Black characters

Bright Brown Baby by Andrea Davis Pinkney

| Tasha
Cover image for Bright Brown Baby.

Bright Brown Baby by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney (9780545872294)

Spending happy time together with a baby is made simple with this new offering from the prolific and marvelous Pinkneys. Starting each chapter with a quotation from a major Black figure sets the tone for this treasury, ensuring that each story celebrates being a Black baby. Some of the stories focus on counting, others play peek-a-boo, and they all speak to self esteem and love.

The text is simple enough for the youngest of children, each page looking more like a board book. That makes sense when you know that each of the chapters in the treasury are going to be released in board book format as well with one of them out already. Still, there is a beauty in seeing them all together in one book, because the movement from one chapter to the next works well and keeps the lap time going.

The illustrations are bright and full of warmth. They are filled with families and little ones of different genders and sizes all hugging, playing and spending time with one another.

Lots of love for brown and Black babies and families. Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Orchard Books.

Keep Your Head Up by Aliya King Neil

| Tasha
Cover image for Keep Your Head Up.

Keep Your Head Up by Aliya King Neil, illustrated by Charly Palmer (9781534480407)

A bad day starts for this boy when he wakes up late. He can’t move fast and his sister has used his sparkly toothpaste to make slime. Still, he knows he can try to make it a good day. But things just keep on going wrong. He has forgotten his gym uniform plus he doesn’t get the class job that lets him take a walk. His face starts to show his frustration. He gets the last laptop in writing class, the one with the sticky space bar. He forgets to raise his hand in math class, even though his answer was right. He manages to get paint all over his uniform. He’s been trying to avoid a meltdown all day, but it doesn’t work. He gets sent to the principal’s office. The quiet there helps, but the day won’t get much better until he decides to keep on trying to keep his head up.

Neil captures all of the emotions of a bad day in her picture book. The steady drum of small things going wrong throughout the day is something that many kids will recognize. They will also relate to the emotions of anger, frustration and the final loss of control after trying so hard. There is a lot of empathy in this book and yet also no easy answers other than to keep on trying, be gentle with yourself.

The illustrations by the Coretta Scott King Award winner Palmer are rich and beautiful. He shows all of the emotions that the protagonist feels using a cloud that follows the boy everywhere. The cloud changes color as the boy’s emotions get darker and angrier too. Throughout there is a sense of a strong Black family unit and larger Black community.

An emotional look at a bad day that just might turn out OK. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Simon & Schuster.

Dream Street by Tricia Elam Walker

| Tasha
Cover image for Dream Street.

Dream Street by Tricia Elam Walker, illustrated by Ekua Holmes (9780525581109)

Dream Street is a very special street where there is a strong sense of community even though everyone is different and has their own special dreams. Yusef waits for his brother while thinking of his ancestors who were kings and queens. Mr. Sidney sits on the stoop all dressed up every day, even though he’s just reading the newspaper. Belle wants to be a scientist who studies butterflies. Azaria is great at jumping rope and dreams of winning a trophy. Ms. Sarah has lived on Dream Street longer than anyone, her soft voice will tell you stories. Zion loves to spend time at the library. Ede collects odds and ends that others toss away while her cousin writes down what she hears. Dessa Rae has a gorgeous garden where she and her grandbaby sometimes sleep. Ms. Paula dances. Little Benjamin counts the stars. All of children on Dream Street can become whatever they want, cared for by a strong Black community.

Walker based Dream Street on the street that she grew up on. The individual stories of each person on the street stand alone and also form a tapestry of what people’s dreams look like both as a child and also as an adult. It is those critical adult stories amongst the children’s that show what a good life that followed dreams looks like and demonstrates that potential for all of the younger ones as well. The writing here is poetic and lovely, stringing the stories together into a whole that shows how one street, one community can be positive and strong.

Holmes’ illustrations are collages made from papers, fabric and acrylic paint. Filled with vibrant color, patterns, and textures, each image is a portrait of the person being described in that story. They are filled with beautiful Black faces and people, each with their own personality and style.

A book that shows how support from a community help dreams come true. Appropriate for ages 4-8.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Anne Schwartz Books.

When We Say Black Lives Matter by Maxine Beneba Clark

| Tasha
Cover image for When We Say Black Lives Matter.

