Are you looking for something to read?
Pick one of these great books!
Are your students looking for book recommendations?
Send them to browse through the picks for this or those from other years listed below.
For the picks from 2021 click here
For the picks from 2020 click here.
For older picks click from 2019 click here.
For the even older picks click here.
Pick one of these great books!
Are your students looking for book recommendations?
Send them to browse through the picks for this or those from other years listed below.
For the picks from 2021 click here
For the picks from 2020 click here.
For older picks click from 2019 click here.
For the even older picks click here.
This Weekend Pick is presented by Nikki Bylina-Streets, an elementary school librarian, who loves reading and spreads this love around her school and community. Nikki is one of the curators of this page and will be sharing her favorite books with us in February.
Weekend Pick for February 4, 2022
5 Reasons I Love this Book:
Love is a Revolution by Renee Watson (2021)
1. Honestly look at this cover! This character (Nala) is gorgeous! Those braids, the hoops, her outfit. Thank you, Renee, for writing about a plus size character where her size is NOT the main storyline.
“I don’t mind you telling me I’m beautiful. Just tell me because you see it, not because you think I don’t know” (p. 173).
2. I devoured this book in four hours! (and I am not a fast reader) I loved the lists that Ms. Watson used throughout the story. It makes the book an ideal weekend read.
“Top 3 Foods I Can’t Live Without: 1. Meat 2. Ice Cream 3. Cheese” (pp. 30-31). Same girl, same.
3. This book has a roll call of amazing African Americans and references to Black History: 1619, CJ Walker, Annie Lee, Countee Cullen, Frederick Douglas, Malcolm X, Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, Chiamanda Ngozi Adichie, Shirley Chisholm, Fannie Lou Hamer, Michelle Obama, Audre Lorde, Paul Robeson, Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, Alvin Ailey, Bryan Stevenson and many more. Nala (main character) says at the beginning of this novel that she likes to binge watch Netflix shows, but will every now and then watch a docu-series to be educated and that is exactly what this book does. It leaves these breadcrumbs for the reader to do some additional research so in Nala’s words “your brains will be learning something” (p. 2).
4. IMO Rene Watson should receive a Grammy! Yes, you read that right. It’s become popular for authors to include playlists that support their writings. Renee not only created a playlist for this novel, but she created the artist (Blue) and wrote the lyrics to those songs. WHAT?! Please someone set these beautiful lyrics to music!
Love is a Revolution by Renee Watson (2021)
1. Honestly look at this cover! This character (Nala) is gorgeous! Those braids, the hoops, her outfit. Thank you, Renee, for writing about a plus size character where her size is NOT the main storyline.
“I don’t mind you telling me I’m beautiful. Just tell me because you see it, not because you think I don’t know” (p. 173).
2. I devoured this book in four hours! (and I am not a fast reader) I loved the lists that Ms. Watson used throughout the story. It makes the book an ideal weekend read.
“Top 3 Foods I Can’t Live Without: 1. Meat 2. Ice Cream 3. Cheese” (pp. 30-31). Same girl, same.
3. This book has a roll call of amazing African Americans and references to Black History: 1619, CJ Walker, Annie Lee, Countee Cullen, Frederick Douglas, Malcolm X, Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, Chiamanda Ngozi Adichie, Shirley Chisholm, Fannie Lou Hamer, Michelle Obama, Audre Lorde, Paul Robeson, Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, Alvin Ailey, Bryan Stevenson and many more. Nala (main character) says at the beginning of this novel that she likes to binge watch Netflix shows, but will every now and then watch a docu-series to be educated and that is exactly what this book does. It leaves these breadcrumbs for the reader to do some additional research so in Nala’s words “your brains will be learning something” (p. 2).
4. IMO Rene Watson should receive a Grammy! Yes, you read that right. It’s become popular for authors to include playlists that support their writings. Renee not only created a playlist for this novel, but she created the artist (Blue) and wrote the lyrics to those songs. WHAT?! Please someone set these beautiful lyrics to music!
Everywhere, anywhere
Being free, do’in me.
Wearin’ what I want to wear.
Big body on display. This skin I’m in, so free, so me.
Hips hypnotizing, hips mesmerizing.
All this me walking down the street. (pp. 42-43)
Being free, do’in me.
Wearin’ what I want to wear.
Big body on display. This skin I’m in, so free, so me.
Hips hypnotizing, hips mesmerizing.
All this me walking down the street. (pp. 42-43)
5. OK, you read in my bio that I am an elementary school librarian by profession, so I love that Renee is an author my students can grow into. They can read her picture books in elementary school such as Born on the Water, they can read her middle grade novels (Ryan Hart series and Piecing Me Together) and then all of her amazing YA novels including this one!
Happy Reading!
-Nikki 💗
Happy Reading!
-Nikki 💗
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