Basketball Champions- NBA and a TALL TALE!

 As we enter the NBA championship season, I enjoy bragging about our Milwaukee Bucks. This has been "my city" since BEFORE we had an NBA team. Then, with combinations of great coaching (Larry Costello), player-leaders (Lew Alcindor/Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Oscar Robertson), and team effort, this newbie team won the whole shebang, the NBA championship in 1971. Despite some strong years in between, including memorable players and teams, it was exactly fifty years later, in 2021, that the Bucks (Fear the Deer!) won the whole dang thing again for the second time. Led by MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, it was teamwork and spirit that turned them around after losing early games in the final round. 

What does all that have to do with picture books? Well, Milwaukee's history with basketball runs deep, players do best when they have big hearts that match their outsized talents, and winning matters, but it isn't everything. A picture book that can convey the value and story of such things will win hearts, too. And one way to hook readers is to find books that match their interests. I shared winning picture books that capture the action, spirit, and edge-of-the-seat- excitement of  basketball and championships HERE. Some of the most popular picture book biographies feature stars of the NBA, past and present. 

Charly Palmer has created stunningly powerful art, but this is his debut as a picture book author. He takes on a similarly inspiring and engaging picture book that takes a sidestep from these others in several ways. First, his focus is not NBA or even NCAA players, teams, and championships. Instead, his story was inspired by the amazingly talented and big-hearted street-ball stars who never made it to the NBA. He chose a slightly fictionalized account of a team, a rivalry, and a character-compilation to celebrate in a legendary way. 

Farrar Straus Giroux, 2022

Palmer delivers a winning account of GRAVITY, one of several remarkably talented teammates. It will win over readers of many ages and interests. His helpful author's note at the back includes the specific names of truly memorable players from city lots and local teams across the years. Among them are two dedications: One to Richard "Deep Water" Brown, and the other to Milwaukee's own Albert "Spoony" Hall, who, like most of the others, never made the "big time" teams but were so unforgettable that their stories of greatness deserve the term legendary. Players like these, past and present, inspired THE LEGEND OF GRAVITY: A TALL Basketball Tale. 

Using a storyteller's voice that feels right at home among the colorful, impressionistic urban center of Milwaukee, the narrator addresses young admirers of "King James" Le Bron  and other deeply talented, lauded, and compensated hoop stars. That opening concedes they are "not too shabby", followed by the familiar phrase, 

"But have you ever heard of ..." 

And so begins the TALL tale of GRAVITY. The narrator spins a colorful, lively description of a sunny June street ball game among talented friends with trait-revealing nicknames: Sky High, Left 2 Right, and Liquid (smooth with the ball and with his words). A single pass and play reveals that his knobby-kneed, lanky, and low-key approach disguises phenomenal ball skills. but he did not have a street name of his own. A terrific double spread reveals that the narrator was a team member, and she tags the new kid GRAVITY, because he goes up like he's never coming down, like he has redefined GRAVITY.

This already-good team is now unstoppable, heading toward a championship. Teams used housing project courts, rode city busses to other neighborhoods to compete, headed into summer's end with confidence. Best of the Best Milwaukee Basketball Tournament" was theirs to win, and time spent on strategy always relied on GRAVITY. In a single weekend they defeated team after team as his legend grew. When  the final game approached, the perennial winners, the FLYERS, devoted themselves to keeping GRAVITY down. That's when the power of leadership and spirit proved themselves to be legendary, too. 

I won't spoil your reading with an ending, or even reveal the pages leading up to that final buzzer. I will say that I'm convinced I'd love this and recommend it even if it wasn't set in Milwaukee, my longtime hometown. The swaths of colorful scenes, dynamic perspectives, impressionistic but effective expressions, and action postures, stances, and moves make this a power house picture book, one that will stay with you. It offers (without overdoing it) an authentic  look at the importance of individual skills and talents, of teamwork, of believing in yourself, and of excellence regardless of outcome. For each NBA player (even those often traded or benched) there are, literally, hundreds of thousands of kids playing B-Ball on city playgrounds, at the Y, in schools and clubs who will never know and who will never be drafted by an NBA team. Even so, among them are many who will be remembered, whose names will remain legendary. 

