KRLemmons African American Authors, African American Literature, African American Middle Grades Literature, African American Picture Books, African American Young Adult Literature, African Americans, Multicultural Nonfiction

September is Black Reading Month

September is Black Reading Month! I am kicking off the month featuring and celebrating books about black folks written by black authors. My plan and goal is to feature at least one book a day. Some of these books I may or may not have read.

Day 1: To kick off Black reading month and in honor of black workers, check out this book by Blair LM Kelley:

KRLemmons African American Authors, African American Biography, Classic Literature, Multicultural Nonfiction

Throwback Thursday: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

For Throwback Thursday, I chose Incidents in the Life of Slave Girl, written by Harriet Jacobs (or Linda Brent). Initially classified as fiction, a few historians finally acknowledged that this book is an authentic autobiography. In this book, Harriet Jacobs shares her pain and burden of being an enslaved girl, including being sexually harassed by her master. This book may be one of the first books that writes about sexual harassment. Although enslaved African Americans were considered property and masters had the power and control over them, Harriet Jacobs was one slave who refused to submit to her master’s sexual advances. How she manages to do this is worth reading and finding out for yourself.

KRLemmons African American Authors, Multicultural Nonfiction, Women's History Month

Connecting Women’s History and Reading Month

Anytime of the year is a good time to honor people of color and their achievements. With March designated as both Women’s History and Reading months, I decided to select a book that definitely honors both. Tonya Bolden’s Changing the Equation 50th US Black Women in STEM is an excellent read and a great introduction to African American pioneers in the STEM professions. From Rebecca Lee Crumpler, the first woman to earn her MD in 1864, to contemporaries like Kimberly Bryant, founder of Black Girls Code, the women included in this book have paved the way for more young women to claim a spot in the STEM profession. Award-winning Tonya Bolden is a both a thorough researcher, using primary and secondary sources. and a skilled storyteller, writing these women biographies in a concise, warm, and easy to read style.

KRLemmons African American Young Adult Literature, Multicultural Nonfiction

Make Me a Match! Ten Love Connections Between YA Novels and Nonfiction Books by Oona Marie Abrams

CBethM's avatarNerdy Book Club

One of many takeaways from #NerdCampNJ was the “love connections” teachers and administrators were making between texts. For example, several teachers and administrators shared that they’re now designing units that include Tom Rinaldi’s The Red Bandanna, Gae Polisner’s The Memory of Things, or Nora Raleigh Baskin’s Nine, Ten. This got me thinking about other “love connections” that might be made between YA novels and nonfiction books. So here goes:

Love Connection #1:

In Case You Missed It by Sarah Darer Littman and American Girls by Nancy Jo Sales

What does privacy truly mean to us? Sammy, the main character in Littman’s novel, is the victim of an internet hack that exposes all of her family’s personal documents to the world. American Girls would make a great pairing with this novel because Sales takes a deeper dive into the cultural and social impact of technology on the adolescent…

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KRLemmons African American Authors, African American Literature, African American Young Adult Literature, Lesson Plans, Multicultural Nonfiction, Resources

March 13 Woman of the Day: Harriet A. Jacobs

Harriet A. Jacobs, born in 1813, was one of the first African American women to publish an autobiography.  Her autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, told how she struggled to avoid the sexual advances of her master.  More information about this courageous woman can be found here:

More resources on Harriet A. Jacobs:

Yale University: http://www.yale.edu/glc/harriet/                                                                              PBS: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2923.html                                                                                                                                                      NPR: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1869987

Middle School lesson plan: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/slavery/teachers/lesson3.html

Teacher’s Guide: http://www.us.penguingroup.com/static/pdf/teachersguides/IncidentsSlaveGirlTG.pdf

Annenberg Learner: http://www.learner.org/amerpass/unit07/authors-7.html