Black History Month Book Discussion (Feb '23)

[Heidi M Simone]

Since it is Black History Month, we will be reading and discussing books that celebrate this important month.

Here are some guiding questions to generate discussion:

• What book have you read for this month?
• What showed you that this book was a good one for this month's genre discussion?
• Were there other genres woven into the text? If so, which one(s)?
• Did you learn anything interesting while reading for this month?
• Share your overall impressions and rating of the book you read.
• Who is the target audience?

I'm excited to discuss books that celebrate Black History Month with all of you!

[Heidi M Simone]

Funny enough I started reading The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett a little while ago, but have taken a pause. Maybe I'll pick it back up for this month. I'm actually reading it with a friend, so I'm excited to continue!

[Heidi M Simone]

As a short read for this month, I read the children's picture book, Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry. This book is about a little African American girl who wants her hair to be styled perfectly. She and her daddy work together to find a hairstyle that she likes.

This was definitely realistic fiction, tied in with children.

I knew that African American hair can be more challenging to style, but there was something about seeing how much work the little girl and her daddy put forth that gave even more appreciation when I see hair styled in braids, beads, buns, etc.

I absolutely loved this book. It was so sweet, pure, and realistic. The father was so very supportive of the little girl, and there is just pure love poring throughout its pages. The target audience is children, preschool through elementary. Parents, guardians, and teachers could easily read this with their youngsters.

This book deserves a five out of fives stars for sure!

[Heidi M Simone]

I just read Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed today. It is another children's picture book.

This is about Mae Jemison, who was the first African American woman to become an astronaut and go up into space. It was a little above my toddler's head, but it was a wonderful short read. I've never head of Mae Jemison, so her journey to becoming an astronaut is something that I learned by reading this book.

I thought the book was well-done and the illustrations were very inviting. This definitely is geared more toward elementary-age children and one that is worth reading.

Mae Among the Stars gets a five out of five stars from me!

[Heidi M Simone]

I just finished Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March. This is my second time reading the book and I liked it better this time.

It's a young adult non-fiction short book that speaks about one young girl's journey to help get African Americans the right to vote. It was so inspiring and one that makes me really appreciate the life I am living. If I was Lynda, during this time, I don't know if I would've as brave as she, and so many others, were. Such a scary time.

I learned about how teenagers and young adults would continuously get arrested as they peacefully protested and marched. Also, how cruel and violent people of the law can be to those who only peacefully protest. I didn't realize, too, how challenging it was for African Americans to vote in Selma in 1965. That, even though, they could technically vote, the white people made it extra challenging to do so. So much so that there were many adults who tried to vote, but couldn't. Then, they would be shunned from potential future jobs and housing if they did try to vote.

So insane to me. I have nothing but appreciation and am in awe of the brave people who did everything they could to fight for what they deserved, and to those who supported them. Five out of five stars from me!