News & Reviews

How Septima Clark Led the Civil Rights Movement to Justice A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Quill Tree Books (Harper Collins) (pub. 1.27.2026) 40 pages Ages 4 - 8 A uthors: Yvonne Clark-Rhines with Monica Clark-Robinson    Illustrator: Abigail Albano-Payton C haracter: Septima Clark O verview : " Septima Clark was born poor, Black, and a girl. Being  one  of those things in 1898 was hard, but all three meant that access to education was going to be a fight. But with stron

Barack Obama's First Presidential Seder A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Crown Books for Young Readers (pub. 3.4.2025) 40 pages Ages 4 - 8 A uthor: Richard Michelson    Illustrator: E.B. Lewis C haracters: President Barack Obama and Seder guests O verview : " In 1800, President John Adams held the first formal Christmas dinner at the newly built White House. In 1878, President Rutherford B. Hayes observed Easter with a public “Egg Roll." But it wasn’t until 2009 that a US

Patrick Kelly Designs His Dreams A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Abrams Books for Young Readers (pub. 1.13.2026) 48 pages Ages 4 - 8 A uthor: Eric Darnell Pritchard    Illustrator: Shannon Wright C haracter: Patrick Kelly O verview : " Patrick Kelly was one of the most influential fashion designers of the twentieth century, but growing up in Vicksburg, Mississippi, he didn’t see many boys who liked to sew. That didn’t stop him from sitting down at his grandma’s table and

The Story of James Boggs and Grace Lee Boggs A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Carolrhoda Books (Lerner) pub. 11.4.2025 40 pages Ages 7 -11 A uthor: Sun Yung Shin & Melina Mangal    Illustrator: Leslie Barlow C haracter: James Boggs and Grace Lee Boggs O verview : " James Boggs was a worker from rural Alabama in the segregated South. Grace Lee Boggs was a philosopher from urban Rhode Island and New York City. Both found their life’s work, and each other, in Detroit. James

How the Apollo Moon Missions Made Alma Thomas's Art Soar A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Millbrook Press (Lerner Publishing) (pub. 11.4.2025) 32 pages Ages 6-10 A uthor and Illustrator: Nina Crews C haracter: Alma Thomas O verview : " In 1969, people around the world watched as the Apollo 10 astronauts sent the first-ever live color television broadcasts from space. Abstract painter Alma Thomas was among those watching, and afterward, she began a series of bright, bold p

A True Story of the Black Woman Battalion of World War II A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Harper (HarperCollins) (pub. 10.7.2025) 40 pages Ages 4 - 8 A uthor: Tonya Abari    Illustrator: Lance Evans C haracters: The Black Woman Battalion of WWII O verview : " In 1944, the United States was facing a unique wartime crisis—too much mail! Millions of letters and packages, stacked from floor to ceiling, sat unsent in cold, dark warehouses, with no one to sort through the bac

Toni Morrison's Life in Stories A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Little, Brown Books for Readers (pub. 1.7.2025) 48 pages Ages 4 - 8 A uthor: Andrea Davis Pinkney    Illustrator: Daniel Minter C haracter: Toni Morrison O verview : " From imaginative child to visionary storyteller, Toni Morrison was a fiercely inspiring writer that helped change the world. This poetic picture book is part love letter and part biography, praising the power of this Nobel Prize winner. With i

The Musical Friendship of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Beach Lane Books (Simon & Schuster) (pub. 10.14.2025) 48 pages Ages 4 - 8 A uthor: Rekha S. Rajan    Illustrator: Ken Daley C haracters: Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong O verview : " Ella Fitzgerald loved to dance. When little Ella heard jazz music, the music notes moved her legs as she twirled around New York City. Way down south, Louis Armstrong loved to sing. When jazz

Barbara Hillary, the First Black Woman to Reach the North and South Poles A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Atheneum Books (Simon & Schuster) pub. 10.21.2025 40 pages Ages 4 - 8 A uthor: Deborah Blumenthal    Illustrator: Anastasia Magloire Williams C haracter: Barbara Hillary O verview : " As a young girl, Barbara Hillary imagined a life of adventure. Despite facing hardships in her childhood and illness as an adult, she never gave up on her dream: to travel the world and

André Leon Talley― A Fabulously Fashionable Fairy Tale A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Henry Holt (MacKids) pub. 11.11.2025 56 pages Ages 4 - 8 A uthors: Carole Boston Weatherford and Rob Sanders    Illustrator: Lamont O'Neal C haracter: André Leon Talley O verview : " Growing up in the Jim Crow South wasn't easy for young André. He escaped into the glimmering worlds he discovered inside magazines like Ebony and Vogue . He fell in love with all things French, and honed