Staff Picks Format: Book

Coffee Will Make You Black [Book]

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April Sinclair’s young adult novel tells the story of Stevie, a young black girl, living in Chicago in the late 60s/early 70s. Stevie has to deal with other people’s ignorance about race and sexuality as she comes into her own identity. Her mother wants her to use bleaching cremes to lighten her skin, but she’s becoming involved in the Afro-American Club at school and she begins to wear her hair natural. Stevie’s Grandma and her mama are strong influences on Stevie and she finds comfort with her Grandma and is often frustrated by her mama. This is a great book for adults, young adults, and teens.

Finding the Green Stone [Book]

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No Laughter Here by Rita Williams-Garcia [Book]

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This novel explores the intimate friendship between friends Akilah and Victoria. Victoria suffers a tragedy that changes her life and her relationship with Akilah. This is an honest and accessible book that explores real-life problems.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak [Book]

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Liesel Meminger lives with her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann, in Munich, Germany. It’s 1939 and Liesel and her family are living under Nazi rule. Despite tremendous risk the Hubermanns house a Jewish man, Max. After Liesel endures her first tragedy books become a way of life for her. Zusak writes beautifully with hints of surrealism that make this story quite extraordinary.

“Together, they would watch everything that was so carefully planned collapse, and they would smile at the beauty of destruction.”

Don’t Explain: A Song of Billie Holiday [Book]

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This book is written as a prose poem that the tells the story of American jazz singer, Billie Holiday’s life. De Veaux writes,

“It was 1935.

American was in between wars.

Harlem was between jobs and riots.

Billie was between 20 and stardom.”

Beautiful Oops! [Book]

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This book demonstrates the many ways that torn, crinkled, and smudged bits of paper can be transformed into various shapes and images.

Sophie’s Masterpiece [Book]

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Sophie is a very artistic spider who is finally able to create her pièce de résistance as she reaches old age.

Chuck Close: Face Book [Book]

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Chuck Close created this beautiful autobiography complete with pages of mix and match self-portraits and a glossary of art terms. Close realized his love of art when he was very young. As a result of severe dyslexia, Close was labeled “dumb” and he also had a neuromuscular condition which prevented him from being physically active. The talented Close admits dedication to art saved his life. In this book Close talks about his process for creating his massive paintings and prints. To young artists Close says, “ease is the enemy of the artist. Go ahead and get yourself into trouble”

Miss Rumphius [Book]

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As a child Great-aunt Alice Rumphius resolved that when she grew up she would go to faraway places, live by the sea in her old age, and do something to make the world more beautiful–and she does all those things, the last being the most difficult of all.

A Story for Bear by Dennis Haseley [Book]

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A young bear who is fascinated by the mysterious marks he sees on paper finds a friend when a kind woman reads to him.

The Sneetches: and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss [Book]

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The Star-Bellied Sneetches have bellies with Stars, but the Plain-Bellied Sneetches have none upon thars! Rivalries rocket when Sylvester McMonkey McBean steps in to prey on their prejudices, but in the end we realize that prejudice is nothing more than a ridiculous waste of time.

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner [Book]

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The original Boxcar Children tells the story of the four Alden children: Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny, who are orphans. One night, they take shelter in a bakery after buying some bread with the little cash they have. In exchange for allowing them to spend the night, they agree to help around the bakery. However, when they overhear the baker’s plans to keep the older three siblings but to take Benny to an orphanage because he is too young, they flee.