Meanwhile, GOOD LUCK, BUCKS!

Evictions? Voting Rights? Echoes of American History

Since today is the "last day" of BLACK HISTORY MONTH, I should hurry to get this review posted, right?  

WRONG! 

The spotlight that this themed month offers on critical aspects of American history involving Black Americans is more than welcome, but my concern has always been that the topics, historic figures, and focus of attention are narrowed to this particular (shortest) month of the year. While teaching, I was aware of many teachers who had a set of lessons and/or collection of books that were routinely used during February, then packed away until the next year's students flipped that calendar page. 

Better than nothing? Yes. 

Sharing some otherwise neglected or intentionally hidden history? Yes.

Inadvertently teaching students that the rest of the year will be (conveniently?) directed toward a familiar and falsely narrow version of America and its past?  Yes.

This is why I've actively addressed this concern of mine since I created this blog more than a decade ago. Theme months of any kind, but ESPECIALLY Black History Month, results in a double-edged sword.

Even so, I am intentionally sharing this remarkable new picture book I received from CALKINS CREEK/Astra Books (with no promise of a review) because it serves as such an important asset in the lives of young readers. In this case, the publishers have indicated that the target audience is middle grade and teen readers. And YES, picture books are for all ages!

Calkins Creek/Astra books, 2022

EVICTED: The Struggle for the Right to Vote is written by Alice Faye Duncan and illustrated by Charly Palmer, each an award-winning creator of outstanding books in their own right. In this case the title alone seems to be ripped from the pages of current news headlines, but in fact depicts a time and place in our shared history that few have learned about, even during this dedicated theme month.

The cover illustration also indicates the personal, specific individuals who are the little-known heroes of this nonfiction and deeply researched account. Using intense, impressionistic brush strokes and colors, Palmer's cover are and interior illustrations manage to convey both the strength and suffering of one of the "tent city" families who suffered indignities and denial of their rights to vote while maintaining family and community unity. 

In the 1950s, Fayette County, Tennessee was the third largest land area in that state and the third poorest county in the entire country. That is directly tied to the fact that more than two-thirds of the population of that county were Black sharecroppers, managing to maintain homes and families despite the inequities and imbalance of a sharecropper's life. They dealt with the expenses, round-the-clock demands, and endless risks of a farmer's life, with the added burden of landowners' meager compensation, control of funding, and outright cheating. 

Although it was legal for all adults to vote, only thirty Black citizens were registered in that county at that time. Outrght threats, fires, and lynchings ensured that white rule prevailed. In 1959, though, when a local sharecropper's trial enflamed the spirit and dignity of the wider Black population, a movement that came to be called the FAYETTE COUNTY TENT CITY MOVEMENT to acquire and use voting rights eventually contributed to the passage of the federal VOTING RIGHTS ACT. 

I don't usually begin my comments with such explanatory content, but I'm convinced that MANY other readers here have never heard of this part of American history. I had not. When the author was gifted a photographic book about this movement that featured specific individuals and families who helped to achieve eventual success, she resolved to create a portrait of them and their story in an appropriate book for younger readers. This is the result of her decision and actual visits, interviews, and research about that neglected chapter of our shared history. 

The account is preceded by several annotated/illustrated spreads providing Palmer's portraits of key figures of that time and change. Then a one-page direct address to readers from the author summarizes what the Movement was about and what it accomplished, at what sacrifices to the participants. The last line on that introduction is this:

"Record their conquering civil rights struggle for generations to come. Remember it. Pass it on."

The movement was inspired by a trial of a local preacher, who had escaped to the north to avoid being lynched, only to be returned for trial years later, in 1959. He was convicted and served his time. But the jury was all white, because jurors were drawn from the ranks of registered voters, and Black people were prevented from registering. As mentioned earlier, it was at risk of life and family's lives to even attempt registration. This realization launched leaders who set out to register black voters.

