Disclosure: I was sent a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All views shared are mine and mine alone.
Next Monday many people will have Monday, June 20th off to celebrate/honor Juneteenth (which is actually June 19th). This is a new federal holiday that came about last year, and to many just means a day off from work, or no mail. But, what does this new federal holiday mean, especially if you are not black? If you are wondering what Juneteenth is and why it was put in the books as federal holiday last year, it is to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people that was originally read back on June 19, 1865. It was an important historical moment in Galveston, TX, and is finally being recognized and celebrated like it should.
It is only fitting that the folks at Chronicle Kids are putting out a wonderful new picture book right after Juneteenth,to celebrate Black women, and inspire young Black girls to dream big and stand up and be proud. "Black Girl Rising" hits store shelves on June 28th and is definitely a must read this summer for kids of all ages and ethnicities, as we should all celebrate each others differences with pride and grace.
About this book:
"This enduring anthem for Black girls celebrates their power, potential, and brilliance—for themselves and for the world. You are a thousand curls unfurling in your hair. You are a thousand fists"
You are a thousand curls
unfurling in your hair.
You are a thousand fists
standing proudly in air.
You are the song of swallows,
lifting sun as they sing—
breaking light with their beaks,
breaking sky with their wings . . .
Black girlhood is beautiful! In this deeply moving celebration and rallying cry, and in the face of the many messages that still work to convince Black girls that they should shrink themselves, hide their light, know their place, Brynne Barnes and Tatyana Fazlalizadeh reclaim that narrative: A Black girl’s place is everywhere, and her selfhood is everything she can dream it to be.
With poignant, poetic prose and striking, color-drenched illustrations, this empowering picture book centers the inherent worthiness and radiance of Black girls that is still far too often denied. A love letter to and for Black girls everywhere, Black Girl Rising alchemizes the sorrow and strength of the past into the brilliant gold of the future, sweeping young readers of all backgrounds into a lyrical exploration of what it means to be Black, female, and glorious. "
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Everything about Black girls deserves to be seen and celebrated—and this picture book provides a welcome opportunity for readers of all ages to do so! I sat down the other day and shared this book with my girls. Event though they are both tweens and not big into picture books anymore, I felt this was the perfect book to share with them as they too had questions about Juneteenth and wondered why is was a federal holiday now. As we sat down and read this book, I couldn't help but think about my girls as they are part Latina and look more like their father with their tan skin. Similar to the girls depicted in the book we were reading, I knew that they too have and will continue to face discrimination because of the color of their skin, as it isn't white like mine.
As we read through this book, which is set up in poetic prose, we had to linger on each page, taking the in breathtaking illustrations, that really helped bring the message of black girl empowerment to light. And, once we were done reading it, my girls and I had a discussion about the importance of Juneteenth and how we shouldn't judge a person by the color of their skin, and how all these years later, we are still dealing with racism. I am hoping that our children can finally put an end to racism once and one, and accept everyone as equals. Books like this will help them see this, and be the change we need.
You can learn more about this book by visiting https://www.chroniclebooks.com/products/black-girl-rising. Be sure to pick this book us and share with your kids, and then pass it along to family and friends to read. We thoroughly enjoyed this book, and will be reading it time and again, as a reminder to celebrate the diversity in the world we live, and accept everyone and not put them down, just because of the color of their skin. We can do much better, and we need for our kids to be better than we have been, or have been raised. They are the change we need to make this a better world for everyone to live in.
Disclosure: I was sent a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All views shared are mine and mine alone.
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