Posts Tagged ‘Fiction (non-fantasy)’
Story of a Girl
Little, Brown Young Readers, 2007
Fiction
ISBN: 0316014532
208 pages
National Book Award Nominee
Synopsis
Caught having sex with an older boy in the backseat of his car by her father, thirteen-year-old Deanna quickly becomes branded a slut. Three years later, Deanna is still dealing with her reputation, a father who can’t look her in the eye, and her personal struggle with her identity and self-perception. Through a series of seemingly mundane events, Deanna decides to begin pursuing a path that will ultimately lead her to become the person she wants to be. …
Read more »
After Tupac and D Foster
Putnam Young Adult, 2008
Fiction
ISBN: 0399246541
160 pages
Newbery Honor Book
Synopsis
A summer of adventure and loss, the unnamed narrator gains a new best friend named D Foster. Mysteriously coming out of nowhere, D quickly becomes friends with the narrator and her best friend Neeka. Throughout this coming of age text, the narrator takes us on a journey throughout her summer, starting when D shows up, just after Tupac gets shot for the first time, and ending when Tupac gets killed and D leaves to go live with her real mother. Woodson takes us back a few years to show the reality of living in Queens as an African American family, and many of the personal and national events that effect the block the narrator lives on. …
Read more »
The Blacker the Berry
Amistad, 2008
Poetry
ISBN: 0060253754
32 Pages
ALA Notable Children’s Books. Middle Readers
Coretta Scott King Award (Illustrator)
Coretta Scott King Honor (Author)
Synopsis
Written and beautifully illustrated for a younger audience, likely grades 1-4, this book seeks to broaden the worldview of American children that it is necessary to see a wider range of representation in skin tone for African Americans than simply light or dark. There are many variations given ethnic background and heritage, and Thomas’s poetry, along with Cooper’s art shows this by utilizing the common phrase, “The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice,” by comparing the color of skin tone to various berries that can be found throughout the wild. …
Read more »
