The 2024 ALA Rainbow List has been announced, and Unstoppable: How Bayard Rustin Organized the 1963 March on Washington (Little Bee Books) by Michael G. Long, illustrated by Bea Jackson has been honored in the Early Elementary category.
The Rainbow Book List, assists librarians, educators, caregivers, LGBTQIA+ members, and community allies in selecting quality books for LGBTQIA+ youth.
See the complete list here
Booklist has given a starred review to Beautiful Noise: The Music of John Cage (Anne Schwartz Books), by Lisa Rogers. Illus. by Il Sung Na.
This appealing picture book takes on the daunting task of introducing avant-garde composer John Cage to young audiences. Rogers eschews most biographical information, instead asking a series of child-friendly questions designed to convey a sense of Cage and his style. “What if . . . / all the sounds you heard . . . // a garbage truck screeching / feet skipping / pigeons scattering / tires whispering / cats hissing / children giggling // . . . sounded to you like music? Then you’d be like John Cage.” She describes his unorthodox musical notation style (curlicues, dots, and smudges), his compositions that relied on ambient sound (4’33”), and pieces that employed unusual instruments (blenders, washing machines, etc.). Na’s whimsical illustrations vibrantly convey the cacophony present in many Cage compositions. Employing a vocabulary of images (squiggles, slashes, lines) representing sounds and emotions identified on the endpapers, Na clearly represents the unique and experimental nature of Cage’s work. Many scenes portray cityscapes and crowded concert halls. Blues and grays predominate, although Na effectively uses explosions of intense color to represent some sounds. With back matter that includes sources, notes from the author and illustrator, and a bit more about Cage and his techniques, this makes a good introduction to Cage and a reminder that hearing things differently can be a very good thing. — Kay Weisman
The book will be published October 10, 2023. Preorder it here
In a review of Esperanza Caramelo, The Star of Nochebuena (Knopf) by Karla Arenas Valenti, illustrated by Elisa Chavarri Kirkus says “Chavarri’s effervescent artwork offers an appealing depiction of Navidad, with all its baked-in promises of magic.”
Read the full review here
The book will be published September 12, 2023. Pre order it here
Freshman Year (Christy Ottaviano Books), by Sarah Mai has been selected by the Junior Library Guild. The book, a stylish graphic novel about the unique angst, humor, and self-doubt universal to the experience of going away to college, will be published in February 2024.
Pre-order it here
The Loud Libarian (Atheneum) by Jenna Beatrice, illlustrated by Erika Lynne Jones was recently featured as the Book of the Week by Fox 43 AM in Topeka Kansas.
See Kyler Carpenter with the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library discussing the book here
Get the book here
The Children’s Book Council “Hot off the Press” list for May includes Unstoppable; How Bayard Rustin Organized the 1963 March on Washington (Little Bee Books) by Michael G. Long, illustrated by Bea Jackson, Arithmechicks Find Their Place (Astra) by Ann Marie Stephens, illustrated by Jia Liu and Not a Monster (Charlesbridge) by Claudia Guadalupe Martinez, illustrated by Laura Gonzalez.
This unique online bibliography features anticipated bestsellers, either recently published or forthcoming, published by CBC members.
See the full list here
Booklist has given a starred review to Unstoppable: How Bayard Rustin Organized the 1963 March on Washington (Little Bee Books) by Michael G. Long, illustrated by Bea Jackson. The review says “the colorful, expressive illustrations align perfectly with the text and help convey the enormity of the 250,000-plus crowd that assembled that day.”
Congratulations Bea!
Unstoppable will be published May 2, 2023. Pre-order it here
Jump In! (Bloomsbury) by Shadra Strickland is on Kirkus’s list of 40 Most Anticipated Books of 2023. In a starred review, Kirkus calls Jump In! “A moving grooving snapshot of urban life where kids create the fun and beckon everybody in.”
Jump In! comes out January 31, 2023.
Pre order the book here
See the full list of Kirkus’s 40 Most Anticipated Books here
E.G. Keller will be talking about his picture book Murray Christmas (Abrams) this weekend. On Saturday, December 17 at 1:00 he will be part of a virtual panel discussion on holiday books with Books of Wonder. Then on Sunday, December 18 at , he will be interviewed on WKRQ-FM’s Sunday Morning Magazine Show.
Learn more about the Books of Wonder event here
To see the Books of Wonder event click here after 12:40 pm EST on December 17.
To live stream the WKRQ interview on Sunday December 18 at 7:00 am PST click here. The interview will be available to listen to after it airs here.
Get Murray Christmas here
BECAUSE OF YOU, JOHN LEWIS: THE TRUE STORY OF A REMARKABLE FRIENDSHIP (Scholastic) by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illus. by Keith Henry Brown
Ten-year-old Tennesseean Tybre Faw finds a hero in Congressman John Lewis, a civil rights icon nicknamed “Good Trouble,” who worked closely with Martin Luther King Jr. As the anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the commemorative march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge approaches, Faw begs his grandmothers to drive him to Selma. There Lewis shakes Faw’s hand and invites the boy to march with him, thus beginning a friendship. Pinkney’s lyrical prose recounts the high points of Lewis’ (and to some extent King’s) life interspersed with details of Faw’s interest in history and the particulars of his meetings with Lewis. She emphasizes Lewis’ mentoring of Faw (and its parallels to King’s mentoring of Lewis), ensuring continuity in the civil rights struggle. Brown’s digitally enhanced watercolor-and-ink illustrations focus on the humans depicted, and several compositions reflect published photos of events. Equally strong are the settings (particularly Selma) and subtle details, such as Faw reading Lewis’ graphic novel, March (2016). Appended with generous back matter, this makes an inspiring addition to the civil rights canon. — Kay Weisman
The book will be published on June 7, 2022.
Pre-order it here