Rodney’s Bookstore: Books are just the beginning

I visited Rodney’s Bookstore, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, last week. Went with a good friend of mine, Aja Jackson, founder of MindUTeach. Whenever I venture to Rodney’s, I never leave empty-handed. They specialize in used books, and their prices are very reasonable. Here’s what I picked up:

Bed Crumbs: Sweet Dreams and Nightmares by John Kruth. Jackalope Press. 1986.

So Bed Crumbs: Sweet Dreams and Nightmares, by John Kruth, is chalk full of witty and wonderful poems. I saw this book sitting by the register. I opened it up and turned to this poem, that sold me on the purchase:

“Lucifer’s Puberty

I’m not sure why

I’m beginning to sprout horns

and unknown alphabets

appear from my pen

~~~

Mama used to call me

her “little angel”

now I put tabasco

on everything”

– Kruth pg. 9

Bed Crumbs by John Kruth

Published by Jackalope Press 1986

I recommend this book for: 7th grade and up.

Retail Paperback: $6.00 Rodney’s: $2.82

Juneteenth Jamboree by Carole Boston Weatherford. Illustrated by Yvonne Buchanan. Lee & Low Books, Inc. 1995

Personally, I’ve never seen a picture book about the United States’ holiday, Juneteenth. The fact that the book is published by one of my most favorite and trusted publishers, Lee & Low, made it an immediate purchase even more so. Out of all the captivating illustrations that artist, Yvonne Buchanan gives us, the illustration below stood out to me the most. Look how fun the kitchen can be! This book should be a staple in all elementary classrooms, in the United States.

“Cassandra raced into the kitchen, then stopped in her tracks. Dishes lined the countertop. From the looks of the place, her parents had big plans.” – Weatherford. ~ Illustration by Yvonne Buchanan in Juneteenth Jamboree

Juneteenth Jamboree by Carole Boston Weatherford. Illustrated by Yvonne Buchanan.

Lee & Low Books, Inc. 1995.

I recommend this for: All ages.

Retail Paperback: $7.95. Rodney’s: $2.82

Brown Angels: An Album of Pictures and Verse by Walter Dean Myers. Harper Collins 1993.

Brown Angels: An Album of Pictures and Verse, by Walter Dean Myers, stole my heart. This collection, of pictures and verse, is a celebration of youth, in times past, in African-American communities. It highlights the joys and beauties, reminding us that not everything was a hardship, in the black communities of the United States. This book scaffolds a sense of thriving and fulfillment; and can contribute to young children’s sense of resiliency. If I still had a Kindergarten classroom, I would keep this book in the Dramatic Play/Housekeeping center. I keep books in all my centers. Here are some excerpts from the book:

Excerpt from Brown Angels by Walter Dean Myers

Excerpt from Brown Angels by Walter Dean Myers

Brown Angels: An Album of Pictures and Verse by Walter Dean Myers

HarperCollins. 1993.

I recommend this book for: All ages.

Retail Hardcover: ? Rodney’s: $6.00 

Ashley Bryan: Words to my Life’s Song – an autobiography. Photographs by Bill McGuinness. Illustrations by Ashley Bryan. Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing 2009.

This book can be used in any age classroom. It is dynamic. I picture high school art classes critiquing Bryan’s many medium’s used in his art. I picture elementary school classrooms engaged in it’s storyline and vibrant images, learning to appreciate art & history. Ashley Bryan is a celebrated artist and picture book illustrator, a three-time Coretta Scott King award winner. He was raised in the Bronx, New York. His parents were from Antigua, British West Indies.

Excerpt from Ashley Bryan: Words to my Life’s Song

Excerpt from Ashley Bryan: Words to my Life’s Song. Illustration of Langston Hughes by Ashley Bryan

“I set the sea-glass pieces on tinfoil and connected the pieces with pulp. When the maché dried, I peeled the tinfoil away and the maché held the pieces together. When held to the light, the pieces glowed like stained glass.” – Ashley Bryan.