With page turns that reveal the unfolding story through individual specific voices of victims, organizers, participants, and others who eventually supported the movement, this account comes to life with drama and intensity. Readers are drawn into the lives and emotions of the adults and children who held fast to their intention to exercise their rights as American citizens, regardless of the cost. Some who are profiled took part in school integration with all the risks that triggered.

"Outsiders" came to support the movement as it stretched from months to years. Even so, the wheels of political change turn slowly and the changes they rightly demanded were slow in coming. Even so, or perhaps as a result of their prolonged strength and resilience, laws did change and lives improved. 

Except for this... 

Many Americans are convinced that the Civil Rights laws of the sixties meant things are changed and everything is better now. Nice and neat, all wrapped up in a pretty bow. In a way, as convenient and comfortable a thought as the packing away of Black History Month books and lesson plans on February 28 each year. But more than half the states in our country are actively passing laws to restrict access to voting, and eviction remains a punitive practice that is driven by economic benefits to the landowners. Not as much has changed as needs to. Added to that legislative effort are countless bills/laws that are intentionally meant to "BAN" books like this from classrooms because they might bring up some "feelings" among some students. 

The much-distorted and politicized CRITICAL RACE THEORY complaints would keep discussions of Black history out of schools. Well, CRT is a post-graduate course of study in law schools, not in elementary, middle grade, or high schools. But a consequence of this exaggerated and distorted effort might keep young Americans from learning about their country's history and the importance of FREEDOM to exercise rights for EVERYONE.

That author message is not only intended to keep a piece of history alive, though that should be done. Reading this should also enliven young people to learn, to act, to recognize and support today's individual leaders and local heroes, like the ones finally documented in this account. I am so grateful to have had a chance to read this historic account, and to share it with other readers here. I follow many reviewers, seek out information about new releases, and hear about picture books from many sources. Even so, this title had not reached my attention. That, as with the loss to history of the original story, is an enormous problem. I urge everyone to find and read and promote this book. I intend to do that. And while you are at it, join my little effort to assure that sharing BLACK HISTORY is a year-round effort. Every year.

Teacher Heroes: Standing Up, Stepping Out

 One undeniable fact related to this seemingly endless Covid19 pandemic is that teachers are heroes. Exhausted, innovative, determined, and always aware of of their role as leaders, in the past year teachers have been hailed as heroes and also decried as selfish monsters. That latter shift has been attributed to the ongoing stress and struggles of families trying to survive, but it is an inexcusable stance.

Even so, teachers manage to put aside insults, attacks, and even threats to continue to serve their students and their communities. In current circumstances, that is often less visible to the general public, but it is nonetheless true. I'd l wish I could send a copy of this recent nonfiction picture book to each and every one of them, to inspire and encourage their persistence through this model of another hidden history, one that celebrates the courage of teachers.

Calkins Creek, 2020
an Imprint of Boyd Mills and Kane

THE TEACHERS MARCH: How Selma's Teachers Changed History is written by Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace, with illustrations by Charly Palmer. Every time I feel that my personal, academic, and actively informed lifelong efforts have given me a firm awareness of the  major moments and events within the Civil Rights Movement of the sixties, I discover another important resource that reminds me how little I actually know. 

Much credit is due to the co-authors of this book for their determination to uncover and provide those stories for people like me, and especially for young people who deserve the whole truth of heroic stories of our American history. This is especially true for social justice stories, hidden or ignored for far too long. 

Landmark events like the march led by Martin Luther King, Jr. across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma stand out as pivotal in achieving the 1965 Voting Rights Act. It was not achieved without blood, arrests, and  terror tactics by the Jim Crow "law and order" powers in charge. It might also have never happened if it weren't for the courageous efforts of Black teachers in Selma.

The back matter of this new book brightens the spotlight on these under-reported heroes who risked their lives to make the struggle for voting rights more visible and possible. The authors provide a timeline that reveals efforts to secure the vote in that area of Alabama (Dallas County) dating three decades earlier. It includes young John Lewis helping to lead the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), laying the path for the hero of this profile, Reverend F. D. Reese. Reese was  a science teacher in the segregated schools  who championed voting rights. He began leading marches for those rights more than a  year before the Selma bridge events. He did so no fanfare beyond local news, facing constant threats. He died in 2018 with accolades from those who knew him but with little public attention.

