This powerful anthology of essays, poems, and songs thrums with purpose as the voices of talented narrators Bahni Turpin, Guy Lockard, January LaVoy, Soneela Nankani, and others combine. The collection is intended to provide children with hope and courage when they’re confronted with injustice, racism, and hate. The narrators’ voices are joyfully diverse, filled with understanding and conviction, and unified by heartfelt emotion. Vibrant music adds a perfect finishing touch, including original music by Curtis Hudson and the classic song, “Get on Board,” sung by the great Paul Robeson. To echo Jacqueline Woodson’s words, this audio is a “blanket of love that each of you is wrapped in,” a tapestry of caring voices and encouraging words for children and families to treasure during tumultuous times. S.A.H. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

★ 08/06/2018
Wade and Cheryl Willis Hudson, founders of Just Us Books, offer this empowering anthology to counter today’s often-unsettling political climate for children of varying ethnicities, faiths, identities, and abilities. The husband-and-wife team present 30 illustrated essays, poems, stories, and letters from more than 50 diverse children’s book creators. Contributions aim to calm, sustain, and inspire children. In “A Talkin’-To,” Jason Reynolds reassures readers that “everything bad and frightening and loud/ will always hide when you hold your head up,/ will always hide when you hold your heart out.” Hena Khan’s essay urges Muslim children to educate others about their heritage, and several authors draw on personal lessons from the civil rights movement. Photographs of children and illustrations in a variety of styles, from collage to realistic pastels, warm the pages with colorful imagery. A lengthy end section about the contributors concludes this hope-engendering treasury that truly is, as its foreword states, “a resource for rescue from any pitfalls of the day.” Ages 8–12. (Sept.)

"A love song from children's literature's brightest stars to America's Indigenous children and children of color, encouraging them to be brave and kind."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Addressing complex topics with sensitivity and candor, this a necessary purchase for all libraries serving children."—School Library Journal, starred review

"Wade and Cheryl Willis Hudson, founders of Just Us Books, offer this empowering anthology to counter today’s often-unsettling political climate for children of varying ethnicities, faiths, identities, and abilities"—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"The attractive and accessible presentation will pull kids in; the wisdom they find inside will keep them engaged—and, it is to be hoped, motivated."—Horn Book, starred review

★ 07/01/2018
Gr 3–7—Within these pages is the collected wisdom from dozens of writers and artists who share poems, advice, artwork, passion, concern, love, and experience with the next generation. In the introduction, the editors describe this book as a treasury for children to read, and reread, when they need a boost, or comfort, or love. Every turn of the page is a new and different experience; the tone of the book moves seamlessly from joyful to somber to curious, and inspired, offering children of many different ages a place to land and learn, and find their own lives reflected back at them. Jacqueline Woodson writes a letter to her children about the importance of being kind; Carole Boston Weatherford explores the universality of the golden rule; Tony Medina describes a young girl's despair as her father is taken by immigration officials. The entries are as varied as they are important, working as independent way stations on a map to broader understanding. Beautiful, haunting, and electrifying artwork from familiar names and relative newcomers in children's literature fill the pages, including illustrations from artists such as Innosanto Nagara, Ekua Holmes, and Eric Velasquez that dance among the essays, poems, and letters. VERDICT This is a book to be quietly contemplated, and shared with an adult, as there is much to be discovered from multiple readings. Addressing complex topics with sensitivity and candor, this a necessary purchase for all libraries serving children.—Jody Kopple, Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA

This powerful anthology of essays, poems, and songs thrums with purpose as the voices of talented narrators Bahni Turpin, Guy Lockard, January LaVoy, Soneela Nankani, and others combine. The collection is intended to provide children with hope and courage when they’re confronted with injustice, racism, and hate. The narrators’ voices are joyfully diverse, filled with understanding and conviction, and unified by heartfelt emotion. Vibrant music adds a perfect finishing touch, including original music by Curtis Hudson and the classic song, “Get on Board,” sung by the great Paul Robeson. To echo Jacqueline Woodson’s words, this audio is a “blanket of love that each of you is wrapped in,” a tapestry of caring voices and encouraging words for children and families to treasure during tumultuous times. S.A.H. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

★ 2018-06-11
An anthology of poetry, essays, short stories and art designed to lift children up, especially children from traditionally marginalized communities, during difficult times.This collection encourages America's children to remember their history, learn from it, and choose to be kind in the face of hatred, racism, and oppression. "Throughout history, kids like you / were right there. / With picket signs and petitions….They changed this world for the better. / And you will too," Kelly Starling Lyons tells readers in her poem "Drumbeat for Change." Featuring contributions from such writers as Jacqueline Woodson, Ellen Oh, and Hena Khan, and an equally august lineup of illustrators, including Rafael López, Vanessa Brantley-Newton, and Javaka Steptoe, every work packs an emotional punch. In his poem "A Thousand Winters," Kwame Alexander wonders "if words, sentences, and books aren't enough, anymore" as he reflects on the state of the world and hard conversations with his daughter. A stunning collage by Ekua Holmes accompanies Alexander's poem; in it, a vivid, violet sky surrounds a sleepy black girl sitting atop her father's shoulders. Every work in this beautiful collection feels personal and is meant to inspire and comfort.A love song from children's literature's brightest stars to America's Indigenous children and children of color, encouraging them to be brave and kind. (contributor biographies, index) (Anthology. 8-18)