A fresh, inclusive, and inspiring collective biography.
A collection of short biographies of Black women through the ages and around the world who found ways to resist limits imposed by society.
These thumbnail sketches provide a look at the diverse areas in which Black women have achieved success. Some are well-known historical figures, such as journalist Ida B. Wells, known for her crusading work against lynching in the American South. Seventeenth-century Queen Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba in present-day Angola resisted Portuguese slave traders. Trailblazing political voices include Shirley Chisholm and Vice President Kamala Harris. Mamie Phipps Clark was an African American psychologist whose research was an important factor in deciding Brown v. Board of Education. She is an example of women whose work had impacts on societal change but who may not have received sufficient recognition. Overall, the focus seems to be on the unexpected and individual strivers, with many stories demonstrating the role of persistence. Environmentalist Kristal Ambrose founded the Bahamas Plastic Movement to protect marine life in her home country. The arts are well represented—MC Soffia is a dark-skinned, 17-year-old Brazilian rap artist who performed at the opening ceremonies of the 2016 Olympics and speaks out against colorism—as is the sporting world. The spirited narratives, each one page long, are compelling and are accompanied by vivid color portraits created by Black and nonbinary illustrators from around the world.
A fresh, inclusive, and inspiring collective biography. (minibiographies, interactive materials, glossary, about the authors, illustrators, resources) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-953424-04-4
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Rebel Girls
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2021
For every dreaming girl (and boy) with a pencil in hand (or keyboard) and a story to share.
A multiaward–winning author recalls her childhood and the joy of becoming a writer.
Writing in free verse, Woodson starts with her 1963 birth in Ohio during the civil rights movement, when America is “a country caught / / between Black and White.” But while evoking names such as Malcolm, Martin, James, Rosa and Ruby, her story is also one of family: her father’s people in Ohio and her mother’s people in South Carolina. Moving south to live with her maternal grandmother, she is in a world of sweet peas and collards, getting her hair straightened and avoiding segregated stores with her grandmother. As the writer inside slowly grows, she listens to family stories and fills her days and evenings as a Jehovah’s Witness, activities that continue after a move to Brooklyn to reunite with her mother. The gift of a composition notebook, the experience of reading John Steptoe’s Stevieand Langston Hughes’ poetry, and seeing letters turn into words and words into thoughts all reinforce her conviction that “[W]ords are my brilliance.” Woodson cherishes her memories and shares them with a graceful lyricism; her lovingly wrought vignettes of country and city streets will linger long after the page is turned.
For every dreaming girl (and boy) with a pencil in hand (or keyboard) and a story to share. (Memoir/poetry. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-399-25251-8
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014
With young readers diagnosed with anxiety in ever increasing numbers, this book offers a necessary mirror to many.
Young Raina is 9 when she throws up for the first time that she remembers, due to a stomach bug. Even a year later, when she is in fifth grade, she fears getting sick.
Raina begins having regular stomachaches that keep her home from school. She worries about sharing food with her friends and eating certain kinds of foods, afraid of getting sick or food poisoning. Raina’s mother enrolls her in therapy. At first Raina isn’t sure about seeing a therapist, but over time she develops healthy coping mechanisms to deal with her stress and anxiety. Her therapist helps her learn to ground herself and relax, and in turn she teaches her classmates for a school project. Amping up the green, wavy lines to evoke Raina’s nausea, Telgemeier brilliantly produces extremely accurate visual representations of stress and anxiety. Thought bubbles surround Raina in some panels, crowding her with anxious “what if”s, while in others her negative self-talk appears to be literally crushing her. Even as she copes with anxiety disorder and what is eventually diagnosed as mild irritable bowel syndrome, she experiences the typical stresses of school life, going from cheer to panic in the blink of an eye. Raina is white, and her classmates are diverse; one best friend is Korean American.
With young readers diagnosed with anxiety in ever increasing numbers, this book offers a necessary mirror to many. (Graphic memoir. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-545-85251-7
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
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