It was Reese who conceived of bolstering the voice and power of the marches by challenging the Black teachers of the community. He urged them to lead the marches, overcoming the fears and anxiety of the African American community through the power of their leadership and widespread respect. Their roles as leaders and their high public regard could lend success to the marches, but would also mean they had the most to lose. 

They could be fired, 

They could be jailed. 

The relative financial and educational strength they had, that they often contributed to their community, could be wiped out. 

Yes, their suits and polished shoes and unified voices would amplify the right to vote, the demand for equal treatment. But they had more to lose, including their own families who would be threatened if they marched. 

This longer-than-typical picture book text provides a thorough revelation of the dramatic challenges and choices they faced, the confrontations that ensued, and the ways in which Reese's vision for momentum came to pass. Without a doubt, the heroism called for in that time and place are beyond the comprehension of modern readers, especially those not facing social injustice. This history is revealed with storyteller skills, high stakes pacing, and compelling scenes that bring to modern attention the immeasurable dangers and determination involved in these teacher marches, and they merit a bright spotlight in history.

This is an outstanding example of powerful nonfiction for established readers, especially in context with the current (and ongoing) Black Lives Matter and social justice movements. The extensive research, resources, and supplementary notes in the back pages can be used to launch further investigations and to authenticate the details of this depiction. Sadly, the massive infection of distorted truths, outright lies, and hidden history continue to affect a tidal wave of media making its way into all of our lives. It is particularly  essential to prepare learners with reliable tools to determine what is and is not factual. Books such as this one move that process forward. 

As inspiring as this book is, the sad truth is that voter suppression continues to be a power-play within current politics and overall society, We must not risk sacrificing these generations of effort and courage by allowing forces to undermine and diminish equal rights. It's also true that the gradually improving options of books about underrepresented people, continues to lean toward serious or even somber subject matter. 

Also toward the past. 

Recent messages have bubbled up urging that for every book we share involving these serious subjects, as important as they are, we should be providing readers with current, celebratory, joyful books. Click these links for a few examples that can fulfill that balancing act:

HERE,  HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Storm Season: Thunderstorms and Protest Marches

Covid 19 note:

Government officials at various local and state levels have "opened up" completely, some are relying on data to do so gradually, and most are recommending  physical/social distancing and urging use of scientifically-justified masks. Some "open" places are requiring masks, with skirmishes occasionally ensuing when an attempt is made to enforce rules. Sadly, some with fewer restrictions are already reporting hot-spot increases in cases.

We are also in the midst of an extensive  BLACK LIVES MATTER protest movement. It began in Minneapolis, spread throughout the US, and has grown to global public demands for change. 

At first, a spontaneous reaction to the horrific murder of GEORGE FLOYD erupted. Floyd suffocated under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer who was immediately fired and is now charged, along with the three other officers who aided/allowed that to happen. The gut-wrenching horror generated by a nine minute video of Floyd's murder is undeniable. It awakened and mobilized (finally) those of us in the dominant culture who have not stepped forward sooner or stronger in the past. 

I use the expression dominant culture intentionally. The phrase "white privilege" raises defensive hackles among far too many, including those who counter BLACK LIVES MATTER with ALL LIVES MATTER. 

No, ALL LIVES CANNOT MATTER until and unless BLACK LIVES MATTER. 

Evidence is painfully clear that we live in a society in which that is not yet true. 

There is NO way to deny that our centuries-old social system was created/sustained by, and unfairly benefits, those with WHITE skin. 

I do not say RACE. Race is an artificial construct developed to sustain the dominant culture.

One's skin tone and ancestry do not change that fact of their humanity. 

We are ALL the HUMAN RACE. 

However, those among us with darker skin ARE NOT treated as equals, let alone human.

That is especially true of African Americans or anyone considered "BLACK".

Please DO NOT ask Black people to tell you what to do to help. 

It is OUR (Whites') responsibility to admit the truth and work to undo the trauma resulting from this system. That begins with learning-- reading, listening, becoming active allies. That requires work, on ourselves as individuals and on society at large. 

