Black Panther: The Young Prince by Ronald L. Smith

  All things Black Panther and Marvel are the rage right now.  My coworkers put this book on display to capitalize on the buzz around the movie earlier this year.

The movie starts in media res and we meet T'Challa as an adult, fully formed Black Panther. In this middle grade novel, Smith re imagines life for a younger version of the Wakandan prince. T'Challa is not the Black Panther yet and in truth, he is still learning about himself and his role as a prince. This means sitting in on long ceremonies and dealing with his father's adopted son, Hunter. He can count n one friend however, M'Baku with whom he can do boyish escapades.

When there is some turmoil in the kingdom, T'Challa's father decides to send him to Chicago under an assumed identity. M'Baku is sent to accompany the young prince and soon the two boys find themselves finding their way in the various social hierarchies in the school. As in any school there are various cliques but one such clique is weird and a little dangerous, just like their leader Gemini Jones. That's not all, weird stuff starts happening at school and T'Challa must decide if he should use his Wakandan technology and risk revealing his true identity.

Overall I think this is a great read for middle grades and I especially like that it features young people of color. Some read alikes are Junior Hero Blues by J.K. Pendragon,  V is for Villain by Peter Moore and Sidekicked by John David Anderson and Powerless by Matthew Cody.

Music for kids from Africa and the African diaspora

I love to do the standard American favorites, Head, shouders, knees and toes, Five little monkeys etc. etc. Sometimes depending on my audience, the event or my mood I may switch up a song, use a different beat or sing a song a different way. It is always good to try new songs, listen to different cds and explore what's out there. I think that kids especially need to be exposed to different cultures to develop an appreciation for them.

I remember when I discovered Asheba. Not only was I surprised that there was a dreadlocked dude doing Caribbean versions of classic children's rhymes but he is also from my homeland of Trinidad. Here is his version of Five little monkeys. Be warned that this version is very upbeat!  If you are looking for an African-themed call and response song though, try this song from South Africa. Featuring instructions such as to the left", "to the right" and "wiggle your tail in the moonlight" this song is sure to make it onto your playlist.

I frequently refer to the now defunct Noggin tv station. The more I think about it, that station was aimed directly at Gen X parents who had grown up on certain types of music and may have wanted to share it with their offspring. Bob Marley for example is perhaps everyone's favorite reggae singer. And in this video the animation truly gives the song a different dimension. Gee, I wish Peter Tosh, Jacob Miller and others had more children's songs.

When Noggin became Nick Jr they introduced many children's shows featuring diverse casts. One of them was Gullah Gullah island a terrific little that show featured a ton of good songs such as the West African influenced Fungal Alafia shown below. The version below is a little less percussion heavy but I found another version of the song as performed by this  group and it is fantastic. It is a great intro to a Black History Month or Kwanzaa program.

If you never knew Kermit was cool, know that he once did a sing/rap of the alphabet together with with Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Check it out, it is mellow and catchy at the same time. I used to watch it growing up and can still remember it after all these years.

Finally what's better than a song that's catchy, has simple lyrics and incorporates simple movements to keep the kids engaged. I present to you the Zimbole song. The video shows kids from all over the world performing it and I must say that it gives me hope for the future. Enjoy!  Bye!

In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse by Joseph Marshall

I picked this book up because of its title and appealing cover image. While I would not have been disappointed if the story dealt with an American kid from the suburbs taking a trip out West, this book exceeded my expectations because it features Native American protagonists.

Jimmy Mclean is proud of his Lakota heritage even though despite his mixed ancestry he doesn't look like a full-blooded member of the tribe. Two of his peers remind him daily of this fact as well much to his dismay.  He confides in his grandfather and the latter decides to take him on an epic road trip.

The pair visit various monuments in several states in an effort to follow Crazy Horse's path and along the way grandfather gives his perspective on the many adventures the famed Lakota warrior had in his life. As with most famous individuals whose deeds were larger than life, Crazy Horse's life was filled with highs and lows and Marshall makes sure and provide some insight into why the Lakota and their allies did what they did in some cases.

Sherman Alexie may have the market cornered for fiction based on Native Americans for teen and older readers but Marshall may just be on to something here with this sensitive, honest portrayal of Native Americans. It is not every day that children and younger readers can read a book that is a labor of love and in which the author is actually sharing a piece of himself in the process. This book is one such novel and I highly recommend it for readers of all races, colors and creeds. I firmly believe that literature is one way in which we can learn about each other.

Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older

I have a passing knowledge of spiritual lore and can usually tell a jumbie from a douen and a la diablesse from a soucouyant. With that said it is always good to see new twists on old themes and yfic novels featuring minority characters. The cover image on the book features a proud Latina and that will definitely attract some readers (and  perhaps turn off others).

Sierra is a homegirl from around the way in Brooklyn who loves to draw and do murals. Her family is cool although her aunt's casual racism gets on her nerves. Her abuelo is a kindly old man who is not in the best of health but then one day he begins telling Sierra a bunch of stuff about the past and about powers that she can barely believe exist much less use.

