Illustrated by Sonia Lynn Sadler 3 stars A beautiful picture book detailing the life and activism of Wangari Maathai. Stunning artwork. Beautiful use of color. The natural aesthetic perfectly matches the themes of the text. Nicely written. It is quite a long picture book with some wordy pages, but it includes a great amount of…
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5 stars A stunning book both for its lyrical exploration of human history and for its magnificent visuals. The book flows through the history of humanity, touching on human’s development of language, art, music, dance, inventions, exploration, medicine, and more. The backmatter contains more information on the history presented on each page, pairing the topics…
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By Zora Neale Hurston Adapted by Ibram X. Kendi Illustrated by Jazzmen Lee-Johnson 5 stars A fantastic historical text adapted for young readers. Barracoon tells the story of Kossola (Cudjo Lewis), one of the men who was brought to America on the last slave ship, Clotilda. The story follows Kossola’s life in Africa, his capture,…
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Narrated by Joshua Quinn 5 stars Jaw-droppingly good. The best of modern mythology retellings. Kwame just wants to have a normal summer. Instead his family is taking him to Ghana for his grandmother’s celebration of life. Still grieving the loss of his grandmother and having never felt Ghanaian enough at family events, Kwame is dreading…
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Illustrated by Sonia Lynn Sadler 3 stars I checked this out from the library because I love reading about Maathai’s work and activism. This book is an expansion of Sadler and Johnson’s picture book, Seeds of Change: Wangari’s Gift to the World. This is the first of Lee & Low’s The Story Of series that I’ve…
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by Franck Prévot Illustrated by Aurélia Fronty Translated by Dominique Clément 5 stars Originally published in French, this wonderful picture book biography celebrates the life of Wangari Maathai and her impact on the world. The book follows Maathai’s childhood in Kenya, her atypical education, founding the Green Belt Movement, and her activism to promote environmentalism,…
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by Laura Obuobi Illustrated by Olivia Duchess 4 stars An absolutely stunning picture book biography of Michaela Mabinty DePrince. The story follows DePrince’s life from her time at an orphanage in Sierra Leone, her adoption and moving to the US, her passion for ballet growing up, and her success as a ballerina. It also explores…
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Illustrated by Candice Bradley 5 stars A lyrical tribute to Black history, culture, and resilience. Fighting against Black history being boiled down to only slavery and the Civil Rights Movement, Oso highlights the complexity and diversity of Black history in the time before the transatlantic slave trade. She explores rulers, warriors, creators, builders, and stargazers…
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4 stars A fantastically crafted story. Najeeba has heard the Call and knows it is time to travel the Salt Roads. But only men and boys are supposed to experience the Call. Follow Najeeba on her unprecedented journey beyond her home to travel the Salt Roads with her father and brothers, change her family’s prospects,…
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Illustrated by Natasha Nayo 3 stars It’s Kwame’s first year at Nkonyaa School, where children learn about their innate magic and how to use it with the help of magical calabashes. But when he arrives, his teachers can’t figure out the magic of his calabash. A fun adventure inspired by Akan beliefs and practices. Mensah…
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