Middle Grade Monday: Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood edited by Kwame Mbalia

Happy Monday! I hope you enjoyed the cold, yet sparkling weekend. Everything was coated in ice on Saturday, so I didn't get my miles in. My driveway was pretty slick, so the dogs and I stayed close to home. My bird feeders were very busy all weekend with all manner of wintering birds-cardinals, bluejays, juncos, chickadees, house finches, sparrows, grackles, starlings and the occasional red-bellied woodpecker. I get a great deal of joy watching them visit. Oh, and Saturday marked six months since my husband's death. I had been anticipating it all week, but between the ice and tackling more closets, I actually forgot until son #3 called to see how I was.

Image: Penguin Random House 

Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood edited by Kwame Mbalia. 320 p. Delacorte Press/ Random House Children's Books, August, 2021. 9780593379936. (Review of finished purchased copy.) 

Middle Grade Monday features Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood edited by Kwame Mbalia.Seventeen Black male authors, including the editor contributed to this luminous story collection. Some are well-known, such as Mr. Mbalia (Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky), Jason Reynolds and Jerry Craft. Others are new-to-me. Each story was unique and entertaining. The subjects run the gamut from the first day of school to saving the universe to coming out to family to debating the best superhero.

The nice thing about reading a story collection is the variety and the fact that if a story doesn't have appeal, you can skip it. Or not. They are short enough and you never know; you might end up enjoying it. I read every one and, while I have some favorites, each one was unique. The cover illustration by the incomparable Kadir Nelson makes me smile every time I see it.

Black Boy Joy was a Washington Post Best Book of 2021, a Boston Globe Best Book, a New York Public Library Best Book, a Chicago Public Library Best Book, an Amazon Best Book and all the review journals put it on their Best Book lists. Well-deserved. This book belongs in all collections. 

Picture Book Review: Jabari Tries by Gaia Cornwall

Image: Candlewick Press

Jabari Tries by Gaia Cornwall. unpgd. Candlewick Press, September, 2020. 9781536207163. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

Hooray! Jabari is back! This time, he has decided to invent a flying machine! He insists that he needs no help as he gathers his parts and sets up ramps and other doohickeys to launch his machine. When the launch fails, Jabari is undaunted. He even does a little book research before trying again. And again. And again. Each time, his little sister, Nike offers to help. Jabari becomes increasing frustrated as his increasingly elaborate plans go awry. 

Jabari has a loving and supportive family and though he has lost his patience, he trusts his father to point him in the right direction. This relatable and lovely windows/ mirror story belongs in every library collection. Fans of Jabari Jumps will relish seeing him again. New fans may seek out the first. I hope to see more of Jabari and his joyous family.