LIS 721 Books to Inspire Childlike Wonder

Weatherford, C. (2021). Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre (F. Cooper, Illus.) Carolrhoda Books. This book covers the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, a topic that has only recently begun to be discussed among the general public. Written by Carole Boston Weatherford, an author known for writing about Black history in America, this book uses a narrative writing style to explain what this area was like before the massacre and how the massacre took place. There is a repetition of the phrase “Once upon a time…” inviting the reader to revel in the prosperous community of Greenwood when it was known as the “Black Wall Street.” Weatherford is able to seamlessly list all the ways in which Greenwood was almost magical, being a place where the Black community was striving and achieving more than the white community across the tracks at a time when racism and segregation were still prominent. The tone in the first half is meant to invite the reader to build a connection and admiration for this part...

Hamilton, V. (1985). The people could fly: American black folktales (L. Dillon and D. Dillon, Illus.). Alfred A. Knopf.  This is an anthology made with the pure intention of preserving a history often told incorrectly and educating the masses on a culture that rarely receives the spotlight, especially in creative histories. This comes through immediately because of the introduction Hamilton provides. In this introduction, she describes the challenges that came with keeping these stories alive within the community during times of enslavement. This introduction provides two important things for appreciating this anthology. The first is a history to prove an authority to retell and preserve these stories. The second thing is a lens in which to read the stories to truly understand them. Hamilton reminds us to keep in mind that these stories were meant to be told orally, so colloquialism are necessary to keep the spirit and tone as well as to stay the most accurate. She makes sure the r...

Campoy, F. Ada, A. (2006). Tales our abuelitas told: A Hispanic folktale collection (F. Davalos, V. Eseriva, S. Guevara, L. Torres, Illus.) Atheneum Books for Young Readers.      From the first page, one can tell that this anthology was made with a lot of heart. Written by two authors, the twelve stories included are from a range of Hispanic cultures showcasing the diversity within the Hispanic label itself since it spread to multiple countries. This is clearly part of the purpose of the anthology, which is explained in an introduction that goes through the history of Hispanic culture as a whole with all of its influences and the importance of story. The authors state, “Through stories people share their dreams, their hopes, and the lessons they learn from life, and also their celebration of the imagination and the ingenuity of a well-told tale.” Their stance on stories is clear which illuminates their reason for putting this anthology together and for retelling the stori...

Singer, M. (2010). Mirror mirror: A book of reversible poems (J. Masse, Illus.). Dutton Children's Books               Every story has more than one side. We have been raised with fairy tales only hearing one character’s perspective but what of the others? What was going through the prince’s mind when he went to save Sleeping Beauty? What did Goldilocks think when she awoke to three bears? Singer decides to explore these perspectives alongside the ones we know through her unique and original reversible poetry. A short note about this new form of poem is provided at the end of the book, though she does not share why she chose to rewrite fairy tales. Each poem is written with careful consideration for the form which allows it to be read and understood forwards and backwards. To clarify, backwards means reading line by line going up rather than down. To make this easier for the child reader, each pair of poems is written side by side so that they can be r...

Thomas, J. (2008) The Blacker the Berry (F. Cooper, Illus.). Joanna Colter Books.      A book of original poems where Joyce Carol Thomas uses her beautiful language to describe and appreciate the array of skin colors in the world. Each poem takes on a different form going from short dialogue-heavy lines to longer more imagery-filled ones. The poems take on the voices of various children expressing their appreciation for the skin they were born in and the culture that surrounds them, both attributed to their family and ancestors. From the first page, the purpose of the collection is clear: celebrating diversity in black skin colors and cultures. It takes on this goal using nature as a theme drawing comparisons between beauties in the world to the beauties of being brown or black skinned. It appreciates the positive moments of self-love and family (“I nod between bites of berries/ because/ My mother long ago/ When she nursed me with first milk/ Said, ‘You are beautiful.’ A...

 Mak, K. (2002) My Chinatown: One year in poems (K. Mak, Illus.). Harper. This book of poems describes a year in the life of a boy who just immigrated from China to America. With sections separated by the seasons, we watch this young boy slowly become accustomed to his new life and learn to embrace the joys that this new place has to offer. Through the imagery of the language, we can see the world the way the young boy does, sometimes told explicitly while other times hidden in the word choice of the poems. Right from the beginning, we can tell that the boy is not happy to have left his home for America. The first poem gives us the lines, “But it isn’t home,” and “It must be someone else’s luck this year./Not mine.” These lines explicitly tell us that the boy is unhappy to be away from Hong Kong, but there are moments where the imagery speaks for itself as well. This is seen in lines like “…where the English words taste/like metal in my mouth.” Everyone can imagine how unpleasant i...

 Morales, Y. (2018). Dreamers (Y. Morales, Illus.). Neal Porter Books             This is a book about an immigrant mother and son finding comfort in a strange new world at their local library. The language used to tell the story is beautiful poetry that utilizes Spanish words to keep the culture present. The Spanish vocabulary is not confusing and is often presented with context clues that can help the reader decipher their meaning. For instance, in the lines, “You and I became caminantes. Thousands and thousands of steps we took around this land, until the day we found…” the Spanish word is “caminantes” meaning walkers. This can be understood by the reader even if they don’t know any Spanish because of the sentence that follows and the illustration that surrounds these words. The sentence following the Spanish word implies that they are walking a lot which would make them walkers. The image shows the two walking down the street with many footprints b...