As if things on the home front weren't complicated enough, Robbie is a Haitian American kid who comes into Sierra's life. He introduces her to new spots in the city where the patrons sweat to the rhythms of Caribbean music. The problem is that when the weird stuff starts happening he always disappears. Sierra is caught between catching feelings fro him and wondering if he is not good for her.

Like many other novels aimed at teens the story is as much about adolescence and making your own decisions as it is about dealing with magic powers. The book is also a commentary on something that I have heard before from talking to academics- cultural appropriation for personal gain. The novel's antagonist tries to use powers that he barely understands in order to gain even more power.

Here's why I think you should read this book:
-Sierra is as good a protagonist as any that I have seen in the dozens of novels I've read this year.
-Magic and mystical powers are not confined solely to European or European-American characters, the Caribbean has its fair share of those as well.
-Murals that actually change appearance!

Highly recommended.

Witherwood Reform School by Obert Skye

Dennis the Menace, Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn and Kevin McCallister have nothing on Tobias Eggers, the main character in Witherwood Reform School written by Obert Skye and with beautiful and slightly scary illustrations by Keith Thompson. Many a nanny has endeavored to reform Tobias but with little success.

His sister Carolina, although younger than he, is more level-headed and kind-hearted. In the novel's opening we see a nanny, the bombastic Ms Childress as she attempts to straighten out the children. Needless to say she learns her lesson and departs the house in a huff. This latest kerfuffle is too much for the children's father Ralph to bear and he takes them to what unbeknownst to him is the Witherwood Reform School, a place built on a mesa and that supposedly possesses magic powers.

This proves to be a fateful night in many ways because Ralph is forever changed after that night and the children, try as they might find that they are now considered students at the school and are subject to a set of rules most of which can be summed up in one word: OBEY.

The novel echoes Stanley Kubrick's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in that the children are mistakenly carried to a place and then have to make sense of the place and why they are there. I also thought I saw echoes of the old British tv series called The Prisoner.

This book is unlike many other books aimed at young readers in that details, even when provided are very nebulous and ambiguous. You get the sense that there is more to be revealed than meets the eye. The book's conclusion leaves enough potential for a sequel or a series. I liked it and I recommend it for readers aged 9+.

A Plague of Bogles by Catherine Jinks

Set in Victorian era London, A Plague of Bogles is just as good as the first book in the series, How To Catch a Bogle.  What is a bogle you ask? A scary creature that can be as small as a dog or as big as a man. The creatures are fierce and devilish  and Alfred Bunce is the man to do the killing.

In the first book a young girl with a beautiful voice called Birdie McAdam was his apprentice but in this novel Jem Barbary, a street urchin and former pickpocket is reluctantly taken in by Alfred. Catching bogles requires a young helper because they love to eat children and babies.

Killing the bogles is not easy but Alfred is unstinting in his task. He soon realizes that something is amiss. There are way too many bogles near to each other in the city. What could be causing that? Jem, for his part has his own reasons for helping Alfred, he has a score to settle with an old nemesis.

Mrs Jinks is a fantastic writer, she recreates the era through her use of slang from the time (there is a glossary in the back) and perfectly depicts the class distinctions characteristic of Victorian era Britain. She demonstrates fantastic use of descriptive language like for example when she tells how one character has to jostle with other patrons in a pub you can actually create a mental image of that scene.  The bogles are scary creatures but thankfully no encounter with them lasts very long and when it does you find yourself waiting for the next one.

This is a good read and I recommend it for ages 8+.

The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste

I had seen this author in various places, most notably here but for some reason I had not heard of the book but when I saw it come in on the new book crate at my library I told myself that this was a must read and I wasn't disappointed.The story uses creatures from the folklore of Trinidad but the inspiration for the story came from a Haitian tale that Baptiste read.

Set on a fictional island in the Caribbean we meet Corinne, a girl who lives with her loving father, an orange farmer. Her mother, sadly passed away. Corinne and her father do not have much material possessions but what they lack in wealth they more than make up for in affection.

A sensuous woman comes to the village one day and off all the men she chooses Corine's dad as the one she would like to woo. Corinne, and her friends in particular have their suspicions but as children they must know their place. Then things start to get really weird...

 The word "jumbie" is also used as a noun in Trinidadian parlance as to "jumbie" someone means to put them off their stride or to break Baptiste's use of all of the main folkloric creatures under one umbrella term "jumbies" and in the process made me (a native Trinidadian) think about how these things have been used in the past.

This is a well-paced read with endearing nuanced characters. The witch for example is seen as bad by some villagers but she is a pivotal character in the story. Although there are some mildly scary parts i would still recommend this book for readers aged 10+.  I can see this book being used in social studies lessons about other cultures, in Caribbean studies classes as an introduction to the folklore and in a variety of other ways. Excellent book!