One Day This Tree Will Fall by Leslie Barnard Booth (Author) and Stephanie Fizer Coleman (Illustrator) @ Amazon | Bookshop Booktalk: Discover how a tree’s wounds and decay bring new life to the forest ecosystem in this lyrical nonfiction picture book. Snippet: It’s Nonfiction Monday! Copyright © 2024 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved ..read more

Changemakers in Music: Women Leading the Way by Ngeri Nnachi (Author) @ Amazon* | Bookshop* Booktalk: Women have been groundbreakers in music of all genres. Young readers will learn about changemakers from the past and present, their musical accomplishments, and their contributions to the industry. Snippet: It’s Nonfiction Monday! Copyright © 2024 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved. (*bookstore affiliate ..read more

Wrestling (Amazing Summer Olympics) by Mari Bolte (Author) @ Amazon* | Bookshop* Booktalk: From technical holds and weight classes to pins and escapes, discover the strength and control it takes to win gold in the Greco-Roman and freestyle events at this year’s Summer Olympic Games. Snippet: Wrestling is the oldest known sport in the world. In ancient times, Olympic wrestlers were seen as heroes. Wrestling was part of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. It’s Nonfiction Monday! Copyright © 2024 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved. (*bookstore affiliate ..read more

I Am a Masterpiece! by Mia Armstrong (Author) and Alexandra Thompson (Illustrator) @ Amazon* | Bookshop* Booktalk: Mia likes many of the things other people like–going to the beach, the color blue, drawing. But she doesn’t like when strangers stare at her because she looks different from them. Down syndrome allows Mia to see and understand the world in a way that may not make sense to others. She considers it her superpower–and instead of it making her strange, she considers herself a masterpiece. As we all are. Snippet: I know people aren’t used to seeing someone like me. I tell them, “Don’t ..read more

Small Shoes, Great Strides: How Three Brave Girls Opened Doors to School Equality by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson (Author) and Alex Bostic (Illustrator) @ Amazon* | Bookshop* Booktalk: Leona Tate, Gail Etienne, and Tessie Prevost didn’t set out to make history. But when these three Black first graders stepped into the all-white McDonogh No. 19 Public School in New Orleans on November 14, 1960, that’s exactly what they did. They integrated their school just ten minutes before Ruby Bridges walked into her school, also in New Orleans. Like Ruby, the trio faced crowds of protestors fighting against pub ..read more

A History of the World in 25 Cities (The British Museum) by Tracey Turner (Author), Andrew Donkin (Author), Libby VanderPloeg (Illustrator) @ Amazon* | Bookshop* Booktalk: Visit cities from every inhabited continent on Earth, from the walled city of Jericho built over 10,000 years ago, to the modern-day metropolis of Tokyo, the most-densely populated city in the world today. Each carefully researched map takes readers on a city tour at a unique moment in time–from exploring Athens in ancient Greece during the birth of democracy, to walking the beautiful lamplit streets of medieval Benin, deep ..read more

Ketanji Brown Jackson: Supreme Court Justice by Emily Dolbear (Author) @ Amazon* | Bookshop* Booktalk: On June 30, 2022, Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in as the 116th Supreme Court justice. In that moment, she also became the first Black woman to serve on the highest court in the United States. This middle grade biography explores Jackson’s childhood, education, and adulthood, providing readers with a better understanding of who Jackson is and what led to her historic seat on the US Supreme Court. Snippet: “On this vote, the yeas are 53, the nays are 47, and this nomination is confirmed,” a ..read more

Black Achievements in Arts and Literature: Celebrating Gordon Parks, Amanda Gorman, and More by Elliott Smith (Author) @ Amazon* | Bookshop* Booktalk: There are many forms of art, and all of them have changed over time. In literature, dance, and fine arts, artists and writers have shared Black life, culture, and history. Many of them have broken barriers and inspired future generations. Celebrate the artists and writers who have excelled in the past and present, including author Jason Reynolds, dancer Misty Copeland, artist Kehinde Wiley, and poet Nikki Giovanni. Snippet: It’s Nonfiction Mo ..read more

There Was a Party for Langston by Jason Reynolds (Author), Jerome Pumphrey (Illustrator), and Jarrett Pumphrey (Illustrator) @ Amazon* | Bookshop* Booktalk: Back in the day, there was a heckuva party, a jam, for a word-making man. The King of Letters. Langston Hughes. His ABCs became drums, bumping jumping thumping like a heart the size of the whole country. They sent some people yelling and others, his word-children, to write their own glory. Maya Angelou, Amiri Baraka, and more came be-bopping to recite poems at their hero’s feet at that heckuva party at the Schomberg Library, dancing boom ..read more

Fighting with Love: The Legacy of John Lewis by Lesa Cline-Ransome (Author) and James E. Ransome (Illustrator) @ Amazon* | Bookshop* Booktalk: John Lewis left a cotton farm in Alabama to join the fight for civil rights when he was only a teenager. He soon became a leader of a movement that changed the nation. Walking at the side of his mentor, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Lewis was led by his belief in peaceful action and voting rights. Today and always his work and legacy live on. Snippet: “Working for nothing,” is what John grumbled to his parents as he dragged his cotton sack behind him. “G ..read more