Elemental Exploration Education

Amanda Gorman is the 2021 Inaugural Poet and National Youth Poet Laureate. She's just 22 years old AND she has a new children's book headed our way!

In this stirring, much-anticipated picture book by inaugural Youth Poet Laureate and activist Amanda Gorman, anything is possible when our voices join together. As a young girl leads a cast of characters on a musical journey, they learn that they have the power to make changes—big or small—in the world, in their communities, and in most importantly, in themselves.

The book publishes this fall. Learn more or preorder: https://amzn.to/3ivFMMi

Netflix presents Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices starting September 1st. Will you be reading along?

Each Bookmarks episode features a children’s book about Black experiences written by a Black author and read aloud by a Black celebrity. Marley Dias is the Host and Executive Producer of the new series. You may remember Marley from her initiative, whose mission is to increase the circulation of books featuring Black girls.

We've listed the participants and books they'll read below and find these books in our Netflix Bookmarks Bookshop here: bit.ly/NetflixBookMarks

Tiffany Haddish reads “I Love My Hair” by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley. Illustration by E.B. Lewis

Grace Byers reads “I Am Enough,” by Grace Byers. Illustration by Keturah A. Bobo

Caleb McLaughlin reads “Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut,” by Derrick Barnes. Illustration by Gordon C. James

Lupita Nyong’o reads “Sulwe,” by Lupita Nyong’o. Illustration by Vashti Harrison

Marsai Martin reads “ABC’s For Girls Like Me,” by Melanie Goolsby. Illustration by Princess Kay

Karamo Brown reads “I Am Perfectly Designed,” by Karamo Brown. Illustration by Anoosha Syed

Jill Scott reads “Pretty Brown Face” and “Brown Boy Joy,” by Andrea Davis Pinkney and Thomishia Booker
respectively. Illustration by Brian Pinkney and Thomishia Booker

Misty Copeland reads “Firebird,” by Misty Copeland. Illustration by Christopher Myers

Common reads “Let’s Talk About Race,” by Julius Lester. Illustration by Karen Barbour

Jacqueline Woodson reads “The Day You Begin,” by Jacqueline Woodson. Illustration by Rafael Lopez

Kendrick Sampson reads “Anti-Racist Baby,” by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi. Illustration by Ashley Lukashevsky

Marley Dias reads “We March,” written by Shane W. Evans. Illustration by Shane W. Evans

Note: ABC's For Girls Like Me isn't available in Bookshop right now. Visit the author's website: https://www.abcsforme.com/product-page/abc-s-for-girls-like-me-illustrated-book

You can find it's companion, ABC's For Boys Like Me on https://kevonstage.myshopify.com/products/abcs-for-boys-like-me-hardcover

Did you know June is National Black Music Month?

In 1979 President Jimmy Carter created National Black Music Month to celebrate Black influences and contributions to music.

The Roots of Rap is a great book for celebrating Black music. It explores how the rap genre evolved from folktales, spirituals, and poetry, to the showmanship of artists like James Brown, to the culture of break dancing and graffiti and finally into the musical artists we see today.

This is a fun read that helps kids connect a music genre they love with the various art forms it grew from. The dynamic illustrations by Frank Morrison perfectly complements the lyrical style of the book. Definitely a great book for young readers, high schoolers, and beyond.