“During the Depression, children often made their own toys. They made soap-box wagons with old carriage wheels, scooters with boards and skates. And so did I.”

“The Ashanti tribe have a saying they use to end their AFrican tales, which is just right for me to close mine with: This is my story. Whether it be bitter or whether it be sweet, take some of it elsewhere and let the rest come back to me.”- Ashley Bryan

Ashley Bryan: Words to my Life’s Song. An autobiography.

Photographs by Bill McGuinness. Illustrations by Ashley Bryan.

Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. 2009.

I recommend this for: All ages.

Retail Hardcover: $18.99. Rodney’s: $6.00

If you use any of the above mentioned books in your classroom, or with your children, please comment below.

Thanks for reading,

The Picture Book Pusher.

‘Tis the Season with Lucille Clifton and Patricia Polacco

Recommended holiday reads:

1. Everett Anderon’s Christmas Coming by Lucille Clifton. Illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist. Published by Henry Holt and Co. 1993. An owlet book. We read this book in the classroom, this past Friday before vacation.

Now, this book is out of print, and selling for a small fortune on the Amazon market. I bought it for about $3.00, including shipping, this summer….because I KNEW the price would sky rocket, because that’s what’s been happening of late with invaluable picture books..(that’s what I’ve been trying to tell ya’ll). Anyways, if you nag the sellers on Amazon, the price should drop.

For example, back in February of 2012, I bought bell hooks’ out of print picture book, Skin Again, for $6.00 off of Amazon.Then, this past summer, I had a house flood, and the precious book was nearly destroyed. When I searched Amazon, and elsewhere online, for a replacement, the prices ranged from $65.00-$900. Hmmph. The sums of those hefty prices were not being pocketed by Ms. hooks, I can assure you that. Just another case of literature gentrification. I see it often in the #kidlit world. Anyhoo, I nagged every single dealer of Skin Again on Amazon, and stated that I wouldn’t pay more than $19.00 for it. All dealers refused to lower the price claiming they go by rankings blah dee blah. I began following the sales of it online. I also removed my praising blog posts of bell hooks’ picture books, in order to depopularize the book, as I had been the only blogger of hooks’ works for children, in the last year. The price finally dropped to the teens in November, and I bought a used copy for $18.00, from one of the sellers who originally listed it for $65.00.

So, I don’t recommend paying outlandish prices for necessary children’s literature. If the money was going into the hands of people in the community, then fine. I’d pay the small fortune. But it’s not, so I won’t. I just wait for sales to go down. GIVE US BACK OUR LITERATURE, I say.

I prefer the vintage illustrations, by Evaline Ness, in the original 1971 publication of Clifton’s Everett Anderson’s Christmas Coming.  Take an inside look below:

2. Three Wishes by Lucille Clifton. Illustrations by Michael Hays, Delacorte, 1992. It’s a New Year’s tale about friendship, loyalty, and faith. I plan to read this story in the classroom, on January 3rd, when the students return.

The original Three Wishes was illustrated by Stephanie Douglas, published by Viking (New York, NY) 1976.

4. The Trees of the Dancing Goats by Patricia Polacco

5. Christmas Tapestry by Patricia Polacco

I realize that I didn’t get into much, or any, description of what these beloved holiday stories entail. However, if you appreciate the authors I’ve chosen, and are moved by the illustrations, and can google a summary of the books, then I say that you’re in good shape to go discover more about these books on your own.

Happy 2014, everyone! Love greatly and read fervently.

– The Picture Book Pusher

K2 Read Alouds: Week 10: Eboné Tales

Week of November 18-22.

Monday

We had a field trip to the Boston Nature Center & Wildlife Sanctuary on Monday. One of our activities was to paint a mural on recycled paper, using bits of nature  to paint our strokes rather than bristled brushes. There was a book on a bench. So I read it to the children while they created our mural. The book was The Color Box by Dayle Ann Dodds. Illustrated by Giles Laroche.

