Updated: Nov 26, 2023
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Roaring Brook Press
(MacKids)
(pub. 9.19.2023) 40 pages
Author: Carole Lindstrom
Illustrator: Bridget George
Character: Josephine Mandamin and Autumn Peltier
Overview:
" Indigenous women have long cared for the land and water, which in turn sustains all life on Earth―honoring their ancestors and providing for generations to come. Yet there was a time when their voices and teachings were nearly drowned out, leaving entire communities and environments in danger and without clean water.
But then came Grandma Josephine and her great-niece, Autumn Peltier."
Tantalizing taste:
" I remember...
how the Anishinaabe
cherished me,
loved me.
Speak for the water.
Sing for the water.
Dance for the water.
Over time, more people came.
Diminishing their voices.
Drowning out their message.
Those people didn't care for me.
Didn't cherish me.
Didn't love me.
As my voice grew quieter,
the women who cared for me
were forced to get louder."
And something more: The back matter explains that "At the age of eight, Autumn [Peltier] discovered that many First Nation Communities in Ontario were on boil-water advisories - some for several years - and she began speaking out about the importance of water on her reserve. She knew that clean water should be a right for all ...
In 2019, at the age of fourteen, Autumn was appointed Chief Water Commissioner for the Anishinaabek Nation, a position previously held by her great-aunt Josephine Mandamin. In her role, Autumn meets with leaders from different Tribal Nations, speaks nationally and internationally about Indigenous rights and water waters, and is instrumental in protecting the water that leads in and out of the Great Lakes."
KING O' LETTERS
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Caitlyn Dlouhy Book
(Atheneum)
(pub.10.3.2023) 56 pages
Author: Jason Reynolds
Illustrator: Jerome Pumphrey
and Jarrett Pumphrey
Characters: Maya Angelou and Amiri Baraka and Langston Hughes & more
Overview:
" Back in the day, there was a heckuva party, a jam, for a word-making man. The King of Letters. Langston Hughes. His ABCs became drums, bumping jumping thumping like a heart the size of the whole country. They sent some people yelling and others, his word-children, to write their own glory.
Maya Angelou, Amiri Baraka, and more came be-bopping to recite poems at their hero’s feet at that heckuva party at the Schomberg Library, dancing boom da boom, stepping and stomping, all in praise and love for Langston, world-mending word man. Oh, yeah, there was hoopla in Harlem, for its Renaissance man. A party for Langston."
Tantalizing taste:
"Langston was the best word maker around.
could make the word MOTHER feel
like real warm arms wrapped around you,
giving a snug hug.
Could make the word AMERICA look
like two friends making pinky promises,
to be cool,
to be true
Could make the word HARLEM sound
like the perfect place to have a party,
make it seem like you could bust a move
right there in the H or the L or the M of it."
And something more: Jason Reynolds in A Note from the Author explains: "It all started when I saw a picture of two of my favorite word makes, Maya Angelou and Amiri Baraka ... dancing.
But why are they dancing? ... I always thought they were just the people who put together cool poems... or the people who spoke out courageously about freedom and a way to become better people and a more loving America.
Turns out, they also loved to boogie! Especially when the party was in honor of word maker of all word makers - Langston Hughes - who wrote my favorite poems..."
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Simon & Schuster
(pub.4.4.2023) 40 pages
Author: Tami Charles
Illustrator: Jemma Skidmore
Character: Ketanji Brown Jackson
Overview:
" After 232 years and 115 appointments, Ketanji Onyika Brown Jackson became the first Black woman appointed to serve on the US Supreme Court. With Tami Charles’s sweeping lyricism and Jemma Skidmore’s unforgettable illustrations, readers learn about the narratives that have shaped the Justice’s life, and how this historic moment will be impressed upon the minds of the young dreamers of the future."
Tantalizing taste:
" The voice of a nation, the justices,
she is you, the changemakers,
she is me, the pioneers,
blazing a trail who'll remember this year
for the future: with great pride!
So as cameras flash,
of course
I rise,
I rejoice,
I smile!
(Wouldn't you?)
If you witnessed history
and
saw the American
dream come true?"
And something more: Tami Charles, in the Author's Note explains that "I wrote this book to shine a light on the pride children feel when they witness loved ones following their own dreams. In this case, I chose to spotlight a girl who represents the Leila Jackson within us all. May this book remind us to honor the greatness of those who've come before us and to see our potential to soar to new heights because of them."
