You So Black is a picture book based on the author’s spoken word poem, You So Black. “You so Black, when you smile, the stars come out.” The book is a celebration of Blackness and encourages readers to embrace who they are. The mixed-media illustrations are eye-catching with their vibrant colors and reinforce the celebration of Blackness.
Author Archives: Amy Covey
Mi Ciudad Sings by Cynthia Harmony
A young girl and her dog enjoy the sounds and music of her city as they make their way to her Mama’s flower shop. Suddenly the city rumbles with an earthquake, the sounds change and for the first time the city becomes silent. As she hurries to find her Mama, she notices a new rhythm with all the people that are helping the neighborhood and city recover. The illustrations are colorful and help tell the story. Spanish words and phrases are seamlessly woven into the story and there is a glossary at the back defining them. Although this is a fictional story, in the author’s note at the end, the author describes two devastating earthquakes in Mexico City and their experiences that inspired the story.
Holding On by Sophia N. Lee
A Filipina child visits her grandmother, Lola, in the summers where music fills there mornings, afternoons, and evenings. When they are separated in the winter, the little girl remembers all of the ways Lola holds on. “It’s important to remember, Lola tells me. So I listen to her stories and remember with her.” As Lola’s memory starts to fade the little girl decides to remember for her and sings the songs for Lola and let’s her know that she will remember for her. The mixed-media/collage illustrations reinforce the gentle message of love and caring for a family member whose memories are fading. I highly recommend this book.
Parker Grows a Garden by Parker Curry and Jessica Curry
While visiting her Nana, Parker says that she wishes she had a garden too. Her family helps her prepare the garden and her Nana brings her tulip bulbs to plant. It is hard to wait all winter for her garden to grow. In the spring, her other grandma, Mom Mom, helps her plant vegetables. Soon they are able to enjoy tulips and crunch cucumbers from her garden.
This is a Ready-to-Read Level One book. The type is large with 1-2 sentences per page. The plot is simple while celebrating family working together to meet a goal. The illustrations are bright and colorful.
Sprinkles and Swirls: Oh, What a Show by Lola M. Schaefer
Sprinkles and Swirls are cupcakes. Swirls wants Sprinkles to sign up for the talent show with her, but Sprinkles feels like she does not have a talent. Swirls helps Sprinkles try out different things to find her talent. Eventually Sprinkles decides that she will dance with Swirls in the talent show. Sprinkles is a brown cupcake with dark brown frosting hair and Swirls is a pinkish tan cupcake with pink swirl frosting hair.
This is a Ready to Read Graphics Level 1. I appreciate that the first two pages explain how to read a graphic novel; explaining speech bubbles, thought bubbles, panels, and how to read the panels. There are 1-2 panels per page and minimal words on each page. The graphics help tell the story and are bright, colorful and engaging. This is great for students who are learning to read and want to read a graphic novel.
Something Beautiful by Lita Judge
Mouse loves playing alone with his ball and then he starts playing with Elephant and they start playing together. Then Elephant and Mouse meet Giraffe and start playing with him. Each time they don’t think they need anyone else until they meet someone new and get to know them and discover a great friendship. The illustrations are beautiful and the expressions on the animals faces are detailed and add to the story. The message that we all have value and each add something beautiful to the group.
Nana, Nenek & Nina by Liza Ferneyhough
Nina lives in San Francisco and visits her Nana in England and her Nenek in Malaysia. The similarities and differences between the two visits give us a peek into the places that her grandmas live. She wears different clothes, eats different foods and plays different games, but she loves her grandmas and they love her. The side-by-side colorful illustrations show the similarities and differences between the places Nana and Nenek live.
The text spans across both pages when it is talking about both Nana and Nenek. This can be confusing for readers as sometimes you read the text on one side and others you have to read across the gutter. Without reading the book jacket or the dedication the readers would not know where Nana or Nenek live since it is not mentioned in the story.
The story would be good for reflecting on families, identity and different cultures that make us who we are.
Super Gross: What’s That Smell? by Ximena Hastings
What are some of the smelliest things in the world? Why do some things smell bad? Where do smells come from? These are some of the questions answered in this Ready to Read Level 2 book. Dr. Ick and his friend Sam the dog take us through why some things smell. There are 2-3 sentences per page and includes illustrations as well as photographs. Important vocabulary words are in bold and many also include a pronunciation guide. The glossary is located at the front of the book and an experiment is located at the back of the book.
I Want to Be a Vase by Julio Torres
Plunger does not want to be a plunger anymore, it wants to be a vase. Soon other household items want to be different things. The vacuum is so adamant that they have to be what they already are that he makes a mess, spraying dust everywhere. Vacuum realizes that nothing bad would happen if others got to be what they wanted.
The artwork is vibrant and jumps off the page. While I feel that the idea of the story, that we can be whatever we want, is important, I am not sure that it is effective with some of the items chosen. I think kids will be attracted to the vibrant colors and will find the book funny, but may miss the idea that you can be whatever you want.
Wednesday Wilson Fixes All Your Problems by Bree Galbraith
Wednesday Wilson’s morning is not off to a good start. Her mom made egg pizza for breakfast again, she spilled her brother’s orange juice all over his family tree project, her favorite marble hit the principal in the head and her brother locked himself in the bathroom at school. To get her brother to come out of the bathroom, Wednesday’s classmate, Emmett, says he needs a worry stone. And this leads Wednesday to her next business adventure: selling her marble collection to students to solve their problems. This short chapter book is book two in the Wednesday Wilson series, but you can read it without feeling like you are missing too much from the first book.