A Guide To Grief by Cole Imperi Illustrated by Bianca Jagoe

Billed  as “the wise friend you need when you experience loss,” this non-fiction book may be needed in your self-help section.  Organized into nine chapters with plenty of white space and black and white illustrations, the introductory first chapter is  “for everyone” and then the book goes on to distinguish between “deathloss” (loss of a person or pet) and “shadowloss” (loss of a thing), the feelings present within grief, and how to support others through grief.  

Imperi and Jagoe make a noteworthy effort to be inclusive by presenting five fictitious young people experiencing grief in illustrations and sidebars. Backmatter includes prompts for journaling, a note for adults supporting young people in grief, bountiful and international resources, an index, a bibliography, and extensive acknowledgements.  Accessible to those reading at middle grade levels and up.--Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Imperi, Cole.  A Guide to Grief.  Toronto: Kids Can Press, 2024.

An Illustrated History of Urban Legends by Adam Allsuch Boardman

If you’re searching for an inoculation for the easily-taken-in teen, look no further than this highly stylized illustrated volume from Flying Eye.  Thoughtfully designed for maximum engagement and cursory browsing, the reader who devotes herself to a hundred or so pages of this book will feel a sense of remove and widened perspective.

After introducing the topic author-illustrator Boardman surveys urban legends by era without getting bogged down in the details,  and uses digital illustration and a palette of pinks, blues, and gold images to provide a lighthearted visual element to text blocks.  Layout is more like a DK book than typical narrative non-fiction.  

Eurocentric and although it sports a few typos, forgiving readers may appreciate Boardman’s consideration of global perspectives and how he shines a light on certain ableist angles perpetrated by urban legends.  Generous backmatter includes an illustrated list of further reading, films for further viewing,  a glossary, and an index.  Accessible to readers at middle school levels and up. --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Allsuch Boardman, Adam.  An Illustrated History of Urban Legends.  Flying Eye, London, 2024.  Print.

Programming Spotlight: Nuttin' But A Word

 On Wednesday, February 7, Passages Academy’s school library at Belmont hosted a delightfully energizing pre-theater workshop co-led by the talented Ugo Anyanwu and Hassiem Muhammad through the New Victory Theater.  

Ugo and Hassiem are working actors who also serve as teaching artists.  They taught our Belmont students’  Blum group about choreographer Rennie Harris’s take on hip hop.  Then they engaged us all in learning four dance moves and a theater game or two.  

Reluctant at first, the students were highly responsive to the duo.  By the workshop’s end Blum’s participating staff members, my enthusiastic colleague, Ms. Thomas,  and the students were animated with movement and laughter.  We are ready to see Nuttin’ But A Word tomorrow at the historic theater. --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

My Name is Marcus by Geoffrey Philp, illustrated by Shaquille Cross and Marcel Hemmings

 

For many years my Belmont colleague has asked  for a text for students about Marcus Garvey, and until now, there has been little to recommend beyond biographical entries in reference works.  This previous dearth of texts about Garvey, whose significance cannot be overstated, now makes this graphic novel for middle school readers remarkable.  

Although the book lacks a  bibliography or table of contents,  teachers who have been hungering for a book about Garvey will be delighted by this slick and richly colored slim volume.  Crosse and Hemmings’ serviceable digital illustrations get the job done,  and youth reading it in detention may appreciate the depiction of Garvey’s time in an American prison and the abuse he endured there.  They may also appreciate learning about President Biden’s recent posthumous pardon of Garvey, and teachers may use this newsworthy development as an introduction to Marcus Garvey’s role in American history and world history.  Backmatter includes a list of 75  facts about Garvey and 20 quotes without any further context provided. --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Philp, Geoffrey.  My Name is Marcus.  Kingston: Blue Banyan Books, 2024.  Print.

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

These Violent Delights takes one of the most recognizable stories - that of the lovers Romeo and Juliet - and twists it around.  Juliet and Roma belong to opposing families and although they were lovers in the past,  they’ve both been thrust into their family businesses and are now antagonists.  But when their respective gang members start to kill themselves rather than fight each other,  both Juliet and Roma have to discover what is happening before the "plague" destroys both their houses. Students who enjoy romance, suspense, or are interested in reading a take on a classic should be sure to pick up These Violent Delights.--Claudio Leon

Gong, Chloe. These Violent Delights. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2020. Print.