Fearless: The Story of Daphne Caruana Galizia, Defender of Free Speech

English 6+ Historical Figure Protest Journalism Free Speech CW: Pet death, Daphne’s death mentioned in back matter. Gattaldo summary I had never heard of Daphne Caruana Galizia, a journalist from the island of Malta, before seeing this book from Candlewick. Upon reading, I was flabbergasted that I’ve never heard of this amazing journalist working for…

drawing on walls: a story of keith haring

more books about artists English 4 years and up Artist Historical Figure LGBTQ HIV/AIDS Death Own Voices matthew burgess and josh cochran summary: I don’t know about you, but I love Keith Haring. He was an artistic visionary and beloved figure in the queer community. When first seeing this book, I was so pleased with…

A Stopwatch from Grampa

Written by: Loretta Garbutt Illustrated by: Carmen Mok For ages: 4-8 years Language: English Topics Covered: Family, Loss, Grief, Death, Intergenerational Relationships, Grandparents, Social-Emotional Learning. Summary:  A Stopwatch from Grampa begins right as our main character’s grandfather has passed away, leaving them his stopwatch.  Grampa used to time all sorts of things when the pair spent time together, like how…

Patina

Written by: Jason Reynolds Cover Art by: Vanessa Brantley-Newton For ages: YA Middle Grades Language: English Topics Covered: POC-Centric Narratives, Family, Grief, Death, Social-Emotional Growth, Sports, Women in Sports, Growing Up, Coping, Friendship, Black Culture & Identity. Summary: Patina is just trying to do her best at a new school and on a new elite track team that she is now a part…

The Immortal Jellyfish

Written & Illustrated by: Sang Miao For ages: 5-8 years Language: English Topics Covered: Family, Grief, Loss, Love, Social-Emotional Growth & Development, Death. Summary:   This is a beautiful book in both storyline and artwork.  Our main character is a small boy who is told about a jellyfish that can revert back to the polyp stage and grow up again,…

Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists

Written by: Mikki Kendall Illustrated by: A. D’Amico For ages: YA older teens (mature topics-violence, assault, enslavement, death) Language: English  Topics Covered: Activism, Historic Figures, Historical Fiction, Enslavement, Women’s Rights, Suffrage, Women in Politics, Women in Leadership, Assault, Death, Indigenous Voices, POC-Centric Narratives, Marginalized Populations, Modern Black Freedom Struggle, LGBTQ, Black Feminist Thought.  Summary: Triple A, how much do I love you?…

King and the Dragonflies

Written by: Kacen Callender Cover Art by: Tonya Engel For ages: YA Language: English Topics Covered: POC-Centric Narratives, Family, LGBTQ, Death, Relationships, Friendship. Summary: We got this book from a friend who received a pre-release copy from the ALA Conference!  We are so excited to have been able to both read and review the book before the release date, because it…