News & Reviews

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

Ulugh Beg's Quest to Map the Stars and Seasons A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Harper Collins pub. 9.30.2025 40 pages Ages 4 - 8 A uthor: M. O. Yuksel    Illustrator: Zelma Firdauzia C haracter: Ulugh Beg O verview : " Ulugh Beg’s curiosity burned as bright as the stars. He yearned to count every star in the sky, every day in a year, and to know why the seasons change. Fueled by his deep faith, Ulugh Beg’s quest for knowledge led to the creation of new schools, the world

The Promise of the Packhorse Librarians A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Union Square Kids pub. 8.12.2025 48 pages Ages 4 - 8 A uthor: Lauren H. Kerstein    Illustrator: Becca Stadtlander C haracters: Kentucky Packhorse Librarians O verview : "Following the Great Depression, literacy rates in the country had dwindled, and education and opportunities were harder to come by, especially in areas like rural Appalachia. But still, there was a dream: a vision of a nation in whi

How Ursula Marvin Mapped Moon Rocks and Meteorites A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP A Paula Wiseman Book (Simon & Schuster) pub. 10.14.2025 64 pages Ages 4 - 8 A uthor: Sandra Neil Wallace    Illustrator: Nancy Carpenter C haracter: Ursula Marvin O verview : " While attending college in the early 1940s, Ursula Marvin fell in love with geology, but when she asked her male professor about making the field her major, he tried to stop her, saying it would be a better use of

Nan Songer and Her Arachnid WWII Army A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Calkins Creek (Astra Books for Young Readers) pub. 5.10.2025 48 pages Ages 4 - 8 A uthor: Penny Parker Klostermann    Illustrator: Anne Lambelet C haracter: Nan Songer O verview : "' Venomous spiders, delicate silk, and science experiments filled Nan Songer’s days and nights—her home in California overflowed with many-legged critters. With inspiration from a friend, Nan began to study how spider silk c

The World's First All-Woman Anti-Poaching Unit A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Millbrook Press (Lerner Publishing) pub. 4.1.2025 40 pages Ages 6 - 10 A uthor and photographer: Kelly Crull C haracters: The Black Mambas O verview : " The Black Mambas, South Africa's first women-led anti-poaching unit, is unlike any other: they carry no weapons. Instead, they keep animals safe with frequent patrols and a keen eye for footprints, snares, and other clues that poachers are nea