CCBC Weekly Book Reviews
Red, White, and Whole
Middle schooler Reha is the American-born daughter of parents from India; a beloved only child who often feels caught between her parents--especially her mother’s--more traditional expectations and her own American identity.
April 19, 2021
Take Back the Block
Sixth grader Wes Henderson lives in the predominantly Black neighborhood of Kensington Oaks.
April 12, 2021
I Am Not a Penguin: A Pangolin’s Lament
An enthusiastic pangolin is eager to share information about its species but faces challenges right from the start of its “Meet the Pangolin” presentation.
April 5, 2021
Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids
A bustling anthology of 16 short stories framed by opening and closing poems all connect to the annual intertribal powwow in Ann Arbor.
March 29, 2021
Root Magic
On Wadmalaw, an island 20 miles from Charleston, South Carolina, many in the Gullah Geechee community rely on rootworkers for healing.
March 22, 2021
Peace
A picture book inviting young readers and listeners to consider the concept of “peace” features a rhyming narrative with statements as welcome as they are sometimes surprising ...
March 15, 2021
The In-Between
Cooper is angry. His dad left the family three years ago; since then, he has emotionally isolated himself from his mom and younger sister, Jess (who holds out hope that their dad will contact them).
March 8, 2021
Outside, Inside
A gently reassuring narrative explores the hardships and triumphs of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown without directly naming the virus.
March 1, 2021
Ever Cursed
Jane, 18, is the oldest of the five Spellbound princesses of Ever, each cursed to go without something particular from the moment she turns 13. Jane can’t eat, Nora can’t love, Alice can’t sleep, Grace can’t remember. Eden, about to turn 13, will go without hope.
February 22, 2021
The Range Eternal
“On cold winter days in the Turtle Mountains, I helped Mama cook soup on our woodstove, The Range Eternal.” On the blue enamel stove in the Anishinaabe narrator’s childhood home, her mother deftly feeds wood into the fire even as she stirs.
February 15, 2021
Say Her Name: Poems to Empower
“Black girl / you are more than magic / you are a miracle …” (from “Black Girl Miracle”). A collection of poems centered around Black female experience explores themes of racism, violence, body image, misogyny, but also, so importantly, self-love, sisterhood, strength, and the miracle of survival.
February 8, 2021
Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything
Sia (Artemesia) Martinez’s mother was deported to Mexico three years ago and disappeared while trying to make the desert crossing back to the United States; she’s now presumed dead.
February 1, 2021
Bye, Penguin!
A small penguin is separated from its community when the ice on which it’s standing breaks away.
January 25, 2021
Legendborn
African American Bree, 16, grief stricken since her mother’s death in a car accident, is in the Early College program at UNC-Chapel Hill, her mom's alma mater.
January 19, 2021
We Are Not Free
The voices of 14 teenagers and young adults, all friends and acquaintances from San Francisco's Japantown, narrate this story of Japanese and Japanese American imprisonment during World War II.
January 11, 2021- More Books of the Week