Highly Recommend: Choosing Brave

Yesterday morning at 9 am the Youth Media Awards (Caldecott, Newbery, Coretta Scott King, etc..) were announced. The awards are given yearly at the winter American Library Association conference. Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement, written by Angela Joy and illustrated by Janelle Washington received several awards. I had picked up a copy of the book over the weekend after hearing buzz about it, and was able to read it last night to my kids. After, my 8-year-old told me he could see why it won. I was actually kind of surprised. I pressed him, Because of the paper-cut illustrations? (Washington’s illustrations are striking paper-cuts of black paper with red, blue, and brown tissue paper behind). Or because of the story that’s told? He said both.

Books in Honor of Black History

Looking for some great books by Black authors? Here is a gigantic list with over 80 titles for all ages. I like to read (and share with my kids) books by Black creators and featuring Black characters/ historical figures all year. I made this list after realizing I’ve never written about some of our favorites. I hope you find something new for you and your kids to read!

22 Amazing Kids Books

This time of year is great for reading wonderful kids books! First, there are lots of “best of” lists that came out at the end of 2022 that make finding gems easier. Second, around the winter holidays a lot of books that are part of series seem to be released. Between these two things we’ve been reading some really good books. Here are 22 we’ve loved recently. I hope you’ll find something on here your kids will love!

Flower Flashback: June-July Edition

About a month ago I did a flower flashback post highlighting flowers from Aug-Oct. Today I have the June-July edition! Like last time, I have a renewed appreciation during these colder days for seeing pictures of all the bright flowers (and butterflies) from the growing season. It also feels more like a flash forward this time since it won’t be too much longer until we can see these beauties in person again!

Descendant Documentary

I think a tagline, or alternative name, for this blog could be “Susan’s Deep Dives.” My latest deep dive relates to the Netflix documentary Descendant. I found it so compelling and want to also share some related media that others may be interested in learning about as well.