English YA & Up History Enslavement Colonization Revolution Gretchen Woelfle & R. Gregory Christie Summary: For #SweetsAndSocialJustice this week, I looked into what the colonizers would be baking in the area where I live (what is now called Massachusetts). Fruit, maple syrup, and molasses were all popular ingredients. This made me go on a deep…
Tag: American history
Votes for Women!
Written By: Winifred Conkling For Ages: YA Language: English Topics Covered: Activism, Social Justice, Suffrage, Feminism, Historical Figures. Summary: Happy Saturday! For #sweetsandsocialjustice I paired an old-fashioned treat that would have been around when this book’s events were current events and not history-and that’s kettle corn (one of my favorite foods of all time)! This…
We the People [released July 1]
Written By: Evan Sargent Illustrated by: Aura Lewis For Ages: YA Middle grades and up Language: English Topics Covered: Activism, Politics, American History, Constitution, Call to Action. Summary: I don’t think anyone could argue with the fact that right now, we are in a time of great (and in my opinion, long overdue) social change….
A Place to Land
Written By: Barry Wittenstein Illustrated by: Jerry Pinkney For Ages: 7 years and up Language: English Topics Covered: Modern Black Freedom Struggle, Civil Rights, Historical Figures, Black Culture & Identity, Activism, American History. Summary: This picture book, aimed at slightly older readers, covers the night before and day of the infamous ‘I Have a Dream”…
Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom
Written by: Carole Boston Weatherford Illustrated by: Michele Wood For ages: 9 years and up Language: English Topics Covered: Historical Figures, Enslavement, Own Voices, Black Culture & Identity. Summary: It’s Juneteenth! As white folx, today is a day for reflection and continued learning. Unfortunately, I don’t have any of the wonderful Juneteenth books that exist in the world in…
Black Music Greats: 40 inspiring icons
Written by: Olivier Cachin Illustrated by: Jérôme Masi For ages: Middle Grades, ages 8 and up Language: English Topics Covered: Black Culture & Identity, Music, History, American History, Trailblazers, Women in Music, Non-Fiction. Summary: This is a beautiful and amazing book that takes the reader on a winding journey of music history! The layout of the book makes it easy to…
28 Days: Moments in Black History that Changed the World
For #sweetsandsocialjustice this week I went down a bit of a rabbit hole for the stunning book 28 Days, which celebrates iconic moments and contributions made by the Black community. I ended up finding a really cool article from the Smithsonian (which you can read here) about how enslaved chefs shaped American cuisine, one from First We Feast (link here), and one from the NYT (hopefully there’s no paywall and you can read it here). I eventually landed on making an apple cake in my trusty cast iron skillet.
Indian No More
Written by: Charlene Willing McManis with Traci Sorell Cover Art by: Marlena Myles For ages: Middle Grades Language: English & some Chinuk Wawa Topics Covered: Indigenous Voices, Historical Fiction, Historical Events, Umpqua Tribe, Own Voices, Relocation, Dissolution, Racism, Oppression. Summary: This book’s main character Regina might be historical fiction, but the events are real. Regina is 12 when her Umpqua tribe…
No Voice Too Small
Edited by: Lindsay H. Metcalf, Keila V. Dawson, Jeanette Bradley Illustrated by: Jeanette Bradley For ages: 5-9 years Language: English Topics Covered: Activism, Youth Activists, Poetry, Own Voices, Environmental Activism, Violence, Indigenous Voices, American Citizens, LGBTQ, Education, Muslim Activist, Community. Summary: Y’all need to buckle up for this book. These are the type of books I started this website for. No Voice…
Equality’s Call: The Story of Voting Rights in America
Written by: Deborah Diesen Illustrated by: Magdalena Mora For ages: 3-8 years Language: English Topics Covered: Activism, Equality, Rights, Voting, American History, POC-Centric Narratives, Oppression, Racism, Politics. Summary: This rhyming book is an incredible look at the history of voting rights in America, and specifically about the activism that took place in order to ensure those rights were more evenly distributed…