Recognize!

Starred review from September 27, 2021
The married cofounders of Just Us Books join forces to edit another stunning anthology, featuring 22 Black authors and eight artists exploring Black identity, the Black Lives Matter movement, the long history and legacy of standing up for Black lives, and more, in poems, short stories, essays, and comics. In “The Storms and Sunshine of My Life,” author Lamar Giles writes, “I know I’m lucky because not all of us get to go on, unscathed, to life’s joys.” Poems by Lesa Cline-Ransome, Nikki Grimes, Denene Millner, and others offer declarations and affirmations. Interwoven, full-page quotes and excerpts from Black forebearers such as Frances Ellen Watkins Harper and Frederick Douglass provide historical context and emphasize the timelessness of some issues, while eight full-color inserts feature lush, multilayered art by illustrators including Vanessa Brantley-Newton and Ekua Holmes. An empowering, powerful compendium that asserts how “Black lives matter./ Black lives have always mattered.” Front matter features a foreword by the editors; back matter includes artist notes, sources, biographies, and more about the BLM movement. Ages 10–up.

Starred review from October 1, 2021

Gr 6 Up-The Hudsons have compiled a powerful collection of essays, poems, short stories, comics, and more around the central theme of "Black Lives Matter." With selections from a stellar roster of 30 children's books creators, including Nikki Grimes, Kwame Mbalia, and Sharon Draper, this volume is full to the brim with Black excellence. Excerpts, quotes, and speeches from historical figures, such as Frederick Douglass, James Baldwin, and Mary McLeod Bethune, are also interspersed throughout. The stunning eight-page insert features illustrations and paintings by the late Floyd Cooper, Ekua Holmes, Eric Velasquez, and more. These artists present striking and breathtaking images in a range of media, including oil paintings and collage. Though the stirring entries address a diverse array of topics, such as gender, police violence, and Black joy, they all come back to the central theme. The poetry is especially strong. Mahogany L. Browne's "Your Breath Is a Song," honors the Black ancestors who made sacrifices for today's community: "Wherever you are/ Someone fought for you to stay/ Whoever you are/ Someone fought for you to be." Lesa-Cline Ransome's "At Our Kitchen Table" is an exhortation to action: "At our kitchen table/ we gather to/ shed tears/ offer prayers/ send money/ write letters/ draw posters/ make plans/ until we too/ rise up/ as a family and/ step out/ to walk/ to shout/ in protest." VERDICT Equal parts inspirational and gut-wrenching, this collection has a range of audiences and purposes. It can be used in class discussions, for pleasure reading, or as rallying cry for change.-Shelley M. Diaz, School Library Journal

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2022
The Hudsons' latest anthology (We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices, rev. 11/18; The Talk, rev. 9/20) boasts more than thirty contributions from historical and contemporary authors and artists. Short stories, essays, poetry, and art pay homage to the current movement for Black lives. Young people will encounter familiar contemporary authors but will also be introduced to leaders such as Frederick Douglass, through his electrifying 1852 speech "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?"; and Mary McLeod Bethune, from her moving "Last Will and Testament." Poetry is prominently featured: Lesa Cline-Ransome's "At Our Kitchen Table" celebrates the bonds of family while addressing the challenges of being Black during a time of global pandemic and racial unrest; abolitionist Frances Ellen Watkins Harper's "A Slave Mother" highlights a not-so-distant past when freedom was only a whispered prayer. Stunning works of art by acclaimed Black illustrators are featured, including Keith Knight, James Ransome, Ekua Holmes, and the late Floyd Cooper. Appended with artist and author notes; brief biographies of the historical figures; contributor notes; and more information about the Black Lives Matter movement. Monique Harris

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from October 15, 2021
Grades 4-7 *Starred Review* The husband-wife cofounders of Just Us Books are also curators of this uplifting anthology of Black life in America. Its title doesn't just express that Black lives matter but, rather, reaffirms that "Black lives have always mattered." Through essays, short fiction, poetry, interviews, comics, and artwork, notable Black children's authors and illustrators share their personal experiences regarding recent events and systemic racism. In his essay, Robert H. Miller recalls never seeing African American heroes in the westerns he consumed as a boy. Meanwhile, Don Tate admits in his cartoon to feeling helpless during the COVID-19 pandemic after learning about the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other innocent Black individuals. But these moments of pain only tell part of the story. Miller explains that he wrote his Reflections of a Black Cowboy book series to introduce children to African Americans of the Old West, and Tate finds his own way to protest. Countering the struggles of being Black are contributions that recognize endurance, pride, and joy, like the collage illustration by Vanessa Brantley-Newton, featuring a Black girl embracing a book and library card. Interspersed are profiles of historic Black changemakers, such as Mary McLeod Bethune and the Little Rock Nine. A note about the Black Lives Matter movement concludes this poignant, passionate, and purposeful collection of Black voices for young readers.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from July 15, 2021
A multifaceted, sometimes disheartening, yet consistently enriching primer on the unyielding necessity of those three words: Black Lives Matter. Husband-wife duo Wade and Cheryl Willis Hudson curate and contribute to this collection of varied perspectives on the mattering of Black lives and how the fact of the infamous three-word call to action has been most put into question by America's long White supremacist history, traumatic present, and potential future. Award-winning poets such as Carole Boston Weatherford and Nikki Grimes, children's-book authors including Kelly Starling Lyons and Ibi Zoboi, visual artists like Keith Knight and Don Tate, and historic Black American figures like Frederick Douglass and Daisy Bates provide potent responses to incidents of anti-Black violence, mis- or underrepresentation of Black identities, and personal challenges in parenting or just existing while Black. They also reflect on the movement for Black lives that activists have codified recently with #BLM but nonetheless has an extensive, hard-fought history. When, for example, kid journalist Adedayo Perkovich recounts her learning about Seneca Village, the community of mostly Black Americans that were displaced to make way for New York's Central Park, the threads that link the 19th-century village, a coastal Ghanaian site of centuries of enslavement and commerce of Black bodies, and the contemporary reminders that Black Lives Matter are poignantly presented for readers of all ages. Both brilliant and bristling in its purpose. (artists' notes, contributor biographies, editors' note) (Anthology. 10-18)

COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2022
The Hudsons' latest anthology (We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices, rev. 11/18; The Talk, rev. 9/20) boasts more than thirty contributions from historical and contemporary authors and artists. Short stories, essays, poetry, and art pay homage to the current movement for Black lives. Young people will encounter familiar contemporary authors but will also be introduced to leaders such as Frederick Douglass, through his electrifying 1852 speech "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?"; and Mary McLeod Bethune, from her moving "Last Will and Testament." Poetry is prominently featured: Lesa Cline-Ransome's "At Our Kitchen Table" celebrates the bonds of family while addressing the challenges of being Black during a time of global pandemic and racial unrest; abolitionist Frances Ellen Watkins Harper's "A Slave Mother" highlights a not-so-distant past when freedom was only a whispered prayer. Stunning works of art by acclaimed Black illustrators are featured, including Keith Knight, James Ransome, Ekua Holmes, and the late Floyd Cooper. Appended with artist and author notes; brief biographies of the historical figures; contributor notes; and more information about the Black Lives Matter movement.

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)