When We Say Black Lives Matter by Maxine Beneba Clark (9781536222388)

This picture book looks at the Black Lives Matter movement and explains it to young children in a way they can understand. Using rhythm, repetition and rhyme, the picture book is engaging while explaining larger societal issues. The book focuses on concepts that include respect, fear, remembrance, freedom and being enough. The book directly speaks to the Black child, explaining the vitality and importance of the protests and incorporating the protests into a message of self-worth, joy and music.

Clark’s writing is masterful. She uses rhythm and rhyme so successfully here, moving the words like jazz music or the tempo of drums. She uses rhythm to have her words become protest chants and then transforming anger into sorrow, remembrance and tears into power. She shows how all of the emotions, negative and positive, can be used as a demand for change.

The illustrations are large, colorful and bold. They move from a family with a new baby and the warm reds and yellows of their home to starry nights of protest done in deep blues to the poison green of the trouble that comes. She incorporates stained-glass windows into several of the images, showing the timelessness and importance of the demand for racial justice.

An importance picture book for public library collections. Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Candlewick.

Be Strong by Pat Zietlow Miller

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Cover image for Be Strong.

Be Strong by Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Jen Hill (9781250221117)

Being strong doesn’t just mean that you can make it to the top of the climbing wall in gym like Cayla. The young narrator has been told by her family that being strong will get you through life when hard times hit. But some days she can’t even lift her heavy backpack. So she asks her father how she can be strong. He tells her that strength is showing up like when they help people who have lost their homes. Her mother says strength is speaking up, like when her mother worked to get a crossing guard at a busy street. Her grandmother says it means not giving up, like her starting to run. So the girl figures out what the means for her, how she can help those around her, how she can speak up and change the way things work, and how if she keeps on trying she can reach her goals both on her own and with some help.

Miller cleverly plays against the stereotypical definition of strength early in this picture book. She shows that yes, physical strength is definitely strength and then proceeds through the rest of the book to show the other aspects of strength, including resilience, determination, speaking up, setting goals, and asking for help. Miller’s text is simple and reads aloud well. She nicely walks young readers through what strength is, allowing them to see it both in themselves and others.

Hill’s illustrations show a diverse cast of characters in an urban setting. The young narrator is Black and her community of classmates and others are a variety of races and religions. The illustrations are bright and friendly, inviting readers into a world where children can make a difference.

A vibrant look at strength and community. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Roaring Brook Press.

Fast Pitch by Nic Stone

| Tasha
Cover image for Fast Pitch.

Fast Pitch by Nic Stone (9781984893017)

Shenice is the captain of the first girls softball team in the league that is entirely girls of color. There’s a lot of pressure on her to perform and to play the role of captain, inspiring others with her belief that they can not only win that single game, but also win the entire championship. As Shenice and the rest of the team put up with microaggressions and outright racism from other teams and their communities, she finds out the reason that her grandfather left professional baseball. Shenice meets her great-uncle Jack, a man savvy enough to not speak about this in front of her parents, but also elderly enough that getting the full story takes some time and effort. As her grandfather’s history is revealed, Shenice realizes that she might have a chance to clear her grandfather’s name for a crime he didn’t commit, and the reason he was pushed out of baseball entirely. Now she just has to keep focused on both finding the proof and also leading her team to victory. It may be too much for one person to handle!

Stone has created a book that speaks at once to both modern racism and then to systemic racism and its impact on Black people in the past and today. This is done in a personal way, so that readers experience the racism that Shenice and her friends are shown at their games. The clever use of family history will lead readers and the characters to explore the past and how it serves as a lens for what is also happening today.

The characters in this book are particularly well drawn. Shenice herself is determined, passionate and skilled. Uncle Jack is fabulous, funny and sly. Then there is the team, the one that stands by their captain, even getting into some trouble along the way as they all work to solve the mystery together.

Game on! Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Crown Books for Young Readers.

Blackout by Dhonielle Clayon, et al.

| Tasha
Cover image for Blackout.

Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon (9780063088092)

In New York City in the heat of summer, there is a sudden blackout citywide. Caught in the darkness are several groups of Black teens who all find themselves heading to the same party. There are couples who have already broken up and find themselves the only safe way to get back home. There are pairs who are not yet together but find themselves trapped on the stopped subway system. There are people in one relationship and longing for a new one that is right there. Told in loosely-linked short stories, these stories all tell the joyous tale of young Black love in the dark.

