It's use of collage, won Keats the 1963 Caldecott Medal.
Happy Birthday Ezra Jack Keats! 🧁 March 11, 1916 - May 6, 1983
0 Comments
Our selection for today, Capoeira: Game! Dance! Martial Arts! by George Ancona describes the sport, it's history, music and language of capoeiristas.
Played worldwide, Capoeira, a Brazilian martial arts and game, pays homage to an African tradition. Beautifully detailed, including colorful photos, this book introduces readers to Portuguese terms woven into the text to explain how the game is played. Interesting fact: Ancona discusses the African origins and the incorporation of music to disguise to fighting skills so slave owners would think they were dancing. Also included in the book is a glossary and additional resources. Welcome to the Cypher, by Khodi Dill, and illustrated by Awuradwoa Afful, is a layered story of the power of a Hip Hop MC and also the agency and power young people have when creating and using their voice. Laid down in rhyme, Khodi invites the reader to free themselves from the fear of writing and rhyming to expressing their ideas with their heart, mind, and spirit so the world can hear it (see how I threw in that rhyme). April is Poetry Month. This would be a perfect selection to introduce poetry, writing and rhyming and being yourself, fearlessly. Check it our at your local or online Black bookstore and library. The ABC's of Black History by poet Rio Cortez and illustrator Lauren Semmer, takes us on a information-packed ride through movements, history, and people from Africa to America.
With lively collage illustrations, including different hues of Blackness, this poetic text is engaging and affirms the Black experience. With such rich coverage of events and people, events, and literary device, this book can be used as an anchor text to create text sets, mentor text, writing prompts, or pair with primary sources. Emphasizing resilient themes, this book is a necessary purchase! More Than Just A Game: The Black Origins of Basketball
By Madison Moore and Illustrated by Lonnie Ollivierre Share this story about Bball and Black culture. Moore shares the growth of the sport through avenues like HBCUs and club teams...the Black Fives. Segregation didn't hold us back. This book gives recognition to Edwin Bancroft Henderson and Cumberland Posey and other unsung heroes of basketball in the back matter, as well as, information about the Black Fives Foundation, and additional resources. Happy Black History Month everyone!
There is no better way to start this month off than with a book that encourages Black children to dream. Oftentimes, discriminatory barriers leave Black children feeling there is no purpose in dreaming. Teachers, librarians, and parents go out of your way to instill the importance and ability to dream and create. Jubilantly written by author Tricia Elam Walker and masterfully illustrated by Ekua Holmes, Dream Street, a street in the Roxbury neighborhood in Boston, shows the intergenerational community love that uplifts, gives hope, inspires, and dreams. This book is perfect to engage in conversations about your student's dreams. It can also be tied to the American Dream & MLK's I Have A Dream speech for secondary students to apply to civic concepts. Or contrast it to a Dream Deferred. That is the motto for the country in Africa called Ghana.
We are bringing you two books recently published to share more about the significance of this country. The first book is called ‘Kwame Nkrumah’s Midnight Speech for Independence’ by Useni Eugene Perkins and Illustrated by Laura Freeman. This is an insightful biography detailing the life of the 1st Prime Minister and the 1st elected President of the Republic of Ghana. Here are a few facts from this book that can be ties to additional instructional concepts: Colonialism, Independence, Self-Rule, & Liberation Kwame Nkrumah, Ghanian nationalist leader who led the Gold Coast's drive for independence from Britain and presided over its emergence as the new nation HBCUs Dr. Nkrumah went to Lincoln University, before earning his doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania Civil Rights Nkrumah engaged with Civil Rights activists, like the Rev. Adam Clayton Powell and W.E.B. Dubois, Martin Luther King, Coretta Scott King, A. Phillip Randolph, Ralph Bunche among others Revolutionary Leader Kwame was instrumental in progressing the movement for the liberation of the Gold Coast from the British. Although not in this book, he met with leaders, like Che Guevara, who was also working to liberate African and South America from the term they coined ‘neocolonialism” Collectivism Kwame Nrumah galvanized momentum for freedom through groups in the Gold Coast like the United Gold Coast Convention and the Convention People’s Party. Internationally he helped organize the 5th Pan African Congress with African and International leaders who were fighting for independence in Africa. This book also includes a timeline, Adinkra Symbols with explained meanings, and a timeline. Also included to provide historical knowledge about Ghana’s past is a historical fiction novel called ‘We Are Akan’ by Dorothy Brown Soper and illustrated by James Cloutier. This story about the 3 boys living in the Asante Kingdom, the most powerful nation in West Africa. As they learn adult skills they are invited to Kumasi for an important festival. They become intertangled in a rebellion that changes their trajectory. Meet Swift Walker he quickly walks himself into different learning adventures! By sea, in space, and across continents, Swift Walker shows readers all he learns on his walkabouts.
This series, by Verlyn Tarlton, is an engaging mix of a fiction story and informational text about curriculum-aligned subjects like the continents, the planets, and the oceans. Pair these titles with non-fiction titles for a deeper dive into the topics Swift Walker happens upon. The Swift Walker series is great for PreK-3rd grade. Titles in the series: Tarlton, Verlyn, and Chamberlain, Alejandro, illustrator. Swift Walker : a Continental Journey. Herndon, Virginia: Mascot Books, 2015. Print. Tarlton, Verlyn, and Karimov, Ravshan, illustrator. Swift Walker : a Space Adventure. New Orleans]: Plum Street Press, 2016. Print. Tarlton, Verlyn, and Putri, Norma Andriani Eka, illustrator. Swift Walker : a Journey Around the Oceans. New Orleans]: Plum Street Press, 2015. Print. We finally got our copy of My Mother’s Wildest Dream and it was worth the wait. Beautifully told by Author/Librarian Mr. John Light this story shares examples of the generational lineage of the Black family’s love, hopes, and dreams.
Beautifully illustrated by Monica Mikai, this book mirrors many relatable moments shared with family. As we head into Black History Month and Valentine’s Day, this book is a great read-aloud showing Black Love, family love, and the hopes and dreams of family for the youth. Also, a beautiful story to share for Mother’s Day! Pick up your copy at your local library, bookstore, or online to read aloud and share this beautiful story. |
AuthorSWE ARE HERE will provide you book reviews, discussions, news, and programming about literature and literacy by and about Black males. This site will also feature vlog conversations on topics related to the promoting literacy and voice for Black boys and young men. Archives
May 2023
Categories
All
|