Four narrators create a striking collection of voices that explore and celebrate little-known poems of Black women from the Harlem Renaissance. In this collection, poet Nikki Grimes alternates a Harlem Renaissance poem with an original poem based on the work, using the golden shovel composition form. In a lively, youthful voice, Bahni Turpin narrates Grimes's works, as well as Grimes's introduction to the history of the Harlem Renaissance and an explanation of the golden shovel method; Karole Foreman, Zakiya Young, and Janina Edwards alternate reading the historical poems. Turpin's light tone for Grimes's poems serves as a contemporary counterpoint to the deeper, more somber tones of the historical works. The juxtaposition of both the poems and the narrators' voices is compellingly presented.
(Poetry. 9-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2021
Duration: 1 hr, 15 mins
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
It's 1975, and eleven-year-old Gao Sheng, a Hmong girl, is living in the highlands of Laos in a one-room house with her family. Then they are forced to flee. Narrator Robyn Morales lends a soft, feminine huskiness to the protagonist's voice as she describes the family's journey to a refugee camp, to gentle and thoughtful effect. The listener is transported alongside Gao Sheng to a new world as she reflects on memory, gender, and family relations in her culture; the events that change her life; and conditions in the refugee camp. An afterword provides context about the author's family's real-life experience. Morales' narration is comforting, even as she describes the difficult circumstances of refugees.
(Verse historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
Duration: 5 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798217080861
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Joey Florez juggles the many facets of this audiobook. Depicting seventh grader Alex Ramirez, a neurodivergent student, Florez honors both the character and the verse format of the story. He gives his narration a definitive rhythm. Periodically, Ramirez uses fluid Spanish that reflects Alex's heritage and adds another rhythm to the narration. Alex has been in an SC (self-contained) classroom since a third-grade conflict landed a former friend in the hospital. Florez's narration reveals Alex's intelligence and curiosity, frustration with the limitations on his learning and with bullying, passion for space, and determination to escape his narrow bounds and enter a mainstream science class, his first step in attaining his dreams.
(Verse fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: June 3, 2025
Duration: 2 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217071289
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