In the midst of a serious journey ahead, and amidst the horror of the video of George Floyd's murder, (and so many other clips of violence against Blacks, especially Back men and boys) it is crucial for all of us to also see and appreciate the joyful and natural and HUMAN aspect of BLACK LIVES. They DO MATTER. 

As summer arrives, severe weather will make today's recommendations especially timely. There are some humans who revel in storms streaked with lightning and shuddering with thunder. Other humans have instincts that rival any in nature when ominous storms approach. Many children require constant support to weather the terror they feel during storms. Wildlife lacks the option to snuggle safely under a quilt on a couch, but they do seek shelter and hunker down for the duration.

I'm happy to say that there is an expanding array of outstanding books portraying Black children in a wide range of ways, doing things that any/every child might be doing. Not as many as there should be (and will be), but the publishing industry is slowly improving. Resources for some recommended lists are also becoming more abundant, and I suggest starting with THE BROWN BOOKSHELF, United in Story.

As for these featured picture books, let's begin with WHEN THE STORM COMES, written by Linda Ashman and illustrated by Taeeun Yoo. Click Ashman's name, above, to find links she provides for creative home activities for kids, and some helpful links for adults toying with the idea of writing picture books, too.

Nancy Paulsen Books, 2020

WHEN THE STORM COMES is a rhymed narration of how various living beings respond to an impending storm. The story begins and ends with humans, but along the way a range of Earth's air, land and water creatures react to their awareness of threatening weather in a variety of ways. 
In the process, storms of varying degrees are revealed and safety is sought. The reality is that storms cause damage, too, which is treated in a realistic but kid-friendly way. 
There is reassurance amid the informative sequence, with the final spreads bringing together human and some of the non-human characters to recover, repair, and reunite in a neighborhood that has weathered the storm.


Pair this book with another rhymed storm story that explores human and nature's response to storms, WAITING OUT THE STORM by JoAnn Early Macken (2010)

A Denene Millner Books,
Simon & Schuster 2020

The illustrations for WHEN THE STORM COMES are suited to the down-to-earth tones and tempo of the story, setting the events in familiar scenes with movement and familiar relationships. MY RAINY DAY ROCKET SHIP is written by Markette Sheppard and illustrated by Charly Palmer. Palmer's illustrations involve deeply saturated colors in wide and loose strokes that call to mind some of Chris Raschka's works. The sweep of the pages and density of tones provide a perfect opportunity for Palmer to showcase expressions, emotions, and details with masterful use of white and yellow highlights that lift the characters and action off the page. 

MY RAINY DAY ROCKET SHIP also uses simple rhymed/near rhyme text and features a young Black boy with a dog. In this case, as the rain arrives he imagines new ways to use  familiar indoor toys and materials to explore OUTER SPACE! 
This little boy greets the dawn through rain-drenched windows with a "been there and done that" eye on his toy box. His dreary prospects are lifted into worlds as yet undiscovered by a flash of imagination and clever engineering. The creativity is all his, but Dad and Mom play warmly supportive roles. The closing spread finds the boy and his dog tuckered out and tucked into bed. Basking in moonlight from a window with a bright urban skyscape, they are lulled to sleep under a solar system mobile.

Both books are warmly welcoming to all readers, both offer STEAM and MAKER connections, and both invite sharing of personal and family rain and storm stories. The next time you're looking for way to pass a rainy day, I hope you'll keep these titles in mind. 

Afterward: 
Whether you choose to act from home or join protestors on the streets, please protect yourselves by washing hands, wearing masks, and maintaining physical distance as much as possible. If staying home is your best choice, I respect that.
But please make the effort to grow and learn. (Click here for adult book titles, click here to find links for books for kids representing diversity, and take a few minutes to watch/listen to this reflection by Trevor Noah about social contracts.) 
When it comes to social contracts, by the way, I struggle to understand why anyone would resort to physical violence when told to wear a mask, a simple accommodation that increases the health of the community. Let's stay peaceful out there, folks, and if you don't like the rules in one store or restaurant, exercise your white privilege to take your business somewhere else.