“Open wide your arms to life, / Whirl in the wind of pain and strife, / Face the wall with the dark closed gate, / Beat with bare, brown fists – / And wait.” page 29 (excerpt from poem “Song”)
The Dream Keeper and Other Poems by Langston Hughes, illustrated by Brian Pinkney. Originally published in 1932 by Alfred A. Knopf, my edition Scholastic, New York, 1994. Poetry collection, 84 pages. Lexile: 1150L . AR Level: Not leveled.
Langston Hughes’ own selection and arrangement of his poems for young readers.
The Dream Keeper and Other Poems by Langston Hughes, illustrated by Brian Pinkney.
It’s books like this one that especially point out the lie that early literary education is not able to be diverse. Although my particular version was published in the early 90s, this book has been around since 1932!
The book opens with an introductory essay by Lee Bennett Hopkins, which succinctly summarizes the key points of Hughes’ life. It is skippable, but does add valuable context for those who choose to read it.
A Fire in My Hands: A Book of Poems by Gary Soto, illustrated by James M. Cardillo. Scholastic, New York, 1990. Poetry, 64 pages. Lexile: NP . (What does NP mean in Lexile?) AR Level: 5.4 (worth 1.0 points) . NOTE: See review for age appropriateness.
A collection of Gary Soto’s poems about growing up Mexican-American in the San Joaquin valley.
A Fire in My Hands: A Book of Poems by Gary Soto, illustrated by James M. Cardillo.
This was languishing in a little free library we frequent, untouched for far too long. I will probably release it back into a different free book environment if none of the kids I know want it.
With only 23 poems this is a slim volume. I thought at first that all or most were written for this book, but they are reprinted from other books or magazines. The majority come from his collection Black Hair, but some are from other sources.
The book also includes a forward, Q&A, and a few lines introducing each individual poem. That helps give context to the poems, adds more of a narrative flow to the book, and also helps make it a bit more substantial. It makes the collection more useful for teachers too.
“Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true: / That even as we grieved, we grew, / That even as we hurt, we hoped, / That even as we tired, we tried.” page 18
The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country by Amanda Gorman, with a foreword by Oprah Winfrey. Viking, Penguin Random House, New York, 2021. Poem, 32 pages. Lexile: not leveled. AR Level: 5.1 (worth 0.5 points) . NOTE: While the brief introduction is unique to this book, and the formatting differs slightly, you can read the full text of the poem, or watch it read by the author, on many websites.
An inaugural poem in book format.
The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country by Amanda Gorman, foreword by Oprah Winfrey.
The 2021 inauguration was certainly a memorable one. Among the many happenings surrounding that election and installation of a new US president, Amanda Gorman was a surprising breakout star. Poets reading at inaugurations is not a novel concept – it’s been done for 60 years, although not at every single inauguration.
Gorman shone partly because she was not well known before the inauguration, but mostly because everything about her was on point. Her hair, clothes, deportment, poem, and delivery all stood out in the crowd. Although she already had a collection in the works, the popularity of this poem was so intense that it was rushed into print as a book by itself, and sold well.
“When I opened my eyes, I was, indeed, back home again. I took a deep, shaky breath. I was tingling all over.” page 49
The Cassandra Curse (Muse Squad #1) by Chantel Acevedo. Balzer & Bray, HarperCollins, New York, 2020. MG fantasy, 360 pages. Lexile: 650L . AR Level: 4.6 (worth 12.0) .
Weird things have been happening to Calliope Martinez-Silva (call her Callie, please). She has a terrifying accident, her best friend transforms into a pop star, then she’s informed that she’s one of the nine Muses and a portal sends her to another country. It’s a lot for an eleven-year old! Thankfully there are some other young Muses too, which is timely because with her best friend unrecognizable, Callie needs some backup.
Muse Squad: The Cassandra Curse by Chantel Acevedo.
This book has so much going on. There’s the usual tween intrigue, but made bearable thanks to the magical and mystery aspects. There’s learning to be a muse, and all the different muses from around the world who each have specific powers and callings, and the many many people in Callie’s life and whom she meets on her adventures.
