Poetry
The crossover : a basketball novel
Kwame Alexander
eBOOK
Black Lives Matter, Read Woke, Sports, Poetry
Fourteen-year-old twin basketball stars Josh and Jordan wrestle with highs and lows on and off the court as their father ignores his declining health.
Brown girl dreaming
Jacqueline Woodson
jBIOGRAPHY Woodson, Jacqueline
Black Lives Matter, Read Woke, Biographies, Poetry, Literary Nonfiction, Memoir
"The author shares her childhood memories and reveals the first sparks that ignited her writing career in free-verse poems about growing up in the North and South"--
Pick this one up, especially now, even if you've read it before. Woodson's story resonates with quiet truth, resiliency, and hope. -Casey
Inside out & back again
Thanhha Lai
eAUDIO
Read Woke, Poetry, Diverse Characters, Historical Fiction
Through a series of poems, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama.
Achingly beautiful poetry combined with a powerful immigration story make this a Middle Grade novel not to miss. Great for reading aloud as a family as well. -Casey
Aimless love : new and selected poems
Billy Collins
Called "the most popular poet in America" by the New York Times and the US Poet Laureate from 2001 to 2003 Billy Collins is a true national treasure. If all that loftiness isn't recommendation enough, honestly I just appreciate Collins' humor. There are no "Ode on a Grecian Urn" or "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" here, but instead delightful diversions of language. These poems are great to read a few over breakfast, when you can't focus while you're attempting to work from home, or just chill at the end of the day. -Frannie
The crown ain't worth much
Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib
811.6 /Willis-Abdurraqib
Poetry, Nonfiction
Added by Melody
They can't kill us until they kill us : essays
Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib
781.66 /Willis-Abdurraqib
Nonfiction, Poetry
"In an age of confusion, fear, and loss, Hanif Abdurraqib's is a voice that matters. Whether he's attending a Bruce Springsteen concert the day after visiting Michael Brown's grave, or discussing public displays of affection at a Carly Rae Jepsen show, he writes with a poignancy and magnetism that resonates profoundly. In essays that have been published by the New York Times, MTV, and Pitchfork, among others--along with original, previously unreleased essays-- Abdurraquib uses music and culture as a lens through which to view our world, so that we might better understand ouselves, and in doing so proves himself a bellwether for out times." --
Added by Melody
Inside out & back again
Thanhha Lai
jFICTION Lai, Thanhha
Kids, Historical Fiction, Poetry
Through a series of poems, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama.
Added by Anne W
The crossover
Kwame Alexander
jFICTION Alexander, Kwame
Kids, Sports, Poetry
Fourteen-year-old twin basketball stars Josh and Jordan wrestle with highs and lows on and off the court as their father ignores his declining health.
Added by Anne W
Poetry that is devastatingly beautiful and fabulous storytelling make this 2014 Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award winner a powerful read. Pick this one up, you'll be glad you did. -Casey