Wednesday, May 10, 2023

A Library by Nikki Giovanni - ESSENTIAL

A Library
by Nikki Giovanni.
PICTURE BOOK Harper Collins. 2022. $20 9780358387657 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ESSENTIAL

 AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

An African-American girl in the south, in the time of segregation, helps her grandmother with daily chores and then runs to the library near her home to return her books. While visiting the library, the girl is in a space to feel free, to be a cook or a crook, unhappy or cautious or contained. The library is a place to be for this girl, a place to experience, dream and read. She leaves the library and head back home to finish the chores and enjoy time to read and be.

A Library is a beautiful depiction of what a library is to the character. The illustrations are colorful and simple, but show how valuable and wonderful a library is for many individuals. Illustrations depict a time when girls had to wear dresses, socks and nice shoes. It is noted that the only characters in the library are African American. The Author’s Note at the end tells of her first experiences in the library with South during segregation. The Author notes that she was encouraged by the librarian to search the card catalog and Giovanni often requested books that were not in the Carnegie Branch library, which was the colored library near her grandmother’s home in Tennessee. A enlightening book for K-3 graders.

Deanna M. - Elementary Media Tech

No comments:

Post a Comment

Welcome to Kiss the Book Jr.!

Welcome! Kiss the Book Jr. is for board books, picture books, early readers, and chapter books.  Also, any novels and non-fiction that we ag...