School and Community Winter 2023

in this story as he struggles to figure out who he really is. Anything by Jason Reynolds is going to be a hit with students, but his recent publications Stuntboy, in the Meantime and As Brave As You will get readers thinking. Ain’t Burned All the Bright for slightly higher fliers will help students feel seen, heard, and spoken for. Jacqueline Woodson’s poetry knockout Brown Girl Dreaming is an artful story about how it feels to grow up in the fallout of the Civil Rights Era. The voice in this book alone makes it worth the read for students to get a glimpse of this moment in history. Students who love a good mystery will love The Parker Inheritance as Candice puts together clues about her grandmother and her town’s past. This book by Varian Johnson brings up an ugly history that the town has tried to hide and brings the truth to light. Isabella thought her life was chaotic enough - her parents’ divorce means she must constantly switch between two very different houses. However, after a police stop goes wrong, her life gets uprooted once more in Sharon Draper’s novel Blended. So many students will feel seen and represented by Isabella as she navigates a whirlwind of chaos. The death of Lolly’s brother has left him lost with no clear directions, just like the bags of Legos he got for Christmas. With multiple options - including replacing his brother in the neighborhood “crew” - students will root for Lolly to make the right choices in David Barclay Moore’s The Stars Beneath our Feet . It’s always a struggle to get young boys to read, but an absolute win for them is anything by Kwame Alexander… so why not get them hooked onto two books? The two book Crossover series follows Josh and Jordan, their love of basketball and a lesson about breaking the rules. Tami Charles set her story Like Vanessa about Vanessa Martin, who is inspired to enter her school’s beauty pageant after Vanessa Williams is crowned the first black Miss America. As she struggles with the racism blocking her way to the crown, she learns the true value of beauty. It doesn’t seem like putting space and desserts together was possible, but Ibi Zoboi’s My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich blends the two in this captivating novel. Sci-fi loving Ebony-Grace’s grandfather was one of the first engineers at NASA in 1984, but when this sheltered girl moves from Alabama to Harlem, she starts learning a lot more about planet Earth. Students who like Black Panther will find themselves drawn to Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky , an epic that mixes Tristan’s imaginative journey with African American tales like Anansi and John Henry. Kwame Mbalia’s series will undoubtedly keep students turning pages. In Alicia Williams’s book Genesis Begins Again , Genesis hates so many things about herself that she started keeping a growing list, but two of the biggest things on it are the dark color of her skin and her

toxic family that can’t keep a consistent address. As she reaches #100 on her list, she battles identity and confidence as she is encouraged to stand up in front of others and show how beautiful and talented she really is. High School Blackout is a massive collaboration between six authors - Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, AshleyWoodfolk and Nicola Yoon. A summer in the city sparks a romance, bitter histories are brought up and the rest writes itself! Ibi Zoboi deserves to be on this list twice for Pride , her retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in Brooklyn. Students will have no idea they’re reading classic literature in this modern day romance that gives Jane Austen an upgrade. Once again, Ibi Zoboi comes through in her chilling collaboration with Yusef Salaam that examines the injustice of America’s prison systemwhen sixteen-year-old Amal is sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Pair the novel Punching the Air with the nonfiction text Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson to have students thinking in no time. A nonfiction book that teaches standards and life lessons is Tiffany Jewell’s This Book is Anti-Racist . There is no better tool to provide for students about equity, justice, racism and how to treat everyone with respect than this book. Many teachers may have heard of Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham, but a second book examining the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 takes a more nonfiction approach. Black Birds in the Sky by Brandy Colbert asks questions and examines the events leading up to this tragedy to answer how something this devastating could have happened and, more importantly, forgotten. Students who loved The Hate U Give will be thrilled to see the prequel by AngieThomas. Concrete Ros e takes place seventeen years before the first hit novel, whenMav is struggling between King Lord life and how to be a loving father to his new baby, Seven. A strong novel about identity and becoming your own self, Every Body Looking by Candice Iloh follows Ada. As a college freshman finally free from her parents and able to make her own choices, she becomes the person she genuinely wants to be. In Brittney Morris’s novel SLAY , perfect honors student Kiera has a secret: She created an online gaming community that thousands of people use. However, after a real-life murder (in Kansas City!), her secret might not be secret for long as real world consequences come her way. One trilogy that can easily get students talking about history is March , written by civil rights activist and congressman John Lewis, partnered with Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell. This set follows his life story and fight for equality, all the way from protests toWashington D.C. All Boys Aren’t Blue: AMemoir- Manifesto is the emotional story of George M. Johnson as he recounts his life. From being bullied in his youth to exploring his sexuality, this true tale can help students find their own selves through his story and looks at difficult topics like family, race and gender identity.

For additional information, please check out MSTA’s Reading Circle at readingcircle.org or contact an RC member: Brenda Steffens, bulldogreads@gmail.com , reviews lower elementary, PK-3; Jenn Baldwin, baldwinj@eastnewton.org , reviews upper elementary, 4-6; Lysha Thompson, lysha.thompson@sos. mo.gov , reviews middle school, 6-8; and Kayla Gilmore, freyk15@gmail. com , reviews high school.

S&C WINTER 2023 | 45