Tuesday

Eboné tale, The Girl Who Spun Gold by Virginia Hamilton. Illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon. The children asked if we could act out this story sometime. So I’ll have to fit it into the curriculum at some point, to appease the budding actors.

The Girl Who Spun Gold
By Virginia Hamilton

Illustration by Leo & Diane Dillon for Virginia Hamilton’s The Girl Who Spun Gold

Wednesday

The Science teacher read the students a story, but I don’t know which one. Though, I’m sure it was awesome because our Science teacher is pretty awesome.

 Thursday and Friday

Eboné tale, Hewitt Anderson’s Great Big Life by Jerdine Nolen. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson.

We’ve begun creating miniature furniture for Hewitt, in the classroom. The kids have begun learning to sew as well. Thus far, the protagonist, Hewitt, has three hand-sewn pillows to rest his petite head on beds of plastic crate pieces and feathers. Photos to come.

 

In the Listening Center

I picked up Nikki Giovanni’s Hip Hop Speaks to Children book & CD, for a steal at Rodney’s Used Bookstore in Cambridge.

Thanks for reading The Picture Book Pusher.

K2 Thought: September SchoolDay Blues

Everett Anderson’s Year by Lucille Clifton

“I already know where Africa is
and I already know how to
count to ten and
I went to school every day last year,
why do I have to go again?”

From beloved author, Lucille Clifton’s children’s book Everett Anderson’s Year. Illustrated by Ann Grifalconi.   I just discovered this poem, yesterday, when this book arrived in the mail. Buying Lucille Clifton’s children’s literature on a budget is an art in itself. Since most of her vital work for young people is out of print, prices can be staggering, and then at times. …not staggering at all. I snagged this one off of the big A online for about $3 just in time for the school year to begin. This was published in the 1970’s, yet it completely bypassed my childhood library life. I only first heard of it about a year ago, when I discovered “who” Lucille Clifton was. All this literature that existed when we were children in the 80’s…if we actually got a taste of it, how much further in security and identity would our generation be? Danny and the Dinosaur taught me nil about how to navigate life, yet it is still a top seller in the child lit world. Syd Hoff – Hmph. Lucille Clifton – holla! Her poems in  Everett Anderson’s Year are so on-point and K2-ready that my heart swells up a bit with each page I turn. My ever-evolving classroom library stays engaging my students. Poems like this remind us to never assume that the little people we teach don’t have waves of complex emotions and perspectives. Our job is not to teach them. Our job is to let them teach us.

Thanks for reading The Picture Book Pusher…..and Lucille Clifton in your classroom.

1st Graders deciphering Langston’s Train Ride

Langston’s Train Ride
by Robert Burleigh.
Illustrated by Leonard Jenkins

I look forward to more conversations like these, but closer to June…when my Kindergarten crew is developed and ready. Happy school ya’ll.

Thanks for watching The Picture Book Pusher.

Black History Taught in September & The 50th Anniversary of ‘I Have a Dream’

Illustration by Kadir Nelson 2012

As we embark on the 50th anniversary of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s  delivery of his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, and march again to Washington, on August 24th, 2013, I like to think my young students will be having discussions about these events in their homes, with their families, during these last weeks of summer before the school year.  Goodness knows they’ll be having them with me in the classroom, come September.

I Have A Dream by Martin Luther King. Illustrations by Kadir Nelson.
Schwartz & Wade 2012

We Are One: The Story of Bayard Rustin
by Larry Dane Brimner

Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco
Published by Philomel 1994

Remember: The Journey to School Integration by Toni Morrison

I, Too, Am America
By Langston Hughes
Illustrated by Bryan Collier
Simon & Schuster 2012

Ellington Was Not A Street
By Ntozake Shange
Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Simon & Schuster 2004

The 50th anniversary of ‘I Have A Dream’ provides me with a perfect “excuse” to begin our American history lessons in September (through June), rather than the too-easily-embraced-custom of teaching it only from February 1st – 28th. Who can object to my lessons beginning in September? After all, I am a Dreamkeeper, and tomorrow’s march on Washington makes The Civil Rights Movement a current event.  The Civil Rights Movement is now.

