0 and Up

A neat compilation of the lives and achievements of 52 heroes of color across borders and over many decades. Two things I really liked about the book: 1) the breadth of talents - we read about athletes, entertainers, astronauts, activists, leaders, and writers, and we also have a millionaire, an arctic explorer, a chess player, and a nurse 2) the countries we get to tra vel - from the U.S and UK to Jamaica, South Africa, France, Ghana, short bios introduce us to inspiring black achievers all over the world. The illustrations are bold and colorful. My favorite spread however is the "Hall of Fame" that showcases real photographs. A final note - this book is wonderful but also important, almost necessary, because young dreamers of color need role models too. As the author puts it, "if you can't see it, you can't be it." #0andUp #RepresenationMatters #WeNeedDiverseBooks

Title: A Black Hole is Not a Hole Author: Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano Illustrator: Michael Carroll We picked up this book on black holes around the time we lost one of Science's brightest stars, Stephen Hawking. My 9 yr old and I have been thoroughly enjoying the fundamentals of something so absolutely intriguing, humbling, and fascinating! I highly recommend it to any adult or child that wants to get a first grip on the concept of black holes.   #PictureThis #0andUp

#PictureThis "No, don't stop...keep reading, read more," my son insisted several times. And when we got to the finish line, we slowed down...sighed...and smiled. Outstanding. Thank you, Jason Reynolds.

HAPPY MULTICULTURAL CHILDREN’S BOOK DAY! Here’s to bringing more books from around the world to bookshelves everywhere! #ReadYourWorld This is my book review for MCBD 2018. TITLE: HIDDEN WOMEN – The African-American Mathematicians of NASA Who Helped America Win the Space Race (Ages 8 +) AUTHOR: Rebecca Rissman PUBLISHER: Capstone Press On this exact same day (Jan 27 th ) in 1967, Apollo 1 swallowed up three NASA astronauts. NASA came out with a plaque: A rough road leads to the stars , to learn from the tragedy and to stay inspired. The quote, however, aptly captures the spirit in the lives of the women this book explores. In a time of social and cultural oppression in America, in a time when few women pursued higher education or worked in STEM, in a time when racism was rampant, in a time when the nation raced to reach the moon, brilliant black women persevered and succeeded, but were never celebrated. This sums up why we need this book – why it is impo

by Eleanor Estes and illustrated by Louis Slobodkin Ages: 7+ Realistic Fiction Polish-American Wanda Petronski is the target of ridicule in her school, mostly for her name. But more significantly for wearing the same shabby blue dress to school every day. When picked on, Wanda claims to have a hundred dresses lined up in her closet. Popular classmate Peggy is in the habit of grilling Wanda about this every morning for harmless pleasure. The silent accomplice to this, Maddie, on the other hand can see how the ritual can impact Wanda. However she chooses to do nothing, to simply stand and watch. Until one day Wanda and her family move away to the big city where they think they will be better accepted. When the "hundred dresses" finally surface, Maddie     feels awful. Sleepless and restless she wishes she could have done something. Maddie and Peggy go on a mission to let Wanda know how they truly feel, and in the process are in for a surprise!