Lost in the City: Stories by Edward P. Jones
17 Mar, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Black/African American, Fiction, Short Stories
So first off, I read backwards (see yesterday's post) ...
BookDragon Black/African American
All Aunt Hagar’s Children: Stories by Edward P. Jones
16 Mar, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Black/African American, Fiction, Short Stories
Edward P. Jones takes up little space on library shelves. Over the last 20+ years, he's published three books: two story collections and a single novel. Proving the adage 'quality over quantity,' Jones' awards are considerably more extensive, from the PEN/Hemingway Award for his first...
The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine
26 Feb, by in Audio, Black/African American, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Young Adult Readers
1958, Little Rock, Arkansas: A year has passed since nine courageous African American students – history's "Little Rock Nine" – integrated Central High School. Just days before the new school year is scheduled to begin that September 15, then-Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus closed the city's three high...
Etched in Clay: The Life of Dave, Enslaved Potter and Poet by Andrea Cheng, woodcuts by the author
21 Feb, by in Biography, Black/African American, Chinese American, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction, Poetry, Verse Novel/Nonfiction
Absolute details surrounding the life of Dave the Potter are limited and uncertain. What remains of his life story almost two centuries later, is scattered with uncertain words, including 'sometime,' 'about,' 'believed to be,' 'might,' 'possibly,' and other such noncommittal qualifiers. The few surviving documents...
The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks by Jeanne Theoharis [in Christian Science Monitor]
30 Jan, by in Adult Readers, Biography, Black/African American, Nonfiction, Repost, Young Adult Readers
Already designated “definitive political biography” on its back cover, The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks by Brooklyn College political science professor Jeanne Theoharis will reside in my personal reading history as the most difficult book I’ve ever reviewed. Never before – and hopefully never...
Jefferson’s Sons: A Founding Father’s Secret Children by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
29 Jan, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Black/African American, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Young Adult Readers
Let me start with what has been deemed as historical record. According to the Thomas Jefferson Foundation – which not only owns and operates Jefferson's legendary home, Monticello, but maintains the most comprehensive website focused on "Monticello, Jefferson, his family, and his times" – this is the official...
Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad by Henry Cole
06 Nov, by in Absolute Favorites, Black/African American, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific
In our hyper-connected world of constant chatter, quiet is a difficult-to-access, precious commodity. Take a sweeping look around you, take a few minutes to turn everything off, and grab a copy of this spectacular, wordless book. That's right – no words, beyond the author's dedication (to a...
Home by Toni Morrison
08 Aug, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Black/African American, Fiction, Korean
The legendary 1993 Nobel Prize-winning Toni Morrison begins her latest novel with a jarring disconnect of warning: the title is Home, and yet the first pages open with an unannotated verse – "Whose house is this? / ...
Baby Flo by Alan Schroeder, illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu
24 Jun, by in Biography, Black/African American, Children/Picture Books, Chinese American, Nonfiction
In a short introductory paragraph on the copyright page, author Alan Schroeder begins with a summary of what’s real and what’s been embellished “for storytelling purposes” in this vibrant title, because “[r]eliable information about [Baby Flo's] early years is limited.” Schroeder is definitely speaking to...
Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones
20 Jun, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Black/African American, Fiction
In mid-April, the literary world reeled with the news that no fiction title was awarded a Pulitzer this year; such an omission from the annual mega-prize list hadn't happened in 35 years, since 1977. Many opinions, articles, shouts, and protests followed, but a May New...
What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng by Dave Eggers
05 Apr, by in Adult Readers, African, Audio, Black/African American, Fiction, Memoir
First things first: Let's try to clear up some of the oxymoronic labels. Although this title is classified as a novel written by Dave Eggers (he of bad boy-genius fame for his debut, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, and, of course, the mini-empire that is McSweeney's),...
Fortunate Son by Walter Mosley
22 Mar, by in Adult Readers, Black/African American, Fiction
Culling together every spare moment I had over a single day (amazing how much more enlightening mindless chores, endless driving, and running can be with a book stuck in your ears!), I managed to listen to all 9.5 hours of Lorraine Toussaint's honeyed narration of...
Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson
22 Feb, by in Black/African American, Children/Picture Books, Nonfiction
Happy 280th birthday to George Washington today, even if his official federal holiday (since 1879 by an Act of Congress!) always falls on a non-birthdate: by the Julian calendar, GW was born February 11, on the Gregorian February 22 [those colonials changed calendars in 1752], but...
The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey by Walter Mosley
20 Feb, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Black/African American, Fiction
At 91, Ptolemy Grey is "waiting to finally be a man." as he writes in his last letter, addressed to his young charge and heir Robyn. The novel begins backwards with an "Afterward" that summarizes the whole of Ptolemy's nine-decades-plus, but to understand why he's...
Tropical Fish: Stories Out of Entebbe by Doreen Baingana
18 Feb, by in Adult Readers, African, Black/African American, Fiction, Short Stories
This interlinked story collection by Uganda-born, Stateside MFA-ed Doreen Baingana is a family affair that explores the lives of three sisters, their diverse paths, and their eventual return home. The two bookended stories introduce the family in the opening "Green Stones," only to end with...
Words Set Me Free: The Story of Young Frederick Douglass by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by James E. Ransome
13 Feb, by in Biography, Black/African American, Children/Picture Books, Nonfiction
The award-winning wife-and-husband children's book team of Lesa Cline-Ransome and James Ransome capture Frederick Douglass' early years from his slave birth to his first escape attempt as a teenager. Using Douglass' autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, American Slave and pulling quotes directly from Douglass' own memories, author Cline-Ransome...
Little Rock Girl 1957: How a Photograph Changed the Fight for Integration by Shelley Tougas
06 Feb, by in Adult Readers, Black/African American, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers
Take a careful look at this book cover ...
The Silence of Our Friends by Mark Long and Jim Demonakos, illustrated by Nate Powell
02 Feb, by in Adult Readers, Black/African American, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers
Houston, 1968 is a tough place to be different. The Long family has just moved from San Antonio to a Houston suburb where Jack Long has taken a new job as "the race reporter" for a local television station. At home, his wife watches the...
Freedom’s a-Callin Me by Ntozake Shange, illustrated by Rod Brown
16 Jan, by in Black/African American, Children/Picture Books, Poetry
From the power duo who created We Troubled the Waters comes another memorable volume detailing the African American experience – this time, re-imagining the death-defying, life-saving journey from slavery to freedom along the Underground Railroad. Combining powerful verse and richly textured paintings, Ntozake Shange and Rod...
Beneath the Lion’s Gaze by Maaza Mengiste + Author Interview
09 Jan, by in Adult Readers, African, Author Interview/Profile, Black/African American, Fiction
Maaza Mengiste's voice, delivered by telephone many thousands of miles away, sounds impossibly young and happy. She’s easy to talk to, easy to laugh with. She’s in Rome for another few months, enjoying the spring sun, sipping another cup of tea in a nearby café,...