Thanks for reading The Picture Book Pusher

Ideal Picture Books for the K2 Classroom

So this year, I will be teaching Kindergarten in an Inclusion setting, rather than first grade. I’ve taught K2 before so I’m cool with it. I will miss guiding students in the persuasive essay process though. That’s right, persuasive essays in first grade.

Anyhow, the following picture books will surely be permanent fixtures in our K2 space. They are ideal and hard to come by.

The Sweet and Sour Animal Book
By Langston Hughes

The Book of Mean People
By Toni Morrison & Slade Morrison
Illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre

Grump Groan Growl
By bell hooks
Illustrated by Chris Raschka

Life Doesn’t Frighten Me
by Maya Angelou
Illustrated by Jean-Michel Basquiat

One by Kathryn Otoshi

Lil Man Makes a Name for Himself
Written & Illustrated by Caleb Neelon
Cantab Publishing 2004

Queen of the Scene by Queen Latifah
Illustrated by Frank Morrison

These are some of my faves. Find them where you can.

Thanks for reading The Picture Book Pusher

My March Trip to Frugal Book Store in Roxbury. 2013

I’m usually in this store every other month. Many of the picture books that I blog about, I purchased from Frugal Book Store.

“Changing minds one book at a time.” – Frugal Book Store

What I bought – Listed by Publisher:

Jump at the Sun/Disney. New York.

Be Boy Buzz
Written by bell hooks.
Illustrated by Chris Raschka.
2002
Published for Jump at the Sun
New York

All boy. Big open heart. Sweet mind.

– hooks 2002.

That’s right. I am the last person in the country to buy, from an actual bookstore, a new, hard cover, first-edtion copy of bell hook’s Be Boy Buzz. That may be an exaggeration, but, as I mentioned in my previous blog post, bell hook’s children’s books are no longer in print. The owner of Frugal Book Store went down into the basement to find this for me. They didn’t even have it on the shelves.  Now I don’t have to fret over students eagerly borrowing my paperback edition. Frugal still has multiple copies of the paperback edition for sale, though! No other bookstore does. It’s a miracle to still see hook’s picture books on the shelf for sale still. It’s the way it should be.

The Skin i’m in
by Sharon G. Flake
1998
Published for Jump at the Sun
New York

Winner of the Coretta Scott King/ John Steptoe New Voices Award. I bought this book for a few reasons: 1. I will buy any book that is an original publication of Jump at the Sun publishers. 2. I’ve been meaning to read Sharon G. Flake’s work. 3. I’m attracted to the plot: biracial teacher, identity issues.

You Don’t Even Know Me
by Sharon G. Flake
2010
Published for Jump at the Sun
New York

Now matter what I think I may understand,  I must constantly remind myself that: I know nothing! You Don’t Even Know Me is an obvious need-to-buy. This is the same book, I just learned about a few days ago for the first time, while I was trying to find out why Jump at the Sun publishing imprint no longer exists. This book was on the silhouette website page for Jump at the Sun, that I describe in my previous blog post. And here, Frugal Book Store has it! They are the only book store that I know of to still carry Jump at the Sun books.

Atheneum Books For Young Children: An imprint of Simon &  Schuster. New York

Jenny Reen and the Jack Muh Lantern
1996
Published for Atheneum Books for Young Readers
New York

Once upon a time,…there was a time of great tears…In this hardest of hard times there was still joy because there were children, children with round cheeks and round curls. Such a child was Jenny Reen.

