BEFORE THE EVER AFTER by Jacqueline Woodson and ANTIRACIST BABY by Ibram X Kendi

We were unanimous in our love of our novel, Before the Ever After told in short verse pieces by Jacqueline Woodson. We loved the voice of ZJ, a 12-year-old youngster whose dad, Zachariah 44, a famous professional football player, is deteriorating before his very eyes -- probably due to the many concussions he has experienced throughout his career...now known as CTE. We learned from the author's end note that in 2000,when this story takes place, little was known about this condition...fortunately, now that has changed. Everything about ZJ and his descriptions of his life felt real: his relationships with his mom and dad, the importance of music between ZJ & his dad, the love and friendship provided by "his boys" -- four guys who each brought specific skills and behaviors and support and fun and joy to him, his questioning and distrust of doctors, and his awareness of how things were changing almost from moment to moment and the feelings all of this created in his mind and heart. A couple of readers felt that it was "individual pieces," -- i.e.,1 or 2-page poems that could stand alone, and not really a story; but others felt that wasn't really an issue. We felt there was a strong connection between the situations ZJ described and the issues he was attempting to handle. We felt it would be very accessible to young readers, both because of the format, and the real voice of ZJ. One reader said it was, "breathtakingly beautifully written," and we all agreed. 

Our picture book for our February meeting was Antiracist Baby by Ibram X Kendi. Our first remark was "this is a book for adults, not young children."  We felt it was didactic; the language -- especially for an obvious read-aloud -- used vocabulary way beyond what even a brilliant young child might know; it wasn't a very smooth read. We couldn't imagine a young child being very engaged by listening to this non-story. Some of us liked the illustrations better than others, and there were a few illustrations that we felt might be useful in iliciting responses and beginning discussions with children. We also felt that many of the suggestions in the 'back matter' could also be helpful. We agreed that a well-told story that would hit kids emotionally could do far more in creating positive attitudes about people who are in some way different. We were happy that authors are taking on this very important issue of helping children to become antiracist, but we all agreed that this book is not the one to accomplish it. We also agreed that people who "really need" this type of book are probably not going to ever pick it up.

THE POET X by Elizabeth Alcevedo and CROWN: AN ODE TO THE FRESH CUT by Derrick Barnes and Gordon C. James

We were a small but mighty group at our last meeting. We discussed our novel, The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo first. We all loved the voice, the descriptions, the spirit, and the introspection of teen-aged Afro-Latina Harlem high school student Xiomara, as she tries to understand the various facets of her complicated life: her changing body (becoming quite voluptuous,) an ultra-religious mother who doesn't approve of most of what she does, a father who is physically there but emotionally absent, a new relationship with fellow student Aman, and, above all -- wanting/needing her voice to be heard. We loved the development of the story as Xiomara's poetry begins to help her deal with her life, thanks in part to her twin brother, Xavier (whom she refers to as "Twin"), and her best friend, Cari, plus an understanding teacher. We felt that this novel in verse would be totally accessible to young readers because of its subject matter and ease of reading. Our only two criticisms were: 1) we were dying to know which poem she presented when she finally agreed to participate in a Poetry Slam; and 2) we felt the ending events came too suddenly, without proper development. We watched a YouTube clip of the author reciting her poem "Hair" and were thrilled by its power as she presented her emotional delivery.

Acevedo's poem was a perfect segue to our picture book Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes & Gordon C. James, which is also about hair. We loved this book about a young boy's feelings and descriptions as he goes to the barbershop for a particular haircut, and the way it makes him feel like a proud young black person when he comes out. We learned that the mission of this book's publisher is to present stories that enhance pride and positive self-image in African American children and young people, and it certainly succeeded with this book. But even though some readers didn't feel they were 'the audience' for this book, others of us felt it would be very helpful for children of other cultures to read it also, to provide them with a window into the black community and some of its thoughts and values and institutions...like the importance of the barbershop. We all thought the illustrations were gorgeous -- beautiful paintings that, although not completely 'photographic,' were still realistic and artistically constructed. We were glad we had read both books.