Here is a sneak preview of the 2025 MISelf Booklist . MISelf Books is a list of books developed by Michigan school libraries. More titles will be revealed at a later date.
Book 1: Gamerville A Graphic Novel by Johnnie Christmas
Book 2: Boy 2.0 by Tracey Baptiste
Since 2020, BCALA has published a list of Best of the Best (BOTB) Books for PreK-Grade 12. These books are selected based on criteria, that represents the black experience with authenticity. The 2025 BOTB will be published early next year. In the meantime, I will post a medley of books from the 2024 BOTB list.
Book 1: Bridges Instead of Walls The Story of Mavis Staples by Mavis Staples and Carole Boston Weatherford ; illustrated by Steffi Walthall
Book 2: Moko Magic Carnival Chaos by Tracey Baptiste
Book 3: Love Requires Chocolate by Rayvnn K. Stringfield
Today’s posts will feature books from the 2024 MiSelf in Books PK-Grade 12 booklist. These are diverse, are exemplary in literary merit and authentic representation.
Book 1: Bros by Carole Boston Weatherford; illustrated by Reggie Brown. (Grades PreK-1)
Book 2: The Last Stand by Atwan Eady; illustrated by Jarrett & Jerome Pumphrey (Grades 2-3)
Book 3: Duel by Jessixa Bagley; illustrated by Aaron Bagley (Grades 3-7)
Book 4: The Order of Things by Kaija Langley (Grades 6-8)
Book 5: Forever is Now by Mariama J. Lockington (Grades 9-12)
These two books feature strong male tween characters.
Book 1: Will’s Race for Home by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Book 2: The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze by Derrick Barnes
This middle grade book about a middle grade student who was grieving over the loss of his best friend, was long listed for the National Book Awards. A noteworthy read!
My visit to my local library branches was an opportunity to check out some new books. Here are the titles:
Book 1: J vs. K by Kwame Alexander and Jerry Craft. I’m excited to read this one!
Book 2: Greatness by the award-winning team Regis and Kahran Bethencourt
Book 3: The Davenports More Than This by Krystal Marquis
Today I will feature two award-winning authors last name starting with a T. These authors have a body of work that are classics, and worth revisiting and/or reading for the first time.
Author 1: Mildred Taylor, author of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cryhttps://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/30681/mildred-d-taylor/
Author 2: Joyce Carol Thomas, who wrote several books for children and young adults. She passed away in 2016. However, her books are still available to read.https://thebrownbookshelf.com/28days/day-16-throwback-joyce-carol-thomas/
Today I will feature/highlight two award-winning authors who have written books on a variety of topics.
Author 1: Rita Williams-Garcia, author of the One Crazy Summer trilogy. Awesome reads! https://www.ritawg.com/
Author 2: Brandy Colber, author of Little and Lion, Finding Yvonne, and Black Birds in the Sky https://www.brandycolbert.com/
Today I will feature authors that wrote award winning books and might be under the radar.
Author 1: Lamar Giles, author of Fake ID, Spin, and Not So Pure and Simple https://www.lamargiles.com/books-1
Author 2: Ronald L. Smith, author of Hoodoo, the Mesmerist, and the Black Panther https://strangeblackflowers.com/books/
Author 3: Kwame Mbalia, author of the Tristan Strong series and more https://www.kwamembalia.com/
Today’s focus is on wonderful stories with beautiful illustrations/photographs and stories with powerful messages.
Book 1: How the Unicorn Got its Horn by Calandra and Camille Gibson. Mother and daughter team up to write a powerful story on patience and being careful what you ask for.
Book 2: A classic story beautifully and written story by John Steptoe
Book 3: A contemporary twist on fairy and folk tales with beautiful photographs.
The CamaraIfe Maktaba 