– Smalls 1996

I bought this book because it is written by beloved children’s author Irene Smalls. Smalls, like other cherished children’s book authors, is experiencing THE HAND! Yup. The hand. Publishers who own the rights of many of her books, are no longer publishing them. I’ll write more about this method of oppression in a future blog post. Jenny Reen and the Jack Muh Lantern is one of Smalls’ books that she owns the rights to, and therefore it is alive and printing well! Irene, if you are reading this post, then I’d like to ask you: Can we do lunch? We live in the same city!

Abrams Books for Young Readers. New York

Maritcha: A Nineteenth Century American Girl
By Tonya Bolden
2005
Published for Abrams
New York

This is the true account of Maritcha Rémond Lyons; based off her autobiographical memoirs and scrap books. She was an assistant principal at Public School No. 83 in Brooklyn, New York. She passed away in 1929.  This book has been out for eight years, and I am just learning about it now. And I call myself a progressive teacher. Hmmph!  There’s just so much newly-exposed history. I am eager to uncover it. I owe it to my students. It is their history to know. It is a gem of a book.  The publishers did a fine job of including ample photos of Maritcha’s original journal and scrap book. Looking through it, I am flooded with the same feelings I get when looking through my great grandmother’s scrap book. She too, a New Yorker, Harlem bred.

Random House. New York

Harlem’s Little Blackbird
Written by Renée Watson
Illustrated by Christian Robinson
2012
Published by Random House
New York

If my voice can take me around the world, what else can it do?

– Watson 2012.

This story is about Florence Mills. Harlem, bred.

Houghton Mifflin. Boston. New York.

These Hands
By Margaret H. Mason
Illustrated by Floyd Cooper
2010
Published by
Houghton Mifflin Books For Children.
Boston. New York

These Hands is the biographical account of Joseph Barnett’s experiences while working in the 1950’s and 60’s, at the Wonder Bread factory. The Wonder Bread Corporation maintained great racial discrimination practices throughout the Civil Rights Movement and beyond.

A & B Publishing Group. Brooklyn, NY.

Nandi’s Magic Garden
Written by Ron Matthews
Illustrated by David Jones
(Year ?)
A&B Publishers Group
Brooklyn

Just Us Books. Orange, NJ.

Land of the Four Winds
Written by Veronica Freeman Ellis
Illustrated by Sylvia Walker
1993
Just Us Books
Orange, NJ.

African American Images. Chicago, IL.

Markita
Written by Alissa Nash
Illustrated by Doby London
1994
Published by African American Images
Chicago

The Best Face of All
Written by Wilesse A.F. Commissiong
Illustrated by Buck Brown
1991
Published by African American Images
Chicago

The trip was well worth it. From their generous teacher discount, to their ever-expanding children’s section, complete with numerous academic and educational toys & activities. Knowledgable and friendly staff.

Also, children get a free book on their birthday!

Frugal Book Store is located:

Inside the Washington Park Mall
306 Martin Luther King Blvd.
Boston, MA 02119

617-541-1722

@FrugalBookstore 

facebook.com/Frugal.Books

Thanks for reading The Picture Book Pusher.

Everyone’s Books: For Social Change and the Earth – A Bookstore*

Everyone’s Books bookstore, located in Brattleboro, Vermont. Photo taken by…me. December 2012
Everyone’s Books: 25 Elliot St. Brattleboro, VT. 05301. (802) 254-8160.

Happy New Year!  Before the new year rang in, I visited a few bookshops for the first time. One being Everyone’s Books in Brattleboro, VT.  Fulfilling first time trip. Lovely, and mindful staff. Divinely engaging Children’s section. As always, it was a joy to come across so many titles that I had never heard of before. Bought a bunch.

This is my “bunch” that I purchased. It may be a short stack, but it’s contents are enormous.

My purchases:

1. The Black Book of Colors, written by Menena Cottin, illustrated by Rosana Faría, is a book dedicated to colors, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at it.