Written by six award-winning Black female authors, these stories are a summer delight to read. The authors have their own unique voices that all come together into a single book that really sings. Cleverly, one story bridges across the entire book, following one couple’s long walk across the city together. Each story shows romance in a different light and different stage, showing how even waning romance can be the beginning of something new and amazing.

In all of the stories, the characters are interesting and well written. They have personalities that stand out against the crowd of characters, taking the spotlight for a time and then allowing it to move on. The writing throughout is skilled, creating a book that is romantic, funny and a tribute to New York City herself.

A testament to the talent of the writers, this book is a great summer read. Appropriate for ages 13-17.

Reviewed from library copy.

Josephine Against the Sea by Shakirah Bourne

| Tasha
Cover image for Josephine Against the Sea.

Josephine Against the Sea by Shakirah Bourne (9781338642087)

After her mother’s death, Josephine knows that she wants to keep her Daddy’s attention on her. So she manages to chase off any woman looking to be his new girlfriend, using pranks and fish guts. Her father used to love watching cricket matches with her on the weekends, and she is desperate to get him back to doing that again. When one of her pranks goes wrong though, she is forced to use the money she’d been saving to take him to a real match in person to pay for the damages. Josephine also loves to play cricket herself, but at her school only boys play. After being disappointed about the team, Josephine also finds that her father has a new girlfriend. But Mariss isn’t like the other women and doesn’t scare off easily. As strange things start to happen around Mariss, Josephine realizes that she be very different from everyone else and may not even be human!

Full of Caribbean magic, this novel starts out as a story about the loss of a mother and steadily turns into a fantasy about a sea monster who is both kind and vengeful. The author’s own Bajan heritage is reflected throughout the book in the lilt of the dialogue. She also shares Caribbean folktales about a variety of beings and creatures.

Josephine is a grand protagonist. She is hot headed and determined to get what she wants, something that causes both problems and also creates opportunities. She is also willing to reconsider and learn from others, including members of her community and her best friend. Mariss is a complicated villain and monster, which is great to see in a children’s book. She is a mix of kindness and control, a being who wants humans to belong to her and who will destroy them if they don’t obey.

A book of Black girl magic and monsters. Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from ARC provided by Scholastic.

Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury

| Tasha
Cover image for Blood Like Magic.

Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury (9781534465282)

Voya’s time to get her Calling has finally arrived. While she isn’t excited about the trial that she must undergo, she is thrilled that she will get her witch’s power. Voya hopes that her power will set the course for the rest of her life, likely keeping her close at home with her multigenerational family who live in a house that was magically moved to Canada. When Voya’s hesitation causes her to have to ask her ancestor for another chance, she is given an impossible task: to destroy her first love. If Voya doesn’t succeed, every witch in her family will lose their magic. It also means that Voya’s young sister will die since magic keeps her alive. As Voya tries to get her cousin a great internship, she also meets a boy who is the perfect genetic match for her. The trouble is, they don’t like each other at all and he has no interest in even meeting her again. As Voya struggles to solve the mystery of her Calling, she learns more about her family’s pure magic, the cost of darker magical power, and what duty to her family means.

This book is full of Black magic that is at once both powerful but also marvelously mundane. Sambury brings us into a family of witches who are coming to the end of their power and tied to being pure, meaning that they won’t kill or torture other people to gain power. The family dynamics are beautifully drawn, from divorced parents who are forced to live together under the same roof to a grandmother who controls them all to a group of cousins who are very different from one another but also watch out and help one another constantly. The dialog is well written, full of small touches that bring each character to life.

Voya is an unusual protagonist. First, she has not only her parents but a huge extended family around her all the time. Second, she has trouble making choices that impact her life to the point of grinding to a halt regularly. When given tasks that force her to make decisions, she falters but doesn’t give up. She finds other ways, other paths and asks for help. This is the opposite of a solo protagonist, as she is surrounded by people who love her even if they don’t trust that she will succeed.

Magical, powerful and unique, this novel is fantastic. Appropriate for ages 13-17.

Reviewed from copy provided by McElderry Books.