“I know a life can be destroyed in an instant: a car spins out of control on a busy road, a doctor sits down to break bad news, or a love letter is discovered hidden in a place where its owner thought it would never be found. All these things can shatter a world in just a few moments. But is it possible for the opposite to happen – for a life to be created in a moment instead of destroyed?” page 189
Ghost Boy: The Miraculous Escape of a Misdiagnosed Boy Trapped Inside His Own Body by Martin Pistorius with Megan Lloyd Davies. Nelson Books, Thomas Nelson, HarperCollins Christian, Nashville, Tennessee, 2013. Adult memoir, 276 pages. Lexile: not leveled AR Level: 6.2 (worth 11.0 points) . NOTE: Despite the reading level, definitely an adult book. See content warnings for more information. FURTHER NOTE: Not to be confused with the 2018 MG historical fantasy novel Ghost Boys, also reviewed on this blog.
The story of a boy who, in 1988, slowly succumbed to a mysterious illness that left him paralyzed and unable to function. Except Martin was not totally gone, and slowly returned to full consciousness, aware of his surroundings but unable to control his body at all.
Ghost Boy by Martin Pistorius with Megan Lloyd Davies.
This was a surprising read. The cover says it’s a New York Times bestseller, but I’d never heard of it before a friend handed me the book. The subtitle and blurb probably already clued you in, but since I do review a lot of fantasy, let me be clear that this is an adult work of nonfiction.
Reading a South African story that didn’t discuss any of the unique political or cultural milieu was interesting but also felt weird. Race is rarely mentioned, although sometimes it can be guessed from a name or the description of a person. At the same time, it also makes sense that in this particular circumstance, Pistorius truly didn’t care much about racial tensions or the larger political world!
“The women in my family handled most of the practical details of everyday life. Men were skilled at some things, at the same time as being inexplicably incapable of performing other seemingly simple tasks. I grew up believing that men were faulty creatures, a little untrustworthy, childlike, even. They needed a woman around to keep them on the tracks.” page 13
Tomboy Survival Guide by Ivan Coyote. Arsenal Pulp Press, Vancouver, BC, Canada, originally published 2016, my edition 2019. Adult nonfiction, 244 pages + 12 pages for notes at the end. Not leveled.
Canadian memoir through a collection of essays – about life as a young butch and then a non-binary adult.
Tomboy Survival Guide by Ivan Coyote.
This was a gift from a friend who pointed out that I hadn’t reviewed any nonfiction by non-binary authors yet – to which my response was that I hadn’t read any yet. A quick trip to another room and this was pressed into my hands with the instruction that it should be my first, but definitely not only, non-binary nonfiction read.
“I no more wanted Parz’s help than I wanted to be helpless. I didn’t want him – or anyone – to see me as weak.” page 54
Handbook for Dragon Slayers by Merrie Haskell. Harper, HarperCollins Children’s Books, New York, 2013. MG fantasy, 328 pages. Lexile: 770L . AR Level: 5.4 (worth 10.0 points) .
A princess’ work is never done, even if said princess is visibly disabled, especially if said princess is the only heir to valuable property. When Tilda’s cousin steals her lands, she sees it as the perfect excuse for freedom and adventures. She’ll be free of all her onerous duties, and her people will be free of her and won’t have to whisper horrid comments behind her back. But even as she learns about dragons, the wild hunt, and other magics, she also learns a lot about herself and what she truly wants.
Handbook for Dragon Slayers by Merrie Haskell.
I’ve been wanting to read this book for a long time, ever since I saw it featured in this favorable review on the (sadly discontinued) Disability in Kidlit blog. It was even one of the ones on the planning lists for my first Diverse Middle Grade Fantasy Booklist, but I couldn’t get it in time. Thankfully, I was finally able to get a copy.
Tilda is a princess (and as a sole heir, will inherit despite her gender and disability) but she secretly dreams of living in a monastery. This is partly because she doesn’t know the realities of that life, thus can idealize it, but it’s also because of the realistically awful yet appropriate for the time period way she’s treated.
“For me the worst part, especially about young kids being racially profiled in school, is that they can’t be expected to understand that what’s happening to them is not their fault.” page 49
My Seven Black Fathers: A Young Activist’s Memoir of Race, Family, and the Mentors Who Made Him Whole by Will Jawando. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, New York, 2022. Memoir/autobiography, 232 pages. Not yet leveled.
The story of one man’s early life through the lens of seven essential mentors.
My Seven Black Fathers by Will Jawando.
Jawando begins by comparing his own life to a childhood friend, Kalfani, who didn’t have the same kind of mentoring available to him. Indeed, this is Jawando’s central theme throughout – the importance of community.
