Black by Popular Demand
If you haven’t gotten your book by a Black author this summer, Baldwin & Co. of New Orleans has you covered!
Keep reading!
Can't Nobody Make a Sweet Potato Pie Like Our Mama!
Marie and Landon bicker about many things, but on one topic they agree: their grandmother, "Mama," makes the best sweet potato pies. Those pies are so tasty, and their grandmother is so good at so many things. The twins sometimes wonder: Does Mama have superpowers?
Marie and Landon love to help Mama bake pies to share. They shop and select, measure and stir. They taste the pie batter and watch Mama put the pies in the oven. They assist with every step. Still, they think there might be some magic involved. Does Mama sprinkle fairy dust into her pies?
When the pies are finally ready, neighbors stop by for a slice and some comfort. Some folks look a little sad when they arrive. After they taste Mama's pies, they leave laughing and singing. The twins marvel at the neighbors' transformation. Why do Mama's pies inspire so much joy?
Mama's generosity and kindness bring comfort to all she meets. Maybe, the twins realize, the magic isn't in the pies. Maybe it's in their Mama.
Confessions of a Candy Snatcher
For the past few years, twelve-year-old Jonas and his friends have competed to see how many bags of candy they can grab from unsuspecting trick-or-treaters. No one's supposed to get hurt, just lose their treats. So Jonas is taken by surprise when one of his smaller targets fights back against his snatching attempt. He's even more surprised when he starts to receive anonymous notes from someone who knows what happened that night. Jonas already has enough on his plate, between his parents' ill-defined separation and his own guilt--guilt his friend Concepción challenges him to confront in a zine she's creating around the prompt "What's the worst thing you ever did?" It's a complicated question, one that touches on issues of identity, maturity, physical boundaries, and safety. Featuring zines crafted by award-winning illustrator Theodore Taylor III, Phoebe Sinclair's debut novel relates an emotive, reflective story about the wonder--and mess--of growing up.
Forgive Me Not
All it took was one night and one bad decision for fifteen-year-old Violetta Chen-Samuels' life to go off the rails. After driving drunk and causing the accident that kills her little sister, Violetta is incarcerated. Under the juvenile justice system, her fate lies in the hands of those she's wronged--her family. With their forgiveness, she could go home. But without it? Well . . .
Denied their forgiveness, Violetta is now left with two options, neither good--remain in juvenile detention for an uncertain sentence or participate in the Trials. The Trials are no easy feat, but if she succeeds, she could regain both her freedom and what she wants most of all: her family's love. In her quest to prove her remorse, Violetta is forced to confront not only her family's grief, but her own--and the question of whether their forgiveness is more important than forgiving herself.
Don't Let Them Bury My Story: The Oldest Living Survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre in Her Own Words
"Every day, I have lived through the massacre. While our country may forget this history, I cannot." Viola Ford Fletcher
Viola Ford Fletcher's memoir Don't Let Them Bury My Story vividly recounts the lasting impact of the Tulsa Massacre on her life. As the oldest survivor and last living witness of the tragic events that unfolded in 1921, she shares her testimony with poignant clarity. From the terror of her childhood as a seven-year-old fleeing the burning streets of Greenwood to her current role as a 109-year-old family matriarch seeking justice for the affected families, Mother Fletcher takes us on a journey through a lifetime of pain and perseverance. Her inspiring story is a powerful reminder that some wounds never fully heal, and we must never forget the lessons of our history.
