Banned Together: Our Fight for Readers’ Rights [Audiobook]

Edited by Ashley Hope Pérez Illustrated by Debbie Fong Contributors: Ashley Hope Pérez, Maia Kobabe, Robin Stevenson, Nikki Grimes, Elana K. Aronld, Bill Konigsberg, Brendan Kiely, MariNaomi, Traci Sorell, Isabel Quintero, Trung Le Nguyen, Kyle Lukoff, Debbie Fong, Padma Venkatraman, Kelly Jensen, and Ellen Hopkins 3 stars A nice collection of pieces from a variety…

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Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman

3 stars A nice collection of poetry. Includes topics of COVID-19, connection, history, racism, war, loneliness, politics, and grief. I enjoyed the different styles used and the various forms the poems take, from erasure poems to a screenplay, found poetry to concrete poems. The formatting is visually interesting, utilizing different page colors, shapes, and orientations…

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The Friendly Four by Eloise Greenfield

Illustrations by Jan Spivey Gilchrist 5 stars A fun story about four friends coming together for one epic summer. I really enjoyed this picture book in verse. Drum can’t wait for summer to be over so he can see his friends at school. But when a new family moves into his neighborhood, his summer gets…

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This Place I Know: Poems of Comfort

Poems selected by Georgia Heard Poems by Eloise Greenfield, Deborah Chandra, Louise Driscoll, Georgia Heard, Gwendolyn Brooks, Susan Marie Swanson, Karla Kuskin, Margaret Tsuda, Lillian Morrison, Nancy Wood, A. L. Gordon, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Langston Hughes, Walt Whitman, Annette Wynne, Emily Dickinson, Wendell Berry, and Ann Turner Illustrated by Holly Meade, Yumi Heo, Hiroe Nakata,…

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The Women Who Caught the Babies: A Story of African American Midwives

by Eloise Greenfiled Illustrated by Daniel Minter 5 stars A truly stunning collection of poetry showcasing African American midwives throughout time. The poems travel from Africa to America, sharing experiences through enslavement, emancipation, and into the modern era. Wonderfully written and expertly crafted. The dreamlike illustrations are beautiful and demonstrate the power, strength, care, and…

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Black Girl You Are Atlas by Renée Watson

Artwork by Ekua Holmes 4 stars A fantastic collection of poetry. Absolutely stunning. Powerful words and a wonderful variety of poems. Watson pulls from her own life experiences to highlight issues of race, gender, and class in America. The collection covers topics such as growing up, hair, violence against Black people, family, community, love, influential…

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The People Remember by Ibi Zoboi

Illustrated by Loveis Wise 5 stars A fantastic book that blends the principles of Kwanzaa, Black history, poetry, and breathtaking artwork. Through moving verse, Zoboi takes the reader though time, recounting significant events in American history. The book remembers the joyful and freeing times as well as the dark and violent ones. From the Transatlantic…

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Favorite Poems for the Garden: A Gardener’s Collection

4 stars A beautiful collection of poetry celebrating the beauty of gardens, flowers, nature, and the seasons. While the collection focuses on gardens and nature, themes of death and love are also mixed in, rounding out the reading experience. The majority of the poets included are American as well as a few European poets and…

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Honey, I Love and Other Love Poems by Eloise Greenfield

Illustrated by Diane and Leo Dillon 5 stars A fantastic collection of poetry. Covering topics such as music, death, play, siblings, and history, the poems are paired with expressive illustrations. A perfect balance of joy and relatable issues that are relevant to young readers. I started listing some of my favorites, but honestly each poem…

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