I’m not sure what my expectations were – perhaps something like Misty Copeland’s personal reflections on a variety of related figures. My Seven Black Fathers reads more like a hybrid biography/memoir. Jawando tells the story of his life in roughly chronological format, only occasionally needing to use the subject emphasis and timeline jumps characteristic of memoir.
“Writing a novel is a long process – like a long-distance runner running a marathon, I know I cannot reach the finish line that day. Instead, I have to be patient, trying to complete a shorter stretch of writing – a chapter, for instance.” pages 21 and 22
The Lost Garden by Laurence Yep. My edition Beech Tree Paperback, Harper Collins, New York, 1996 – originally Simon & Schuster, 1991. MG autobiography, 118 pages. Lexile: 1110L . AR Level: 7.1 (worth 7.0 points) .
The story of famous children’s author Laurence Yep’s life from his early years to the start of his writing career, although focusing mostly on his coming of age in the 1950s and 1960s.
The slim paperback fooled me into thinking that this would be a book for elementary students, but the content is more appropriate for tweens and young teens. Yep doesn’t shy away from difficult topics, such as his own family’s brushes with poverty, a customer whose husband brutally attacked her, Mark Twain’s suicidal thoughts, the topless dancers at a club in the neighborhood, and pulse-pounding confrontations when the burglar alarm goes off.
He tells even difficult and painful tales in a straightforward way, and frequently pauses to explain details that might not be known or understood by younger readers. This reminded me strongly of Roald Dahl’s Boy – a tale of a fairly ordinary life told with vivid details that render it fascinating. Aspects such as what it was like to have severe asthma attacks before common home treatments may shock young readers.
There are so many tidbits here about how he was inspired or helped with various novels by different relatives or events. I’m planning a systematic rereading of his entire Golden Mountain Chronicles series, many of which I’ve read but not in order – after which I might need to reread this book!
“Tonight’s stranger had worn a suit like that, one of plain, darkest jet, but also unmistakably a uniform, along with smoked-glass spectacles. The sandy tone of his skin had been not quite the same as the tan burnish all sailors got from the sun. There had been something slightly off, slightly unnatural, about the way he’d moved.” page 41
The Left-Handed Fate by Kate Milford, illustrated by Eliza Wheeler. Square Fish, Henry Holt and Company, Macmillan, New York, 2016, my edition 2017. MG alternate world historical fantasy, 378 pages. Lexile: 810L . AR Level: 5.8 (worth 16.0 points) . NOTE: This book is a direct sequel to Bluecrowne and the review will necessarily contain spoilers for that plot.
Finally back to her ship even if unfortunate circumstances brought them there, Melusine Bluecrowne (call her Lucy, please) and family are on a particular mission of discovery for a young philosopher, but studying science in the midst of war is dangerous. Teen Maxwell Ault is that natural philosopher, determined to carry out his deceased father’s mission. Oliver Dexter is a new midshipman determined to prove his mettle on his first command… even though he’s only just turned twelve. As their three paths cross, well they be able to assemble the war-stopping engine? And if so, who will gain control of this dangerous weapon?
The Left-Handed Fate by Kate Milford, illustrated by Eliza Wheeler.
Well, we’re four books deep into the world of Greenglass house as far as blog reviews, and while the series as a whole continues to be more diverse-adjacent than diverse (with the exception of the twobooks on Milo), I’m sort of committed to reading them now and also happen to love interconnected novels that aren’t necessarily a series, so I suppose I’ll go on reviewing them.
I wrote a bit in my review of Bluecrowne about how I accidentally purchased and read this book first, not understanding that it is indeed a direct sequel to that book. The publisher has done their bit to confuse readers by trying to promote Bluecrowne as the third book in the Greenglass House series (when really it’s more of a prequel and stands separately from the Greenglass books), and then initially promoting Thief Knot as a standalone (when really it’s quite dependent on knowledge, characters, and such from the two Greenglass books and reads like a continuation of that series with a different protagonist and slightly different setting).
Returning to this particular volume, The Left-Handed Fate takes a different tack to any of the other books I’ve read so far. First, while they do make landfall at times, the majority of the book takes place on the boat where Lucy’s made her home most of her life. Second, it’s rather more historical than any of the other books. Bluecrowne also was set in the past, and Milo’s books delve into Nagaspeake’s history, but this book is set around the War of 1812, which is an actual historical event that gives the story a somewhat different feel.
Colorful Book Reviews 