Bunmi laditan biography of martin luther king
Young, Gifted and Black: Meet 52 Black Heroes from Past and Present – Jamia Wilson, Illustrator – Andrea Pippins
Join us on a journey across borders, through time and even through space to meet 52 icons of color from the past and present in a celebration of achievement.Meet figureheads, leaders, and pioneers such as Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Rosa Parks, as well as cultural trailblazers and sporting heroes, including Stevie Wonder, Oprah Winfrey, and Serena Williams. Discover how their childhood dreams and experiences influenced their adult achievements. This book will help the next generation to chase their own dream . . . whatever it may be.
February 1| Wide Eyed Editions | PB Ages 8 and up |Grades 2 and up|64 Pgs | Purchase
Seeing into Tomorrow: Haiku by Richard Wright – Richard Wright, Illustrator – Nina Crews
A selection of haiku poems by the acclaimed 20th-century African-American writer stands as an accessible introduction to his work and reflects the timeless and ubiquitous realities of African-American youth. Illustrated by award-winning artist of The Neighborhood Mother Goose.
February 1 | Millbrook |PB Ages 5 and up | Grades PK and up | 32 Pgs | Purchase
This Is It – Daria Peoples – Riley
When a young dancer is nervous about her upcoming auditions, her shadow springs to life and leads her on a joyous exploration of their city. Soon enough, the young girl finds confidence in her skills, her body, and her ability to shine. With an energetic, rhythmic text that begs to be read aloud and striking, exuberant artwork, This Is It is a love story to originality and the simple joy of movement.
February 6 | Greenwillow Books| PB Ages 4 and up | Grades PK and up | 40 Pgs | Purchase
The Big Bed – Bunmi Laditan, Illustrator – Tom Knight
From the creator of the Honest Toddler blog, The Big Bed is a humorous picture book about a girl who doesnR
Black Kidstory Month
Photo by Sasha Kim from Pexels
It’s Black History Month, and while we should read books by Black authors and illustrators, about Black characters, and about more than history all year long, we’re taking the opportunity to highlight some of the books in our Renaissance Kids collection.
The Big Bed by Bunmi Laditan, illustrated by Tom Knight, ages 4-6
A young girl tries to persuade her father that he is the one who should sleep in a special, little bed while she shares the big bed with Mommy.
Last Stop on Market Street by Matt De la Peña, illustrated by Christian Robinson, ages 3-5
A young boy rides the bus across town with his grandmother and learns to appreciate the beauty in everyday things.
Uptown, written and illustrated by Bryan Collier, ages 4-8
A tour of the sights of Harlem, including the Metro-North Train, brownstones, shopping on 125th Street, a barber shop, summer basketball, the Boy’s Choir, and sunset over the Harlem River.
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia, ages 8-12
In the summer of 1968, after traveling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp.
Please, Baby, Please by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, ages 2-5 (a favorite of my daughter!)
A toddler’s antics keep her mother busy as she tries to feed her, watch her on the playground, give her a bath, and put her to bed.
These Hands by Hope Lynne Price, illustrated by Bryan Collier, ages 0-2
Illustrations and simple text describe some of the many things the hands of a young African American girl and her famil Race and racism has been a topic at the forefront of most people’s thoughts recently, especially in the light of the protests following George Floyd’s tragic death. Those of us with children may be trying to figure out a way to talk to our children about race, if we haven’t yet had this conversation. To help, many news outlets and blogs have been publishing lists of children’s book recommendations to help introduce and explain racism and African American history to children. While we understand and acknowledge the importance of these types of books, we understand that it’s also important to read books about African American children and adults in every day situations, not only in books that specifically discuss race or African American history. It’s important for African American children to see themselves in books outside of anti-racism and African American history books, and it’s important for non-African American children as well. Think: Ezra Keats’ “The Snowy Day,” which features an African American boy and his adventures in the snow. On that note, our recommendations feature a mix of books specifically geared towards educating children about African American history and racism, and books about every day life. Furthermore, since our work involves supporting dads, almost all of the books below feature African American (or Canadian) dads and their children. We hope you check out some of these books, and please feel free to pass this list on to anyone who might be interested! When talking with other parents I know, it's hard not to sound like a grumpy old man when we get around to discussing school schedules. "Am I the only one who feels like kids have so many days off? I never got that many days off when I was a kid! And I had to go work in the coal mine after, too!" I know what I sound like, but I just can't help it. In Georgia, where I live, we have a shorter summer break than some other parts of the country. But my kids have the entire week of Thanksgiving off, a week in September, two whole weeks at Christmas, a whole week off in February, and a weeklong spring break. They have asynchronous days (during which they complete assignments at home, which usually takes about 30 minutes) about once a month, and they have two or three half-day weeks throughout the year. Quite honestly, it feels like they're never in school for very long before they get another break, which makes it tough to get in a rhythm with work and career goals. Plus, we're constantly arranging day camps and other childcare options for all the time off. Actually, I just looked it up and I'm not losing my mind: American kids have fewer school days than most other major countries. So it caught my attention in a major way when I read that Whitney Independent School District in Texas recently decided to enact a 4-day week heading into the 2025 school year. That makes it one of dozens of school districts in Texas to make the change and over 900 nationally. Giphy The thought of having the kids home from school EVERY Friday or Monday makes me want to break out in stress hives. But this 4-day school week movement isn't designed to give parents a headache. It's meant to lure teachers back to work. Yes, teachers are leaving the profession in droves and young graduates don't seem eager to replace them. Why? The pay is bad, for sta
The best parenting advice I've read in a long time: Someone will always criticize you.