Marley Dias gets it done: and so can you! by Marley Dias. 200 p. Scholastic Press/ Scholastic Inc., January, 2018. 9781338136890. (Review of finished pbb courtesy of publisher.)
When Marley Dias was eleven, she lamented to her mother about the fact that all her class novel assignments were about white boys and their dogs or about dogs. She wondered where the girl main characters were, especially girls of color. Her mother challenged her to find them and helped her launch #1000blackgirlbooks. The hashtag went viral and gained the attention of other media, such as Ellen, who donated to the cause. Marley has raised money and collected over a thousand books featuring black girls. Her platform is the importance of seeing oneself reflected in the literature we read.
She recounts her story here, but says the purpose of the book is not all about her. She offers advice to teens who may have an interest in activism. They can find advice on starting their own grassroots movement here in easy to follow steps including staying on message, safety and relying on trusted adults.
Her voice is an infectious combination of poised and sassy. She's a straight-A student who loves her fashion. The slim volume is loaded with pictures of Marley sporting a variety of outfits, hairstyles and specs as well as photo ops with celebrities at a variety of speaking engagements. Brilliant colors border most pages and some pages feature a colored background with white font. While this will be appealing to young eyes, these old ones had trouble reading white font on bright yellow. Backmatter includes a list of 500 of her 1000 titles curiously listed by author's first name.
This is a timely, engaging, important addition to any library serving children and young adults.
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