My People by Langston Hughes & Photographer Charles R. Smith Jr.

This particular book won the 2010 Coretta Scott King Award for illustrator. The illustrator was Charles R. Smith Jr. and he chose to take sepia tone photographs of African Americans of all ages and put the poem “My People” by Langston Hughes with the pictures. Even though this was a very short poem, when you combine it with the pictures it is very moving. It is suppose to be a tribute to the African American race. My favorite feature was the fact that the photographs were done in the sepia tone. This made them more powerful. You could really see the detail yet still tell that they were African American. I will be honest because of this, though I found it moving I probably didn’t get as much out of it as I would have had I been an African American myself. Yet another book, that would be good to use in the introduction to poetry or during African American heritage month in February.

Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable LIves of Bass Reeves by Vaunda Micheaux

This was the 2010 Coretta Scot King Award winner for author and another remarkable book about an African American, that I’ve never heard of. Bass Reeves was a former slave, who escaped to freedom and went onto become a U.S. Marshall in the territories. He was known as a force to be reckoned with someone who always got his man. In his three decades as a lawman, he made more than 3,000 arrests and only killed 14 people. Even though it was a biography, since it was combined with such wonderful illustrations. It actually read more like a story picture book that provided you with interesting information. The other neat feature was that at the end it provides you with a timeline, additional information and resources for further study. This would be a good book to use during African American history month.

The Hunt for the Seventh by Christine Morton- Shaw

Jim and his family move into a haunted mansion, after his father becomes the head gardener. There is a stone garden and stone statues located throughout the grounds. The spirits are children who keep telling Jim to “Find the Seventh” No one believes him, the owners autistic son Einstein. Jim has to figure out the clues that the ghost children are leaving for him and solve the prophecy before it’s too late. However, things aren’t always as they appear. This book reminded me a lot of the movie “The Sixth Sense” as far as not seeing what is coming until the end. Throughout the whole book Shaw did wonderful job of tying all of the clues together, without being predictable at all. Also, the aspect of Jim’s family dynamics and how everyone is coping with their mothers’ sudden death adds another dimension to the story. This was a book that I couldn’t put down and kept me guessing till the end, a definite recommendation to reluctant readers.

Jake Ransom and the Skull Kings Shadow by James Rollins

Jake Ransom’s parents were famous archeologists who disappeared a couple of years ago. One day Jake gets a weird package and the next thing you know Jake and his older sister Kady are transported into the strange world of Calypsos, located thousands of years in the past. Jake realizes that in addition to having to watch out for the Skull King, who is trying to take Calypsos over, that this world could lead them to the answers of why their parents disappeared. This is the first book in this series and it reminded me of a cross between the Percy Jackson series and the movie “National Treasure”. It is definitely action packed and full of adventure. I thought it was a little on the predictable side, but for younger reluctant readers, especially boys I think this would be a good suggestion and one that would keep their attention.

My Abuelita by Tony Johnston

A little boy lives with his grandmother and describes the routine they follow before she goes to work every morning, including bathing, singing, dressing, eating breakfast and getting dressed. The biggest strength of the book is the illustrations. They appear to be alive. The characters look like puppets without strings and because of the depth and color combinations it looks like you can actually see into the picture, in a 3- dimensional manner. In addition, it has Spanish words sprinkled throughout with the meaning being written within the text, so they are easy to understand and no meaning is lost. This would be a good book to read aloud to kids because it has a lot of voice ad lends itself to lively reading.

Punkzilla by Adam Rapp

Jamie is fourteen- years old and has gone AWOL from military school. His goal is to travel across country and get to his oldest brother “P” before he dies of cancer. On his trip, which takes many days he encounters all types of intriguing people and experiences many weird things. He writes all of his thoughts and experiences down in a notebook. Each entry is written as a letter addressed to family and friends that he will never send. This was a very honest, gritty book. Between Jamie’s encounters with a transsexual, getting jumped in a bathroom and getting touched by an old man and that’s just the tip of the iceberg, you’re not sure what will happen next. In addition to the situations that Jamie gets himself into, his dialogue and thoughts are very authentic. The most unique thing about this book was that it’s hard to know what race Jamie is. In the beginning based on his manner of speech and his nickname “Punkzilla” I thought he was black. Eventually you realize that things aren’t always what they seem. My only issue with the book was the ending. I thought it ended way too abruptly and left a lot of questions unanswered. However, it did leave room for a sequel.

The Season by Sarah MacLean

Seventeen- year old Lady Alexandra was raised in a house full of brothers, so the last thing she cares about is behaving like a proper aristocratic lady and getting married. Alex and her two best friends Ella and Vivi, get into all types of trouble and in the process Alex even finds love. Of all the books that I’ve read recently, this was by far one my favorites. It had a little of everything that makes the recipe for a good story, things such as romance, murder, adventure, espionage, etc. Plus Alex and her two friends were extremely relatable because of their way of thinking and frank conversations you really get to see what is going on in the girls’ heads. This book is definitely more geared towards young women who like mystery, romance and characters they can relate too.