Review: Black Hollywood

“This is not just a book for Black people. It’s a book for *all people* about Black people.” Front matter, emphasis from the author

Black Hollywood: Reimagining Iconic Movie Moments by Carell Augustus.
Ebony Magazine Publishing with Sourcebooks, Naperville, Illinois, 2022.
Art book, 230 pages.
Not leveled.

Photographs from an eleven year project to recreate iconic movie posters, screen moments, and pinups with Black models.

Black Hollywood: Reimagining Iconic Movie Moments by Carell Augustus.

Over the last few years I’ve been trying to expand our art collection. We’ve reached the “some disposable income” stage but definitely not the “buy independent artworks” level of wealth. Libraries, digital collections, and museums have been wonderful but I’d like to have more at home. Thus calendars, postcards, and art books! 

Because art books tend to be pricey, I usually research and apply coupons, wait for seasonal sales, or buy used. This one was more of an impulse purchase – saw a new copy at 50% discount and bought it without the previewing that I normally would have done.

You know how some kids are really into sneakers, or horses, or rap, or drawing? I was a book kid and always have been, so movies, television, and such tend to be what other people around me want to watch, rather than something I seek out. Honestly, I’d probably only heard of maybe half the movies or people in this book. But I still loved it. 

Pages 20 and 21 of Black Hollywood include a scene from Fight Club with all the characters modeled by Wesley Jonathan and notes from both the model and photographer.

Augustus recreates a wide variety of films including comedies, science fiction, horror, and action movies, as well as some portrayals of specific people (like Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin). The majority, although not all, of his models are actors and actresses. 

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Review: Flying High

“Fearless and focused, she aims for her goal. / Improving consistency, gaining control.” pages 30 and 31

Flying High: The Story of Gymnastics Champion Simone Biles by Michelle Meadows, illustrated by Ebony Glenn.
Henry Holt and Company, Macmillan, New York, 2020.
Picture book biography, 40 pages.
Lexile: AD610L .
AR Level: 3.1 (worth 0.5 points) .

A picture book biography in verse of Olympic champion gymnast Simone Biles.

Flying High: The Story of Gymnastics Champion Simone Biles by Michelle Meadows, illustrated by Ebony Glenn.

I had gotten Brave Ballerina for a child a while back and was delighted to see that the same team worked on this biography of a world-famous gymnast. I’ve previously reviewed her autobiography way back in my first year of blogging, so long time readers of this blog will already know that I’m a fan. 

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Graphic Novel Review: Sea Sirens

“That’s the problem. He is so old, he has trouble remembering things now – like where he is. Sometimes he thinks he’s back in Vietnam.” page 87

Sea Sirens: A Trot & Cap’n Bill Adventure (#1) by Amy Chu and Janet K. Lee, with lettering by Jimmy Gownley.
Viking, Penguin Random House, New York, 2019.
Middle grade graphic novel, 144 pages.
Lexile: 240L .
AR Level: 2.5 (worth 1.0 points) .

Vietnamese American Trot and her cranky one-eyed rescue cat spend a lot of time surfing at the beach where they mutually babysit her grandpa (he has dementia, she’s not quite old enough to be left alone yet). One day, she sneaks out to catch a wave and wipes out so badly they end up in an underwater world. At first she’s happy to avoid her mother’s rules, but after landing in an undersea war, will Trot and Cap’n Bill ever get home again?

Sea Sirens (Trot & Cap’n Bill Adventure #1) by Amy Chu, illustrated by Janet K. Lee, with lettering by Jimmy Gownley.

I had no clue what to expect when we first got these. Even the blurb does little to explain the awesomeness of Cap’n Bill (turns out cats can talk, we just don’t listen well). The realistic part of the story is also hard-hitting; Trot and Grandpa are grounded because one day she forgot to keep an eye out while surfing and he wandered away from his fishing resulting in a Silver Alert.

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Return and 2024 Blog Goals

Greetings! As you saw from my most recent post, I’m back. This will be a slow return, with no more than one post per week for a long while. I need to build up some reviews again before I can commit to more than that. Posts will be on either Wednesday OR Friday. I won’t be checking comments often so it may take some time before they are approved and appear on the blog. Please know I do still appreciate dialog and hearing your thoughts, it’s just going to be a slower process.

Frequently at this point I would do a review of goals and favorite reads from the past year, but since I only blogged for a few months last year and circumstances significantly affected my reading, instead I’m just going to review my blogging goals for the next year. 

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