Wei Skates On by Nathan Chen

Illustrated by Lorraine Nam 5 stars A fantastic story about accepting your mistakes, working hard, and finding joy in doing what you love. A nice message that winning isn’t everything. The story doesn’t deny that winning feels good. But the emphasis is on doing what you love, trying your best, and making yourself proud. The…

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Stacey’s Remarkable Books by Stacey Abrams

Illustrated by Kitt Thomas 5 stars Such a sweet story. It explores themes of a love of books and reading, making new friends, celebrating differences, and not being afraid to try new things, even if you aren’t good at them right away. When Stacey meets Julie, they dream of reading every story in the library…

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Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys

Cowritten by Andrew Weiner Illustrated by Brittney Williams 3 stars This action-packed graphic novel introduces a new superhero, Lolo, who develops psychokinetic powers, sparked when her brother is attacked by police. A wonderful look at family dynamics. After her mother left, Lolo and her brother have been raised by their father. I loved the representation…

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The Book With No Pictures by B. J. Novak

5 stars This book has no pictures and it doesn’t need them. A humorous read aloud filled with silly noises, meta humor, and fun fonts sure to insight laughter and engagement. Novak forces adults to not take themselves so seriously and play up the text when reading to children. Some of my best memories as…

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Yes Please by Amy Poehler

4 stars This book is so up, down, and all around, it is hard not to love. It is like being inside Poehler’s brain. Yes, much of the text is very scattered and Poehler will go off on multiple tangents when telling a story, but she always comes back to the original point eventually and…

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