REVIEW: Harlem Grown

Nevaeh goes to school at PS-175. Across from her school is a junk filled plot of land. While volunteering at the school, Hillery, “Mr Tony the kids called him,” notices the vacant lot and he has an idea. He cleared the lot, with the help of the students and they plant 400 seedlings, “one for each kid.”

REVIEW: Malaika’s Surprise

This book is a well-written, beautifully illustrated, and heartwarming story about a little girl afraid about yet another change in her very young life. How wonderfully banal. To young readers, the diversity in the book will hopefully come across as passe, almost an afterthought, to the central story that every kid who has dealt with the arrival of a new disruptive sibling can relate to.

REVIEW: R-E-S-P-E-C-T Aretha Franklin, The Queen of Soul

This book is a quick introduction to the life and accomplishments of the famed singer. Written in rhyming couplets, each two page spread is headlined by a theme word, spelled out like Aretha’s most famous song R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

A Fist for Joe Louis and Me

A Fist for Joe Louis and Me explores these questions and more as it follows the story of two boys in Detroit dur­ing the Great Depres­sion. Gordy, an African American boy, and his father, an auto worker, idolize Joe Louis, a world famous boxer. Gordy’s father would come home every Friday and teach Gordy how to box. Together they would follow Friday Night Fights on the radio.

REVIEW: Ritu Weds Chandni

Ayesha senses that all is not the same as other weddings, but her parents worry does not dampen her spirits. Ayesha is still surprised when they get to the house and her other family members are not there.

REVIEW: Pirate Queen

If you told people that the most powerful pirate of all time was a peasant Chinese woman, who, in the 1700s, at the age of 32, presided over a fleet of 1,800 ships and 70,000 men, most people wouldn’t believe you.

REVIEW: My Family Four Floors Up

This book follows a father, daughter, and their little puppy through their day in a big city. They have breakfast, they go to the park, they get rained out of the park, they come home and they have bath time, supper time, story time, and bedtime. An ordinary and uneventful day.

REVIEW: Natsumi’s Song of Summer

Natsumi’s Song of SummerAuthor: Robert Paul WestonIllustrator: Misa SaburiAges: 3-7Tundra Books There is nothing quite like being young in the summertime. The endless possibilities, the

REVIEW: Faery Tales

The Disney versions of the fairy tales that most Americans grew up with were not the tales I was used to. The version of Cinderella I grew up with for example, was based on the Brothers Grimm story where the step-sisters each cut off parts of their feet to fit into the glass slipper. Cinderella also exacts vengeance on her sisters, summoning doves to peck out their eyes after her wedding to the prince. Bedtime stories for little children, these were not.

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