Welcome to Book Reviews Edition 4. I will be reviewing Ebony and her Crown, Mindfulness Makes Me Stronger: Kid’s Book to Find Calm, Keep Focus and Overcome Anxiety (Children’s Book for Boys and Girls) (World of Kids Emotions), and The Blue Bird.
Ebony and her Crown.
Ebony and her Crown is written by Nicole Marshall and illustrated by Sekar Azahra. It is a poem written for children to explain the importance of a woman’s hair in African American culture. I found this book to be rather unique, and I’m not saying that as a negative. I’m having a hard time describing it simply because I don’t have experience in this area–and that is the problem.
I was raised to believe that I shouldn’t read books, own toys, or generally watch movies from other cultures. For some reason, I was allowed to watch Family Matters and Sister, Sister, but that was it. As an adult, I know that what I was taught was wrong.
This book is important not just for African American children, but for children of other ethnic groups because we need to start normalizing other cultures from an early age. Right now, there is a prevalence of fear of the other in our culture.
Although I do not usually get into political rants about children’s books, but it needed to be said. That said, I enjoyed the book and give it 5/5 stars.
Mindfulness Makes Me Stronger
Mindfulness Makes Me Stronger is written by Elizabeth Cole. I have to be honest, I was prepared not to like this one. Mindfulness is a rather adult concept that I had doubts about be written for kids. While I still have issues with the title, the book itself was great. It delivers on every promise made by the title, and it is written in a way children can understand. I give this one 4/5, the point off, honestly, because of the title.
The Blue Bird.
The Blue Bird is written by Ros. j. Cody. Like Ebony and Her Crown, it is written in a very poem-like structure. It is a cute story told by a little girl who likes to watch a blue bird out the window. One day the bird doesn’t show up, and the little girl is worried about him–she even thinks the neighbor’s cat might have hurt him. The little girl’s mom tells her though that the bird probably won’t come out because it’s raining. The next day, the bird returns and all is well.
I’m giving this 4 stars out of 5 because there is a small issue with transitions. Overall though I did enjoy this.
Closing Remarks & Recommendations.
For the first time in writing this column, I feel comfortable recommending all three books I reviewed this week. Ebony and her Crown was the best of the three, but the other two were closely tied in second.
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Thank you for reading Book Reviews: Edition 4.
