What an honor to have distinguished author Julius Lester here today with his list of diversity picture books and poetry books. We are also giving away a copy of his newest book, The Girl Who Saved Yesterday, illustrated by Carl Angel. Did you notice that Carl Angel is also a part of our #ReadYourWorld Book Jam 2017? That means you have TWO chances to win this book! Please use the Rafflecopter at the bottom to enter.
Diversity Picture Books and Poetry Books
In a Village by the Sea by Muon Van, illustrated by April Chu.
A circular tale inspired by the author’s Vietnamese childhood. [picture book, ages 4 and up]
Ceremony — In the Circle of Life by White Deer of Autumn, illustrations by Daniel Sans Souci.
A Native American boy growing up in a city is taught the power of the Circle by an Ancestral spirit. [picture book, ages 9 and up]
Beautiful Hands by Kathryn Otoshi and Bret Baumgarten
What can beautiful hands do? They can plant, touch, reach, lift, but not necessarily what you might think at first. The book’s illustrations are comprised of the handprints made by of the two authors families. It would be hard to find a more visually joyous book. [picture book, ages 2 and up]
Honoring Our Ancestors: Stories and Pictures by Fourteen Artists, edited by Harriet Rohrer
George Crespo, Carl Angel, and Judith Lowry are among the fourteen artists who share their ancestry in brief stories, photographs, and illustrations. The ancestors are Hispanic, Ethiopian, African-American, Chinese, Jewish, and Arab. A brief book of rich diversity. [collection of essays, ages 8 and up]
One Last Word: Wisdom From the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes
A unique book of poetry in which Grimes has written new poems using short poems or a line from a poem of the Harlem Renaissance. This challenging way of creating a poem is called the Golden Shovel, and Grimes meets the challenge. In the interest of transparency, I would feel this way about the book even if it wasn’t dedicated to me. [poetry collection, ages 10 and up]
The Girl Who Saved Yesterday by Julius Lester, illustrations by Carl Angel
I’ve never met Carl Angel, but I love what happened when his artistic talent met the words I used to tell a story about a girl whose mission was to act as a guide into the past. The nameless heroine is much like the book’s author as both reveal the eternal presence of the past in our every day lives.
The Girl Who Saved Yesterday GIVEAWAY!
Please fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter. We can only mail to U.S. due to the high cost of shipping.
Julius Lester has written over 30 books for children, from picture books to young adult novels. He’s a beloved favorite of teachers, parents, librarians, booksellers, and young readers. His books have won major awards from the Newbery and Caldecott honor to the Boston Globe-Hornbook Award. Besides his distinguished career as an author, Julius has been a highly-regarded professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, teaching courses in English, Comparative Literature, African-American Studies, Judaic Studies, and History. He earned all three of the university’s most prestigious faculty awards. An important voice for diversity before it became a popular buzzword, Lester is best known for books like To Be a Slave, Day of Tears: A Novel in Dialogue, and John Henry.
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To find more diverse and multicultural books for children, please check out our Diversity Book Lists & Activities for Teachers and Parents. We also have Pinterest board full of ideas:
“In a Village By the Sea” also has a very beautiful cover. Wonderful covers!
What a great giveaway. Thanks for all you do for Diverse PBs. It was fun participating in #ReadYourWorld.
It is our absolute pleasure 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!