El Libro Negro De Los Colores was first published in Mexico in 2006.
First translated into English by Elisa Amado. Published by Groundwood Books/ House of Anansi Press. 2008. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Distributed by Publishers Group West. Berkeley, California. Printed and bound in China.
Illustrations are raised black lines on black paper.

Upon opening the book, I read on the left-hand side, “Thomas says that yellow tastes like mustard, but is as soft as a baby chick’s feathers.” On the right-hand page I feel the feathers. I don’t see them. No yellow to see. Only yellow to feel. Don’t envision a baby board book. There’s no fluffy fuzzy chicky fur to feel. It’s a black page with raised, tactile feathers.

But wait. There’s something else I’ve missed. Back on the left-hand side, above the written words, I see the same sentence in Braille. I feel it. I smile.  My mind brings me back to my elementary school,  Happy Hollow , in Wayland, Massachusetts. When I was in fourth grade, we were privileged enough to participate in the Just Like Me program. The program was my first introduction to Braille. I remember the program like it was yesterday; it was that effective. It was that educational.  I gained significant respect for people who have different physical challenges than me, and it also diminished fear and confusion I may have had over people who communicate differently. I often try to emulate those experiences for my own students now. And I can’t wait to offer this book to my students to appreciate.

“But black is the king of all the colors. It is as soft as silk when his mother hugs him.”

Kudos to the author for including such a powerful line of text.

Pluses & Minuses:

(+) The alphabet in Braille, is provided at the end of the book.

(-) There are no page numbers. Page numbers are a desired attribute for avid referencers, like myself.

 

2. I, Too, Am America by Langston Hughes, illustrated by Bryan Collier, is a gem of a book, and a must-have for all elementary classrooms. All.

Published under the title, I, Too, Am America, by Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division New York, N.Y. 2012.
Text copyright by Langston Hughes, 1925.
Manufactured in China.
Illustrations rendered in mixed media.

As I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts, Langston’s work is already a staple in my classroom. Yet, his words never grow dull in the hearts of my young students.

“I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother.” – Hughes

I look forward to sharing this book with a fellow teacher whom, I humbly admit, I often bump heads with. We are different, her and I. She teaches. I educate.*

“They send me to eat in the kitchen/ When company comes/But I laugh/And eat well/And grow strong.” – Hughes

The illustrator wrote a poignant introduction to this story. I won’t quote it in its entirety, but I will quote the historic facts he wrote.

“I fully acknowledge and appreciate the long hours, timeless dedication, and amazing dignity of the Pullman porters, African-American men who worked as caretakers to wealthy white passengers aboard luxury trains. This practice began after legal slavery ended.” – Bryan Collier

 

3.  You Are Healthy by Todd Snow, illustrated by Melodee Strong.

 

You Are Healthy published by Maren Green Publishing Inc., Oak Park Heights, Minnesota . 2008.
Manufactured in China.
Illustrations are acrylic on wood.

It’s not exactly a story with a beginning, middle, and end. No character development either. But as a picture book, its simplicity,  beauty and accuracy make for an engaging and educational read.

“You are healthy when you laugh and giggle”

 

4. Tales Told in Tents: Stories from Central Asia by Sally Pomme Clayton, illustrated by Sophie Hexheimer.

Tales Told in Tents published by Frances Lincoln Limited, London, U.K. 2004
Printed by Star Standard Industries in Jurong Town, Singapore. 2008
Illustrations are pen, ink, and watercolor.

I don’t know about you, but I didn’t even know the countries in Central Asia existed when I was a child. This book of riddles, and storyteller tales, comes from the countries of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

“The people called the horsehair fiddle the kobiz. And they carved a horse’s head on top of the kobiz, remembering how the horse of songs helped make the first fiddle.” – Pg. 50

The book comes complete with a glossary, and a map of Central Asia that illustrates each country and region’s major form of industry and trade.

