Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes

 Ghost Boy by Jewell Parker Rhodes was written in 2018 and is an interesting story that blends the contemporary shooting of twelve-year-old Jerome who is shot by a white cop who mistakes his toy gun for a real one. Although Jerome's life ends at the beginning of the story, his ghost lives on, and he is able to observe the lives of those he loves, the family of the police officer who shot him, and he is joined by the ghost of Emmitt Till. 

I like how Rhodes weaves the stories of the two boys together and how she addresses the effects of this shooting on the police officer and his family - especially his daughter. 

This story brings up many great discussion topics that are important today in our world. "Only the living can make the world better" (203).

Rebecca Belliston sent us these darling board books for our NICU babies. These are so appreciated! Thank you, Rebecca. 

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry and Vashti Harrison

Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry and Vashti Harrison was written in 2019, and is one more of the books I purchased in my quest to add more books by authors and illustrators of color to my collection.  I'd heard many good things about this book, and I'm so glad I got it because it's darling. 

This picture book is the story of a little girl named Zuri, and her hair has a mind of its own. "It kinks, coils, and curls every which way." Her hair is shown in all its curly glory with the fantastic art of Vashti Harrison. 

Her hair is shown in braid, in superhero puffs. Her hair goes from large to small when it is rained on. 

Zuri has a special day and wants her hair to look really good, but her dad is still sleeping after a long day of taking care of her and working, so she attempts to look up how to do her hair on the internet using an iPad. Her dad wakes and comes to help her, but the styles he makes aren't quite right, and Zuri is getting sad. 

Dad works harder to help Zuri have the style she wants that day. 

The art in this book is wonderful and it's a great story for any child.

I remember when I was little and could not understand why my mom who was a beautician couldn't make my super straight hair form the beautiful woven ponytails that a classmate with hair like Zuri's had. This book can help all girls appreciate the hair they have. I also loved how much Zuri was loved by her father and mother, and Zuri's gap tooth smile was just the right touch for a girl her age. 

Once again, we received more books for our NICU babies. Today we give thanks to:

Lori Cash,

a friend of the NICU,

Angie Moore, 

and another friend of our NICU.

I appreciate every donation we receive. You have made continuing our project during the pandemic possible. 

Read to a child even if that child is you. 

Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Eleven by Tom Rogers

 Eleven by Tom Rogers was published in 2014 and is the story of Alex Davis, a New Yorker, who turns eleven on September 11, 2001. 

The cover of this book sets the tone of the story with the blue and the silhouette of the twin towers. Alex longs for a dog and hopes his parents will get him a dog on his birthday. He finds a stray dog he longs to keep on his way to school, and this dog takes him and his little sister on an adventure during the very scary day of 9-11. 

The storytelling in this book is good. Rogers captures the fear, horror, and hope of that day. I liked how he wove Alex's and Mac's stories together. I liked Alex's sense of responsibility to his father, the stray dog, his sister, and how he tried to do the right things even though it was hard. 

Quote I liked:

"Better to light a candle than curse the darkness" (142). 

This is a story about people who came together to help one another on a very dark day in American history. 

We've received more book donations over the last two months for our NICU babies. Here is a shout out of thanks to:

Christy Tucker

Michelle Schwendiman

Sara Griffin

Carli Florence

A NICU Graduate

The Ellison Family

Shelley Lomax

Heidi Crezee

I'm thankful for the continued support our book project receives. 

Read to a child even if that child is you. 

Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.