Welcome to the final Weekend Picks of September! As autumn sets in, you may be looking to stack that TBR list. Look no further for another great YAL recommendation.
 Dan Stockwell | To remind our readers who our contributor is this month, Dr. Dan Stockwell, a former high school English language arts (ELA) teacher, is an assistant professor of English Education at California State University, Bakersfield. Dan serves as a member of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Secondary Section Steering Committee. He has recent publications in NCTE’s English Journal and in the California Association of Teachers of English’s California English journal. His book, Teaching for CHANGE in the ELA Classroom, was published in March of 2025 by Routledge. Dan’s scholarship investigates how secondary ELA teachers can provide critical literacy pedagogy, even in restrictive contexts. |
Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler by Ibi Zoboi
 | This middle-grade constellation of texts, photos, and artifacts is perfect for any fan of Octavia Butler and Ibi Zoboi’s works. In this creative collection, Zoboi shares Octavia Butler’s inspiring biography and elucidates her legacy and genius. Zoboi presents excerpts from interviews with Octavia Butler, shows photographs and artifacts of Butler’s early attempts at writing stories, and includes brief sections that provide the necessary historical background for younger readers to appreciate Butler’s life and legacy. In between these stars, Zoboi adds others, filling in constellations with poetry that creatively expand the reader’s horizons and perspectives. This short book is easy to read, which means it is easy to pick up and read again and again. Young and older readers alike will enjoy being inspired anew by Butler’s determination, genius, and vision. |
| Readers will also fall in love with Zoboi’s moving poetry: In a poem titled, “Octavia’s Books,” Zoboi writes: Her constellations tell the stories of faraway places– Her ideas are as big as the universe– And with a wooden pencil held between her brown fingers she connects the dots to draw herself A hero– |  Ibi Zoboi |
In another titled “Remington,” after the Remington typewriter Butler used, Zoboi writes, “Her spaceship is her / imagination– / a docked rocket ready for takeoff. / She travels far into the future [...]”
The penultimate chapter is titled “Black Future,” and I’m sure this book will inspire many younger readers to envision a better future for themselves, their families, and planet Earth. Perhaps many of this book’s readers will add their stars to the constellation of stories written by Black people who imagine more just and equitable futures. Futures that are desperately needed.
The penultimate chapter is titled “Black Future,” and I’m sure this book will inspire many younger readers to envision a better future for themselves, their families, and planet Earth. Perhaps many of this book’s readers will add their stars to the constellation of stories written by Black people who imagine more just and equitable futures. Futures that are desperately needed.
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