston

There Was a Party for Langston
by Jason Reynolds (Author), Jerome Pumphrey (Illustrator), and Jarrett Pumphrey (Illustrator)
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Booktalk: Back in the day, there was a heckuva party, a jam, for a word-making man. The King of Letters. Langston Hughes. His ABCs became drums, bumping jumping thumping like a heart the size of the whole country. They sent some people yelling and others, his word-children, to write their own glory.

Maya Angelou, Amiri Baraka, and more came be-bopping to recite poems at their hero’s feet at that heckuva party at the Schomberg Library, dancing boom da boom, stepping and stomping, all in praise and love for Langston, world-mending word man. Oh, yeah, there was hoopla in Harlem, for its Renaissance man. A party for Langston.

Snippet:
THERE WAS A PARTY
FOR LANGSTON at the library.
A jam in Harlem to celebrate the word-making man–

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

January 8, 2024January 7, 2024

Fighting with Love

Fighting with Love: The Legacy of John Lewis
by Lesa Cline-Ransome (Author) and James E. Ransome (Illustrator)
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Booktalk: John Lewis left a cotton farm in Alabama to join the fight for civil rights when he was only a teenager. He soon became a leader of a movement that changed the nation. Walking at the side of his mentor, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Lewis was led by his belief in peaceful action and voting rights. Today and always his work and legacy live on.

Snippet: “Working for nothing,” is what John grumbled to his parents as he dragged his cotton sack behind him.

“God’s gonna take care of his children,” his momma told him, and kept on, picking all day, praying all night.

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

December 18, 2023December 16, 2023

I Ship: A Container Ship’s Colossal Journey

I Ship: A Container Ship’s Colossal Journey
by Kelly Rice Schmitt (Author) and Jam Dong (Illustrator)
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Booktalk: Come aboard a massive container ship as it pulls into port, loads up with cargo, and heads out to the open ocean. The ship’s voyage includes starry skies and stormy seas, swift currents and unforeseen delays. Through it all, the crew keeps working–with goods to keep the world going, they must carry on.

Snippet: