YAL SUMMER JIGSAW

Directions: Preview our title options by clicking on each hyperlink. When you find your
perfect match, claim it by adding your name in the “Book Expert” column. Your goal is
to read and share your thoughts on the novel by August 19.

Note: Besides coming highly recommended by reputable sources like Dr. Emily Meixner
(TCNJ), Penny Kittle, and weneeddiversebooks.org, these titles were chosen for the
following reasons: 1) They are written by black authors and support the #OwnVoices
movement. 2) They are about black children living, without an emphasis on addiction or
gang violence. 3) They include characters of color who are otherwise omitted from or
negatively represented in genres like fantasy and sci-fi. For more information about the
importance of selecting such titles for one’s classroom library, curriculum, or personal
reading list, check out the following sources:
❏ 30 Days of Social Justice: Why the #OwnVoice Movement Is Crucial for Young
Readers
❏ Don’t Just Read About Racism - Read Stories About Black People Living by Nic
Stone
❏ We Need More Black Characters in Fantasy by Ebony Elizabeth Thomas

Book Book Expert

My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich by Ibi Zoboi Kathleen

Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson Michele

New Kid by Jerry Craft Maureen

Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Petrina

Rhodes

Blended by Sharon Draper Jeanette

King and the Dragon Flies by Kacen Callender Donna

If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson Jen

Pride by Ibi Zoboi Stacey

Swing by Kwame Alexander (verse)

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo (verse) Gabrielle
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi (sci-fi/fantasy/”genre- Christine
expanding”)

War Girls by Tochi Onyebuch (sci-fi/dystopian)

A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow Heather
(fantasy)

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A Brown Pamela

(fantasy)

Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron (fantasy)