Some Sing, Some Cry by Ntozake Shange and Ifa Bayeza
04 Jan, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Black/African American, Fiction
Sometimes my inability to process dialects actually has an upside ...
BookDragon Civil rights Tag
Out of Iraq: Refugees’ Stories in Words, Paintings and Music by Sybella Wilkes, foreword by Angelina Jolie, in association with UNHCR
27 Nov, by in British, Children/Picture Books, Iraqi, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction
Alas, tragic headlines continue to repeat over and over: The front page of today's New York Times reports, "Iraq's Ills Lead Former Exiles to Flee Again." [An online version of the article is available...
Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins
09 Nov, by in Fiction, Indian American, Middle Grade Readers, Myanmarese (Burmese), Southeast Asian, Young Adult Readers
Inspired by three years of living in Thailand with her family and visiting refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border, Mitali Perkins’ latest novel follows the lives of two boys on...
The Lucky Ones: One Family and the Extraordinary Invention of Chinese America by Mae Ngai
28 Oct, by in Adult Readers, Biography, Chinese American, Nonfiction
When the local San Francisco public school denied Mamie Tape admission solely based on her Chinese heritage, her parents sued the city's Board of Education in what became the landmark 1885 case, Tape vs. Hurley. Mamie was seven years old, the American-born child of middle-class Chinese...
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
22 Oct, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Black/African American, Fiction
I admit that when one of my favorite friends told me she voluntarily gave up enjoying the blooming delights on a family trip through Death Valley in order to finish The Help, I picked up the book for a second time, determined to find out...
Game Set Match Champion Arthur Ashe by Crystal Hubbard, illustrated by Kevin Belford
19 Oct, by in Biography, Black/African American, Children/Picture Books, Nonfiction
To better appreciate this biography of tennis legend Arthur Ashe – first-ever African American Grand Slam champion, #1 tennis champion in the world – read it backwards. That is, turn to the back and first read the "Author's Note" on the last page. Why? Because author Crystal Hubbard...
Rosa’s Bus: The Ride to Civil Rights by Jo S. Kittinger, illustrated by Steven Walker
14 Oct, by in Black/African American, Children/Picture Books, Nonfiction
Here's a solid piece of history ...
The Cat Ate My Gymsuit by Paula Danziger
10 Oct, by in Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers
If you're of a certain age (like me), you probably still remember some of the titles that made you wide-eyed those many decades ago ...
The Good Garden: How One Family Went from Hunger to Having Enough by Katie Smith Milway, illustrated by Sylvie Daigneault
14 Sep, by in Children/Picture Books, Latin American, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction
María Luz's family is in trouble. Their land in the hills of Honduras, which provides them with the corn and beans they need to live, has "lost its goodness." In order for the family to survive, María Luz's father must leave home and find work....
Footnotes in Gaza by Joe Sacco
10 Sep, by in Adult Readers, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Israeli, Memoir, Nonfiction, Palestinian
On this eve of 9/11, I'm in a frustrated funk. Regardless of political, religious, cultural, or ethnic affiliations, I think most Americans are shaking their heads at the state of the world, and definitely not shaking enough hands; not enough of us have been able...
Library Wars: Love & War (vol. 2) by Kiiro Yumi, original concept by Hiro Arikawa, translated by Kinami Watabe
08 Sep, by in Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers
Here's an entertaining title just in time for upcoming Banned Books Week – this year, it's September 25 through October 2, which means you've even got time to read Volume 1 and catch up before grabbing this latest installment. Here's the set up: in the not-too-distant...
African American Actresses: The Struggle for Visibility, 1900-1960 by Charlene Regester [in Library Journal]
04 Sep, by in Adult Readers, Biography, Black/African American, Nonfiction, Repost
Charlene Regester (African & Afro-American studies, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill) documents the lives and careers of nine African American actresses working before the Civil Rights era whose “contributions to mainstream cinema have been either minimized or erased in the histories of Hollywood cinema.” Madame...
Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi, translated by Sherif Hatata
03 Sep, by in Adult Readers, Arab, Egyptian, Fiction, Translation
Writer/playwright/activist/psychiatrist Nawal El Saadawi is one of those women who seem to scare men – especially those who purport to have something called 'authority.' She's been fired, banned, accused, threatened, imprisoned because of what is ultimately her simple belief that all women are worthy human beings...
A Foreigner Carrying in the Crook of His Arm a Tiny Bomb by Amitava Kumar [in Christian Science Monitor]
17 Aug, by in Adult Readers, Indian, Indian American, Nonfiction, Repost, South Asian, South Asian American
If Rip Van Winkle were to read A Foreigner Carrying in the Crook of His Arm a Tiny Bomb upon waking, he would most likely shake his head and dismiss it as farce. Alas, you’ll only find this title in the “non-fiction” section of bookstores and...
From North to South | Del Norte al Sur by René Colato Laínez, illustrated by Joe Cepeda
12 Aug, by in Bilingual, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Latina/o/x
José and his Papá live in San Diego. Mamá used to live with them until the factory where she works was raided, and Mamá was sent away to Tijuana, Mexico. Two weeks since her sudden disappearance, José and Papá will finally be able to see...
Author Interview: Karen Tei Yamashita [in Bookslut]
06 Jul, by in Adult Readers, Author Interview/Profile, Fiction, Japanese American, Pan-Asian Pacific American, Repost
For the last two months or so, Karen Tei Yamashita will not get out of my life. And I say that with a goofy-grinned "wahhh" of delighted surprise. While I’ve been an ardent admirer of Yamashita’s books for some 20 years (yup, I have all...
I Hotel by Karen Tei Yamashita [in Library Journal]
18 Jun, by in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Fiction, Japanese American, Pan-Asian Pacific American, Repost, Southeast Asian American
*STARRED REVIEW Comprising 10 novellas that took 10 years to craft, this is Yamashita’s (Circle K Cycles) magnum opus. Year by year, the novellas mark a decade’s worth of tumultuous Asian Pacific American (APA) history, from 1968, when ethnic studies was painfully birthed in San Francisco,...
Library Wars: Love & War (vol. 1) by Kiiro Yumi, original concept by Hiro Arikawa, translated by Kinami Watabe
18 Jun, by in Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers
With the too-often news of banned books that crop up to remind us that our reading choices can easily be restricted at any moment, the premise of Library Wars is not so far-fetched, regardless of its futuristic setting. Making its English translation debut this month,...
We Troubled the Waters by Ntozake Shange, illustrated by Rod Brown
14 Jun, by in Black/African American, Middle Grade Readers, Poetry, Young Adult Readers
Although at first glance, this might look like a children's title – it is essentially a picture book – the sometimes difficult contents make it much more suitable for middle grade readers and older. Even adults will certainly find deeply resonating moments to appreciate throughout. Ntozake...
The Price of Stones: Building a Stone for My Village by Twesigye Jackson Kaguri with Susan Urbanek Linville [in Christian Science Monitor]
08 Jun, by in Adult Readers, African, Memoir, Repost, Young Adult Readers
If you’re reading this review, $4 lattes or $15 lunches are probably not shock-inducing numbers. Now think about this: “Two dollars feeds a child for a week...