Other works for younger readers -- Black History Month 2024

I wanted to go over a few more books, in a few more categories.

Picture Books that are not by Pinkneys:

Big by Vashti Harrison

Bedtime Bonnet by Nancy Redd, illustrated by Nneka Myers

Cape by Kevin Johnson, illustrated by Kitt Thomas

First of all, I cannot adequately express how beautiful and needed Big is.

Vashti Harrison has appeared before as the illustrator of Sulwe and Hair Love. She is a wonderful illustrator, but this is all her, written with sensitivity and love.

Cape is good for dealing with grief. It hurts, but for children who are hurting it may help.

Bedtime Bonnet is a fun book about a girl searching for her bonnet at bedtime. In the process, we see other ways of caring for hair, and get a laugh at the eventual location.

Longer Picture Books:

Curve & Flow: The Elegant Vision of L.A. Architect Paul R. Williams by Andrea J. Lonely, illustrated by Keith Mallett

I saw this at the Neon Museum in Las Vegas, which incorporates some of Williams' work. He did more design in Los Angeles, but it would be easy to not know about him, and it is good to know anyway.

Swish! The Slam-Dunking, Alley-Ooping, High Flying Harlem Globetrotters by Suzanne Slade, illustrated by Don Tate

Even though I watched the cartoon, saw them visit Gilligan's Island, and even saw them live once as a kid, there was a lot that I never knew about the Harlem Globetrotters, including how long they had been around. I saw them live again a few months after reading this, and it gave me a greater appreciation.

Chapter Books:

Just Like Martin by Ossie Davis

I think this originally ended up on my reading list because there is an edition where Andrea Davis Pinkney did the foreword. That was not the edition I read, but it is a good treatment of non-violence and commitment, suitable for (probably) ages 10 and up.

The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steve Sheinkin 

Just Like Martin is historical fiction, but The Port Chicago 50 is non-fiction, and again, it is something that it would be easy not to know about, but that we should know about.

Comic Books:

Twins by Varian Johnson and Shannon Wright

As the older sister of twins, I may have felt the angst a little more here. Francine is trying to differentiate herself from Maureen, and Maureen takes it hard. Themes of finding yourself and growing up.

Run: Book One by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell, and L. Fury

I loved the March series, and John Lewis in general. This is a good book, but I can't help but feel the loss of the other two books that surely should have come if he had lived longer.