 

5. Jonathan Green Coloring Book.

Yesss. Yes. Includes over 20 reprintable coloring pages of Jonathan Green’s famous paintings. Jonathan Green is an American painter and is part of the Gullah community.

Jonathan Green Coloring Book published by Pomegranate Communications Inc., Petaluma, California. 2009.
For Pomegranate Europe Ltd., Warwickshire, UK.
Printed in Korea.

Now all the boys and girls can color the bois & girls.
Dale School Choir. Coloring page 9

This photo is perfect. It is anything.
Simple Pleasures. Coloring page 13.

 

6. Buddhist Painting Coloring Book.

Buddhist Painting Coloring Book published by Pomegranate Communications Inc., Petaluma, California. 2009.
For Pomegranate Europe Ltd., Warwickshire, UK.
Asian Art Museum/ Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture
Printed in Korea.

Practice understanding architecture, my kiddies. Practice well. Have an airial view. You deserve it. Says I.

Mandala with thunderbolts.
Coloring page 7.

7.  History of the Civil Rights Movement Coloring Book by Steven James Petruccio.

History of the Civil Rights Movement Coloring Book Published by Dover Publications Inc., Mineola, N.Y. 2010.
Manufactured in the United States by Courier Corporations.

“The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of busing as a means of desegregating public schools on April 20, 1971. The decision was expected to assure that schools would be fairly integrated, enabling all students to receive equal educational opportunities, regardless of their race. “
– Petruccio.

We’re still working on this busing business though. I’m curious to know what questions my students may ask about this picture, when coloring it. I don’t know how to progressively, and effectively,  answer them yet.

 

Everyone’s Bookstore has the BEST teacher discount that I have ever come upon. 25% discount, plus tax exempt. 

I look forward to visiting this bookstore again.

* This post is an edited version.

Thank you for reading The Picture Book Pusher.

Turning Coal into Diamonds at the Used Book Store

 

I ventured to a book store that I don’t usually shop at because of it’s lack of progressive titles that suit my personal interests. However, they have a used book cellar, that I go into from time to time. After all, I have to dump books that I  wouldn’t read to my students somewhere right?                                                                                I was able to trade these culturally-expired titles:

For these culturally-relevant titles:

Life Doesn’t Frighten Me by Maya Angelou. Illustrated by Jean-Michel Basquiat

Echoes of the Elders: The Stories and Paintings of Chief Lelooska by Christine Normandin

Four bell hooks titles. Yay!

Yes. All of the above 6 titles I got with my $35.50 in store credit. I only buy from the used book section of the store, and fortunately the Brookline Booksmith Used Book Cellar had these goodies hiding away in it.   While browsing the used books I also came across two titles that I highly DON’T recommend reading to children. I did not purchase them, but I did snap photos of them with my iPad. They are below:

‘Why?’ you ask, would I not want to read a children’s book about my beloved city of Boston? because there are only white people in the illustrations. Yes, my city is 100% caucasian in this book. All the street people, store patrons, main characters, etc. I do not wish to delve into the inaccurate any longer.

I do not recommend this book simply because of the title. I personally don’t read or keep Madeline books in my classroom, because they are not relevant enough. However, this title I flat out would not read to any child, in any realm. The Gypsy people are Romanies.

After I left this store in Brookline, I headed over to More Than Words Used Books in Waltham, MA.  I respect this store, and it’s mission to support youth in the foster care system. Anyways, they take donations at this store, rather than buying second-hand books from the general public.  So, the 40 or so titles, that Brookline Booksmith did not buy from me, I donated to More Than Words. And just guess what they gave me for my generous donation? The mecca of teaching philosophy:

Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom by bell hooks

Yesssssssssssssssss.    More Than Words is also better than Brookline Booksmith’s Used Book Cellar because they give teacher discounts. Now if you’ll excuse me. I have to go get my brain on. (That’s slang for: I need to go read and expand my mind)

Thank you for reading The Picture Book Pusher