CCBC Weekly Book Reviews
365 Days to Alaska
Rigel, 11, who is white, lives with her family in the Alaskan bush. But when her parents announce they’re getting divorced, Rigel and her sisters move with their mom to “Outside”--their maternal grandmother’s in Connecticut.
June 7, 2021
Hear My Voice / Escucha mi voz
“My sister and I came from Honduras.” “Our grandfather saw the gang kill our neighbor. They threatened to kill him so we all had to leave.” There is not even enough room for the baby to crawl.” “I have been here without bathing for twenty-one days.”
June 1, 2021
Fire Keeper’s Daughter
Daunis, 18, has postponed attending the University of Michigan to stay in Sault Ste. Marie for her mother, who is reeling from the recent death of Daunis’s uncle and the failing health of Daunis’s grandmother--the wealthy white woman who wouldn’t allow Daunis’s Ojibwe father to be named on Daunis’s birth certificate.
May 24, 2021
I Dream of Popo
“I dream with Popo as she rocks me in her arms. She sings beibei xin, beibei gan. In my heart I hear: My baby, my heart. My baby, my love.”
May 17, 2021
Billy Miller Makes a Wish
On his eighth birthday, Billy Miller blows out the candles on his cake and makes a wish that something exciting would happen.
May 10, 2021
Last Night at the Telegraph Club
In 1954, high school senior Lily Hu is everything her parents expect her to be: studious, respectful, responsible, and she never ventures far from her close-knit Chinese American community in San Francisco’s Chinatown.
May 3, 2021
Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh = This Is How I Know: A Book about the Seasons
A contemporary Anishinaabe grandmother answers her grandchild’s questions about the four seasons by sharing observations about the natural world in this striking picture book.
April 26, 2021
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- More Books of the Week