I didn't know much about Zora Neale Hurston, except for the fact that I'd loved one of her most famous books, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Now that I've read this picture book, I want to know more. Text ©️Alicia D. Williams Illustration ©️Jacqueline Alcántara Just look at that girl, clutching her book, running barefoot … Continue reading Jump At the Sun – Perfect Picture Book Friday
For National Poetry Month, who better to feature than the marvelous, lyrical picture book author, Carole Boston Weatherford, writing about a woman whose songs are a perfect mix of poetry and heart, Aretha Franklin. Each couplet in this book is a poem that moves the story forward. B-L-E-S-S-E-DCradled by the church, rocked by an ebony … Continue reading R-E-S-P-E-C-T — Perfect Picture Book Friday
Connect. Moved. Dreamed. Speak. Loved. Graduated. Organize. Improve. Honor. Listen. Campaigned. Represent. Traveled. Voted. Oversee. Create. Earned. Helped. Challenge. Announced. Convince. Do. Protested. Gained. Planted. Ascend. Inspired. Pave. Awarded. What do all these words have in common? They're all verbs used to tell Shirley Chisholm's story. And in doing so, they bring her energy to … Continue reading Shirley Chisholm Is a Verb! – Perfect Picture Book Friday
Once upon a time near Tulsa, Oklahoma,prospectors struck it rich in the oil fields.The wealth created jobs, raised buildings,and attracted newcomers from far and wide,seeking fortune and a fresh start. Text ©️Carole Boston Weatherford, Illustration ©️Floyd Cooper Carol Boston Weatherford, a skilled writer, has chosen to set the tone with a fairytale "once upon a … Continue reading Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre – Perfect Picture Book Friday
Victor Hugo Green was tired of hearing no.Victor loved the freedom of driving on the open road,but too often the road was closed to him. It was like thisfor most Black people in the United States.When he and his wife, Alma, traveled from New York to Virginia to visit family, they riskedgetting turned away, yelled … Continue reading Opening the Road – Perfect Picture Book Friday
Can you name the blind Black man whose music was recorded on a Golden Record called "The Sounds of Earth," placed in a time capsule in 1977, and sent out of our solar system on Voyager I? No? Here's a book that gives the man, Willie Johnson, his due: Instead of starting off with the … Continue reading Dark Was the Night – Perfect Picture Book Friday
I was leafing through a pile of picture books (imagine that!), and found this gem. Daniel Minter's acrylic wash illustrations are vibrant and luminous in this 2019 Caldecott Honor book. They make me feel like I am peering through the translucent glass of time at a memory. Pure magic. On reunion morning, we rise before … Continue reading Going Down Home With Daddy – Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF
Some picture book biographies are meant to be read by older elementary school kids. For example: a story about the events that turned August Wilson into a poet and playwright who goes on to win two Pulitzer prizes. Bryant's language is suitably lyrical for the subject. They call it "Little Harlem"—the city within a city. … Continue reading Feed Your Mind – Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF
Jilanne Hoffmann 