Two Books Honoring the Immigration & Refugee Experience

English 5+ Immigration Military Occupation Poetry CW: Violence, gunfire, occupation summary I’ve always lived in the same country, but that’s certainly not everyone’s experience. It’s not even all of my family’s experience. I have two books for you today that pay homage to the international refugee experience. With all of the abominable happenings in Afghanistan,…

Blood Like Magic

English YA Fantasy Magic Witches Black Culture & Identity Community CW: Blood, Sacrifice, Violence Liselle Sambury summary When you see this title, know that blood is very prevalent within the book. It’s the root of all magic, and used with intent for spells. It also denotes when a witch can be Called by ancestors and…

The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History

English YA & Up Black Culture & Identity Historical Figures Politics Violence Racism Police Brutality Government Interference Sabotage David Walker & Marcus Kwame Anderson Summary: Social justice and the Black Panthers go hand in hand. Inspired by the free food programs that the organization is known for, I searched online for information about what they…

Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre

English 8-12 years Carole Boston Weatherford & Floyd Cooper How many of you have heard of Black Wall Street (Tulsa’s or Durham’s)? Or even about the event that this book explores? I personally didn’t learn about the Tulsa Race Massacre until graduate school, when a friend of mine wrote a paper about journalists Walter White…

Black Heroes of the Wild West

Written By: James Otis Smith Illustrated by: Kadir Nelson For Ages: 7 years & Up Language: English Topics Covered: History, Black Historical Figures, Wild West, Colonization, Violence, Alcohol, Summary: This graphic novel is SO cool! It’s broken into 3 chapters, each covering a Black historical figure that lived out in the west. First, we learn…

Ritu Weds Chandni

Written & Illustrated by: Ameya Narvankar For Ages: 4 years and up Language: English & Hindi (with glossary in back) Topics Covered: LGBTQ Rights, Marriage Equality, Family, Love, Protest, Homophobia, Violence. Summary: This book…this book is so meaningful to the LGBTQ community, and specifically the South Asian LGBTQ community. Our main character Ayesha’s cousin Ritu…

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…

Internment

Written by: Samira Ahmed Cover Art by: art by Dana Ledl, design by Karina Granda  For ages: YA 12 years and up Language: English, some Arabic. Topics Covered: Islamophobia, Internment, Violence, Military Action, Oppression, History, Subversion, Independent Thought, Activism, Friendship, Love, Growing Up, Relationships.  Summary:  For #sweetsandsocialjustice I wanted to make a pairing where the food was reminiscent of the…

Ghost

Written by: Jason Reynolds Cover Art by: We couldn’t find this, but if you know please contact us! For ages: YA Language: English Topics Covered: POC-Centric Narratives, Family, Love, Sports, Growing Up, Young Adult Lit, Violence, Self-Esteem, Friendship.  Summary: Castle, also known as Ghost (well not until he decides it’s his nickname) doesn’t really like school, and gets in a lot of…