If you wanted me to gift you with ten diverse books with different genres that are great reads I would give you this set of books! All of these titles are only a few years old and should be really easy to find in libraries both in audio, print or electronic formats. Click on the links for previous book reviews.
Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-Ransome
| 4.2 | 5-8 | African American | Historical
| 4.2 | 5-8 | African American | Historical
4 stars! Historical fiction set in Chicago during the migration of African Americans from South to North. The boy in this story is Langston and his father and he has moved to Chicago. His mother died and he is still grieving. His new school has a couple of bullies that make life miserable. He finds peace and solace at a neighborhood library where he is welcomed. The book is like a love story to this library which is also named after a famous African American from Chicago. I listened to this book and read it too. I highly recommend listening to this gem! I think this could be a crossover book. It would be a great read-aloud or book club for kids.
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
| 4.2 | 5-8 | African American | Contemporary
Jerome is a black 7th grader in Chicago who tries to avoid the bullies and do well in school. A new boy comes to school and Jerome tries to help him avoid a bully attack. The new boy uses a toy gun to scare them away and then gives the gun to Jerome to play with. Later, in the park, as Jerome plays, a police car arrives and shoots Jerome and he dies. Jerome now looks on as a ghost at how the rest of the days play out.
Jerome meets the Ghost of Emmitt Till and is also able to communicate with Sarah who is the daughter of the police officer who shot him. Sarah begins to see how she can become an activist to make a change in our world.
This book is heart-breaking and outstanding. It is so well written and tells an important story. History is so important in helping us change for the better if we could only learn our lessons well. I hope parents and teachers use this book for a discussion or read aloud. I rated it a 5 because it gave me that reading feeling at the end where I want to press this book into everybody’s hands to read.
| 4.2 | 5-8 | Native American | Historical
The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani
| 4.2 | 5-8 | India-Pakistan | Historical
This book is set in 1947 when India was given independence from Britain and India was divided into the two countries of India and Pakistan. Pakistan became a Muslim country, and India was mainly Hindu. People were forced to leave and go to the country based on their practices. 12-year-old Nisha is the daughter of a doctor and he is Hindu. Nisha's mother has passed and she was Muslim. When it is no longer safe for them to stay in the country of Pakistan because of the danger they begin a difficult trek to India. Nisha writes in her diary every night to her deceased mother and tells the story of the journey and her feelings about what is happening and how confusing it is for religion and beliefs to cause such anger.
I loved this book because it taught me about something in history I was not aware of. It is very interesting and heartbreaking.
