Programming Spotlight: Joelle Wellington and Making Music at NYPL

 Photos and collages by Jamila Abdulrashid

The Blonde Dies First  . . . since when?  Well, since author Joelle Wellington wrote her young adult horror thriller.  Students from Passages Academy--Bronx Hope site attended an author talk and received a free autographed copy of this novel on a school trip to the Stavros Niachros Foundation Library (SNFL) in Midtown Manhattan.  

There the author discussed her process and inspiration for writing the book.  And while at SNFL  they also experienced the Teen Music Lab and created an audio recording of their raps which the sound engineer edited to create a single.   All of these activities were FREE!   You have to love the New York Public Library!--Jamila Abdulrashid

Fighting to Belong! Volume 1: Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander History from the 1700s Through the 1800s by Amy Chu and Alexander Chang illustrated by Louie Chin

“Why aren’t there more books that introduce AANHPI history to students?”

Sammy, Tiana, Joe and Padmini have a school project due on AAPI history and get lucky when Tiana’s neighbor, Kenji, agrees to give them a special tour of their local American History museum.  It turns out Kenji is not only deeply knowledgeable about Asian American and Pacific Islander history, he also has a few tricks up his sleeve which enable time travel.  

First stop is St. Malo, Louisiana where the crew learns about the Manilamen and their settlement in the American South over two hundred years ago.  Next is the Chinese American history of California, followed by the colonization of Hawai’i and an explanation of the term “Pacific Islander.”  

All told, the full-color comic is slim and fast-paced at 28 pages and followed by a 10 page curriculum guide and an afterword by Norman Chen who begins with the question “Why aren’t there more books that introduce AANHPI history to students?” 

The book may feel a bit didactic to casual readers but teachers will certainly cheer and eagerly anticipate the promised future volumes.  Overall this book is indispensable to educators of 5th  through 7th  graders.--Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Chang, Alexander, and Amy Chu.  Fighting to Belong Vol. 1.  San Francisco:  Third State Books, 2024.

Thieves’ Gambit by Kayvion Lewis

Rosalyn "Ross" is tired of living with just her mother and her aunt. But that comes with the territory when you live in a multi-generational household of female,  high-end thieves.

But Ross is ready to change that,  and at  the family’s  next heist she's planning to disappear. That is until she receives an invitation to the Thieves' Gambit, a competition where only the world's best thieves are invited. The prize? One wish. The price? Maybe Ross's life. 

Readers looking for elaborate plots and high-risk heists with a little Hunger Games thrown in will find this an enjoyable read.--Claudio Leon

Lewis, Kayvion. Thieves’ Gambit. New York: Random House, 2023. Print.

Amulet by Kazu Kibuish

After losing their father, Emily and Navin are thrust into a world of magic and fantasy where they must save their mother from strange creatures.

In their quest to save her, the siblings learn that their arrival in this new world may not have been a mere coincidence.  To survive they  must quickly discern who are their allies and who are their  enemies.  

While clearly targeted at middle schoolers, Amulet appeals to all graphic novel lovers. With enough twists and action sequences, any fan of the genre should be sure to pick this one up.--Claudio Leon

Kibuishi, Kazu. Amulet: The Stonekeeper. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2008. Print.