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Drama Mama Reads

Books, Black Joy and Coffee

Beautifully Diverse Books for Mother’s Day

May 2, 2022

Mama a world of mothers and motherhood

WOW! Is all I can say about this STUNNING book of portraits and poetry. Each page reflects on the universal journey that is young motherhood. The beauty, heartbreak, bone crushing fatigue, and hope for the future that comes with taking care of little ones. This large format hardcover book is beautiful and unforgettable.

My Must Have Mom by Maudie Smith

Brand new brightly illustrated book about a mom with a special talent for curb mining and tinkering! ‘Where most people see Trash and Junk, she sees Opportunity and Treasure.’ Jake loves his mom and her unique gifts but he starts to worry that moms ability to change things might mean she wants to change him too. When Jake tells her his worries, she has the absolute perfect response.

Brown Sugar Baby by Kevin Lewis

Cottage Door Press makes the most adorable, giftable books for holidays and special occasions. This beautifully done board book dripping with a golden color palette acknowledges the spirit of Brown Sugar babies everywhere. Simple prose and sweet phrases make this a love letter to that mother with a busy toddler on hand.

Mama and Mommy and Me in the Middle

If you buy this book for nothing else but the illustrations you will not be wrong. Kaylani Juanita draws the most delightful (details, details, details and a killer color palette), inclusive(two moms and beautiful vitiligo), and realistic (hello sleep bonnets) modern family. This is such a sweet story about a little girl missing her Mommy who’s on a work trip, and how right it feels to be back in the middle of the people you love.

How to Greet a Grandma

In this follow up to How to Spot a Mum, we take a deep dive into the anatomy, statics and makeup of a grandma. This is a delightfully illustrated, non-fiction book that will have you greeting grandma’s, noni’s, and bibi’s around the world.

Baby, Sleepy Baby by Atinuke

I have yet to meet a book from Nigerian author Atinuke that I don’t love. She writes from her love of family and country and you see it reflected in each book so beautifully. This book shows the sweetest family taking turns cuddling a drowsy baby at bedtime. LOVE the poetic text in this stunning hardcover book.

Dear Mama’s Loving Arms by Ceece Kelly

Written from the perspective of a babies inner thoughts is a sweet and funny day in the life of a beautiful little boy whose favorite place to be is in Dear Mama’s Loving Arms. It’s so uniquely done and I love that the author used her experience of taking care of her own colicky baby as inspiration. Sawyer Cloud’s illustrations, soar in this one…and the details on the hair? Two thumbs up.

Dreams for a Daughter

You can always spot a Brian Pinkney book by his signature style but for this one you’ll need tissues. As her daughter grows up a mother expresses all of her hopes and dreams for her daughter’s future. ‘I promise to show you all that I can’, ‘I pray that nothing and no one will ever break your spirit’, and my favorite ‘You are braver than you think’. This love letter to your sweet girl will warm your heart. Sniff, sniff!

I’ll Go and Come Back by Rajani LaRocca

Jyoti visits her grandmother in India and is struck by all the differences between here and home. But Jyoti and her Sita Pati bond and soon Jyoti doesn’t want to leave India. When Sita Pati visits America can Jyoti help her feel welcome and create special memories there too? A great mirror or window book into the universal love of grandmother’s.

Your Name Is A Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow

It’s one of my favorite picture books because it’s so well done and it celebrates unique names. I’m including it on this list because the mother uplifting her daughter in her struggles for acceptance is central to the story.

For more Great Books to celebrate the mother and grandmother figures

in your life check out these posts:

15 Black Girl Magic Mother’s Day Books

Black Girl Magic: Grandmother Books

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  1. דירות דיסקרטיות בחולון says

    May 11, 2022 at 11:00 am

    I need to to thank you for this great read!! I certainly loved every bit of it. I have got you book-marked to look at new things you postÖ

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I’m Naima, a multi-passionate creative. When I’m not folding laundry I’m searching for picture books that enchant, surprise, encourage, inspire, and bring joy for my kids and yours!

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🌎♻️ If you care about protecting the earth, 🌎♻️ If you care about protecting the earth, your kids will care about protecting the earth♻️🌎

It starts with you teaching your kids not to step on freshly planted garden beds, not to rip up flowers or trees, not to toss their trash on the ground in the park,  and to respect the recycling bin in public places. Small things with BIG impact! 

Happy Earth Day!
🙏🏾🐰🐣🥕✝️ Top of your kid's Easte 🙏🏾🐰🐣🥕✝️ Top of your kid's Easter baskets with these picture books! 

Happy Easter weekend all! Slowly getting back into the groove over here. Friends, family, warm weather, moving my body, therapy, and space to process has helped! 

Hope everyone is well and taking care of themselves.
📚🤎 Two Books to help you keep Black joy and 📚🤎 Two Books to help you keep Black joy and Black culture at the center of your reading life 365 days of the year. 

