Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

5 stars A fantastic autobiographical novel-in-verse that beautifully showcases Woodson’s voice. Set in the 1960s and 1970s, Woodson shares stories from her life living in Ohio, South Carolina, and New York. Woodson tackles so many themes in this book. From family upheaval to moving to a new place, experiencing death of family members to standing…

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Mimi and the Cutie Catastrophe (Mimi #1)

by Shauna J. Grant A fun, wholesome story featuring Mimi and her magical plushie, Penelope. When everyone calls Mimi cute, she starts to worry that she’s just cute. She wants to be more than that. She tries on different personas, but nothing feels quite right. With the help of her friends, she learns that she is so…

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Birthday Blues (Nikki & Deja #2) by Karen English

Illustrated by Laura Freeman 3 stars A cute series for young readers. Deja is excited for her upcoming birthday party. But when her class rival decides to have a party the same day, she worries whether her party will be so great after all. This is the first book in the series that I’ve read….

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The King of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes

Illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton 5 stars An absolutely stunning book about the first day of kindergarten. I really liked the emphasis on confidence and enjoying the experience. Understandably many children’s books on this topic focus on the more negative aspects of fear, worry, and anxiety. This was a fresh perspective of tackling the day as…

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