The Classroom Bookshelf
Tag: Penguin Random House
Review of the Day – Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler by Ibi Zoboi
With care, grace, and not a little cleverness, Zoboi doesn’t just introduce Butler to kids in the book Star Child. She makes it very clear from the get go that young Octavia was one of us. A supremely relatable person with a drive and output that far outstripped her times.
Review of the Day: The Lock-Eater by Zack Loran Clark
The Lock-Eater is a marvelous example of how you may render old ideas new, if only you’ve the ability to combine smart, timely writing with the current zeitgeist. Our kids are lucky they get to tap into books like this. Let’s hope for more of the same.
Review of the Day: Someone Builds the Dream by Lisa Wheeler, ill. Loren Long
Lisa Wheeler and Loren Long have given us a title that is filled up to the brim with dignity. Dignity for the people who actually put their blood, sweat, and tears into making the places and objects we so desperately need to live.
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Review of the Day – The 1619 Project: Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones & Renée Watson, ill. Nikkolas Smith
“Their story does not begin with whips and chains”. Today I review a marvelous testament to not just the power of reclaiming your own story, but the story of your ancestors as well.
Review of the Day: The Wild Huntsboys by Martin Stewart
This is the fun, fast-paced, witty, and not too long adventure novel you’ve been searching for. Chock full of jokes and characters you grow to love.
Review of the Day: Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff
The publisher sold this book to me as Doll Bones with a trans narrative and maybe that’s the best description you should hope for. Smart. Original. Necessary. Thank god we have this book now.
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Review of the Day: Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Peña, ill. Christian Robinson
Read this book to a child when you yourself need to remember that the world is full of horrible, wonderful, complicated people and that there are millions of their stories out there just waiting to be learned.
Review of the Day: Katie the Catsitter by Colleen AF Venable, ill. Stephanie Yue
Created by the crackerjack team of Venable and Yue, this daring duo introduces the world to small, furry New York City superheroes and the catsitter that gets caught up in the action.
Review of the Day: Planet Omar – Accidental Trouble Magnet by Zanib Mian, ill. Nasaya Mafaridik
Let’s hand Omar to as many kinds as we can name. Because as far as I’m concerned, funny books that also prove to be smart and socially conscious (not to mention anti-racist) might help us get out of the mess this world is in.
Review of the Day: Just Like Me by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
We may have spent the better part of Poetry Month sheltering in place, but that doesn’t mean poetry went to sleep. Instead, books like this one have just been biding their time. Go out. Find it. Discover it. And discover why a book this good deserves some keen adjectives in its arsenal.
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