📚Featured Books 📚

⭐️ Soul School is our favorite homeschooling mama’s latest book. It is a wonderful reference guide with book suggestions for ages 2-Teen, engaging questions to start great discussions, and activities to help you and your young reader go beyond the book. Homeschooling or not, If you have a reader at home under 17 then grab this one. 

⭐️52 Weeks of Black Joy gives you 52  different Black people you probably haven't heard of that are finding joy and purpose in their passions ranging from bird watching, to filmmaking to rugby. These short biographies have fantastic, colorful illustrations on a two page spread that are chock full of facts, quotes and other information. I love that these uncommon professions show kids that Black people are not a monolith and that they too can be cellists, beekeepers, breath work coaches, and enthnomusicologists. 

Review books were sent by the author and the publisher, and we thank you.
📚🍀🌈✨️A middle grade chapter book for 📚🍀🌈✨️A middle grade chapter book for every color of the rainbow! 

Which one caught your eye?
Allow me to reintroduce myself.... 🤯🫠🫣😳. I've become so much more introverted the older I get, so intro posts always make me a little nervous. 

But there are so many new faces around here, thought I would say 👋🏾,since the last time I did an intro post was a few YEARS ago. Oops!

Thank you for being here, 
Do we have anything in common?
📚✨️They were brave, they were Black, and th 📚✨️They were brave, they were Black, and they were first!

📣 Shout out to these amazing women and so many more who DARED to disrupt the narrative that said they couldn't. 

📣 Shout out to the authors, illustrators, and publishers,  who brought these important picture book biographies to life in a way that will capture little minds. 

Happy International Women's Day!
📚❤️Diverse Books Are for Every Month-Not Ju 📚❤️Diverse Books Are for Every Month-Not Just February & Heritage Months!

This is my #weereadswednesday PSA 😋

Ever notice how diverse books flood the shelves during Black History Month, AAPI Heritage Month, or
Hispanic Heritage Month... but then disappear the rest of the year?

The truth is that representation shouldn't be seasonal. Kids need to see diverse stories all/ year long. Whether it's joyful everyday moments, adventures, or history that goes beyond the same few figures.

Drop a 📚 in the comments if you're committing to diverse books beyond heritage months!
When the babies get ready for bed early enough JUS When the babies get ready for bed early enough JUST so you'll read this book? Enough said. 

The author,  Atinuke, is a gem. Her 20+ picture books with Nigerian representation are always fun, but this chapter book ATE, and I hope there is a sequel in the works. 

From the beautiful illustrations to the charming baby goat, to the wild and free rural lifestyle, this book drew my babies in and lulled them to sleep. 

Although there are only 4 chapters, they were very long, so we usually broke them up over a few nights.

Even the 5th grader who "pretended" to be reading her own book while snuggled next to me, was peeking over my shoulder to see what was going on. 

This book was sent by the publisher for review and we thank you! All opinions are my own.
Black people escaped, that's it, that's the last c Black people escaped, that's it, that's the last caption for Black History Month!

FEATURED BOOKS 

📚Following the Drinking Gourd: Black people used coded songs to find their way to freedom

📚 Little Golden Book Biography: Harriet Tubman: Black people escaped on the underground railroad

📚The Patchwork Path and Sewing Stories : Black People sewed escape routes into quilt patterns

📚 Henry's Box: One very brave soul, mailed himself to freedom with the help of other gentleman, he almost died, do not recommend this book if you are claustrophobic 😬

📚 Freedom Braids: Black women would braid intricate maps into each other's hair to use as they ran. (This book was the winner of the Best Historical award 🏆 for the #blackkidlitawards)
Zora Neale Hurston has been gone for 65 yeara but Zora Neale Hurston has been gone for 65 yeara but her latest work was JUST published in January of this year. While she wrote many plays, essays, and short stories she only completed 4 full novels, including: Jonah's Gourd Vine, Their eyes were watching God, and Moses the Man on the Mountain, which is the prequel to Herod. 

A literary giant, she was a much studied figure during my creative writing and Black studies college courses. So this Black History Month, I set out to tackle her last book.

This last complete manuscript, saved from a fire and edited by Deborah G. Plant  would flip the King Herod, we know, as the tyrannical leader who ordered the murder of innocents on it’s head.

Historians don’t believe this decree ever took place and that Herod died years before Jesus was even born. What Hurston suggests is that Herod was soldier, athlete, statesman, devotee of higher learning and tragic lover. 

I will say that this one took a while to get through because Hurston wrote in a very elevated language. Mix that with names like Hyrcannus and Aristoblus and Mariamne to mentally trip over, and I wasn’t sure if I was reading a Shakespearean play, a greek tragedy, or an antique Bible. 

Still this is captivating and the story of why she wrote this book (a pushback to her Christian, don’t question anything in the Bible upbringing) and why she felt compelled to spend YEARS researching this man is fascinating in itself. 

If you like a good historical fiction, give this one a try. 

This was a Tour Stop for  #thelifeofherodthegreat for #hearourvoices

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