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June Challenge Read a Book by a Black Author
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FCPL is challenging you to read great books about new people, cool places and different experiences.
Read Your World is all about reading diverse books that encourage elementary and teen readers to explore and learn about the world around them. Complete any 5 out of the 6 challenges (or earn 50 points) to earn a prize! The books on this list are suggestions. Feel free to read a book that is not on this list. If you need help picking a title, ask a librarian to recommend a book for you. |
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Catch That Chicken!
by
Atinuke
A little girl who is the best chicken catcher in her whole Nigerian village injures her ankle when her chase goes a little too far up a baobab tree, prompting a helpful lesson from Nana about the importance of thinking just as quickly as she runs.
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I Am Every Good Thing
by
Derrick Barnes
Proud of everything that makes him who he is, a young Black narrator celebrates the creativity, adventurous spirit, humor and loyalty that shape his undeterred spirit and confident goals, even when people who do not understand try to limit his potential.
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The Little Mermaid
by
Jerry Pinkney
In this reinvention of Hans Christian Andersen's classic tale, a little mermaid trades her voice for legs and makes a new friend on land, but must return to the sea to save her family.
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My Hair is Magic!
by
M. L. Marroquin
This little girl knows her hair is great just as it is. When people ask, "Why is your hair so BIG?" she answers, "Why isn't yours?" Her hair is soft, it protects her, it's both gentle and fierce. While some might worry about how it's different and try to contain it, she gives it the freedom to be so extraordinary it almost has a life of its own.
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My People
by
Langston Hughes
The inspirational words of this celebrated writer's poem are brought to life through a collection of brilliant sepia-colored photographs throughout capturing the diverse features, hearts, and souls of its subjects.
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Octopus Stew
by
Eric Velasquez
A two-in-one celebration of family and creativity, based on the Coretta Scott King Award-winning author’s childhood, finds a young boy heroically working to save his grandma from a giant octopus, while fold-out pages reveal the boy’s account of the story to his family.
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Overground Railroad
by
Lesa Cline-Ransome
A girl named Ruth Anne tells the story of her family's train journey from North Carolina to New York City as part of the Great Migration.
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Trombone Shorty
by
Troy Andrews
Hailing from the Tremâe neighborhood in New Orleans, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews got his nickname by wielding a trombone twice as long as he was high. A prodigy, he was leading his own band by age six, and today this Grammy-nominated artist headlines the legendary New Orleans Jazz Fest.
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Ty's Travels : All Aboard!
by
Kelly Starling Lyons
Wishing he could play with family members who are busy with homework and other chores, little Ty taps the power of his imagination to make a train out of a big cardboard box, build a chair-and-blanket fort and enjoy other fun-filled activities.
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The Undefeated
by
Kwame Alexander
Originally performed for ESPN’s The Undefeated, this poem by the Newbery Award-winning author of The Crossover and artwork from a two-time Caldecott Honoree is a love letter to black life in the United States, highlighting the unspeakable trauma of slavery; the faith and fire of the Civil Rights Movement; and the grit, passion and perseverance of some of the world’s greatest heroes.
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Blended
by
Sharon M. Draper
Piano-prodigy Isabella, eleven, whose black father and white mother struggle to share custody, never feels whole, especially as racial tensions affect her school, her parents both become engaged, and she and her stepbrother are stopped by police.
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Class Act
by Jerry Craft
Eighth grader Drew Ellis recognizes that he isn't afforded the same opportunities, no matter how hard he works, that his privileged classmates at the Riverdale Academy Day School take for granted, and to make matters worse, Drew begins to feel as if his good friend Liam might be one of those privileged kids and is finding it hard not to withdraw, even as their mutual friend Jordan tries to keep their group of friends together.
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Dog Days
by
Karen English
Gavin wants to make a good impression at Carver Elementary, where no one knows he excels at soccer and skateboarding, but an annoying big sister, a bully, and his great aunt's Pomeranian are not helping.
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Dragons in a Bag
by Zetta Elliott
When Jax helps an old witch named Ma take three baby dragons to a magical world, he breaks the rules of dragon care and throws their quest into chaos.
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Elijah of Buxton
by Christopher Paul Curtis
In 1859, eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first free-born child in Buxton, Canada, a haven for slaves fleeing the American South, uses his wits and skills to try to bring to justice the lying preacher who has stolen money that was to be used to buy a family's freedom.
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From the Desk of Zoe Washington
by
Janae Marks
Receiving an unexpected letter on her 12th birthday from the incarcerated father she has never met, a courageous young baker prepares for a cooking-show competition while scrambling to determine her father’s innocence.
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The Jumbies
by
Tracey Baptiste
In a spine-tingling tale that is rooted in Caribbean folklore, 11-year-old Corinne must call on her courage and an ancient magic to stop an evil spirit and save her island home.
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One Crazy Summer
by
Rita Williams-Garcia
In the summer of 1968, while visiting the mother they barely know, Delphine and her two younger sisters discover that their mother is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp
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Ways to Make Sunshine
by
Renée Watson
The Hart family of Portland, Oregon, faces many setbacks after Ryan’s father loses his job, but no matter what, Ryan tries to bring sunshine to her loved ones.
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Allegedly : a novel
by
Tiffany D. Jackson
Relocated to a violent group home after enduring years in prison for allegedly killing a white baby, black teen Mary B. Addison falls in love with a fellow resident and becomes pregnant before finding the courage to set the record straight about what really happened.
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Charming as a Verb
by
Ben Philippe
Hiding less-than-honest business practices behind his charming smile and Ivy League ambition, a popular Haitian-American star debater is blackmailed by an intense classmate who wants to improve her image at school.
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The Crossover
by
Kwame Alexander
Fourteen-year-old twin basketball stars Josh and Jordan wrestle with highs and lows on and off the court as their father ignores his declining health.
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A Good Kind of Trouble
by
Lisa Moore Ramée
After attending a powerful protest, Shayla starts wearing an armband to school to support the Black Lives Matter movement, but when the school gives her an ultimatum, she is forced to choose between her education and her identity.
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Long Way Down : the graphic novel
by
Jason Reynolds
As Will, fifteen, sets out to avenge his brother Shawn's fatal shooting, seven ghosts who knew Shawn board the elevator and reveal truths Will needs to know.
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Pride
by
Ibi Aanu Zoboi
After the wealthy Darcy family moves in across the street, Zuri is forced to find common ground with Darius, while struggling with her four wild sisters, a handsome boy vying for her attention, and college applications.
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Raybearer
by
Jordan Ifueko
Raised in isolation, Tarisai yearns for the closeness she could have as one of the Crown Prince's Council of 11, but her mother, The Lady, has magically compelled Tarisai to kill the Crown Prince.
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Stamped : racism, antiracism, and you
by
Jason Reynolds
Reveals the history of racist ideas in America from 1415 to the present while explaining their endurance and capacity for being discredited.
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War Girls
by
Tochi Onyebuchi
A tale set in a Black Panther-inspired Nigeria follows the experiences of two sisters in a 22nd-century world devastated by war and climate change who fight against violence and political unrest to secure a safe and peaceful life together.
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The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963
by
Christopher Paul Curtis
The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963.
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Get Reading Recommendations Forsyth County Public Library | #WeKnowBooks
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