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Featured Title

Kiley Reid in Conversation

Join us for a panel discussion

with Kiley Reid*

August 15, 2023

6:30-7:30

Location TBD

*Kiley will be joining us virtually

Such a Fun Age

Kiley Reid

A striking and surprising debut novel from an exhilarating new voice, Such a Fun Age is a page-turning and big-hearted story about race and privilege, set around a young black babysitter, her well-intentioned employer, and a surprising connection that threatens to undo them both.

Check out a copy at:

Sawyer Free Library

21 Main Street, Gloucester, MA

Copies are available for purchase at:

Susie's Stories 51 Rocky Neck, Rockport, MA

The Bookstore in Gloucester 61 Main Street, Gloucester, MA

Toodleloo's 142 Main Street, Gloucester, MA

Additional Resources

Author website

Kiley Reid is a New York Times bestselling author and an assistant professor at the University of Michigan. Such A Fun Age was her debut novel and was longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize.Group Discussion questions

Discussion guide with readalikes

Author appearances

Learn more

Other resources

Suggested Titles

Memoir

The Love You Save: A Memoir

Goldie Taylor

Acclaimed journalist and human rights activitist Goldie Taylor shares the harrowing yet deeply hopeful story of her troubled childhood in East St Louis - a memoir of family, faith and the power of books

Non-fiction

Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America

Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain

A chorus of extraordinary voices tells the epic story of the four-hundred-year journey of African Americans from 1619 to the present

Graphic Novel

Ain't Burned All the Bright

Jason Reynolds, artwork by Jason Griffin

A genre-bending book that powerfully engages with issues that impact students: COVID-19, the effects of climate change, and racial injustice. The result is a text that captures the ways that the world is broken while offering a message of hope: a way to “hide thunder under thankful”.

Family Picture Book

Black is a Rainbow Color

Angela Joy

A story that helps children think about the color black and some of the things that are beautiful and black both in our world and in Black people..

Resources

Additional Learning Resources on Racial Equity

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dig deeper into the learning. Explore movies, documents, TEDTalks,

books, lectures, podcasts, lesson plans, and more.

Author's Websites / Events / Additional Web Resources

Author website

Jason Reynolds is a New York Times bestselling author and the recipient of numerous awards. He is on faculty at Lesley University and served as the 2020-2022 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

Discussion questions

Teaching guide

Author appearances

Learn more

COVID Know More campaign from NAACP: Scroll down to "Impact on Black America".
Poetry for teens

Other resources

My Mother Made Me podcast: Jason & Isabell Reynolds
See more of Jason Griffin's art here.

Author website

Angela Joy is an author and background vocalist. Her extensive experiences in the music world led her to craft her own lyrical poetry for children. Her third book will be released in fall of 2023.

Activities

Black is a Rainbow Color activities
Listen to a storytime reading of this book

Author appearances

Discover more art by Ekua Holmes

Learn more

Other resources

A uthor website

Goldie Taylor is a writer, veteran, human rights activist, and frequent contributor to major news networks. She has written several works of fiction aside from The Love You Save.

Discussion questions

Author appearances

Learn more

Other resources

ant them to do here? (Call-to-Action)

Author website: Ibram X. Kendi

Author website: Keisha N. Blain

Ibram X. Kendi is a professor, anti-racism activist, and founder and director of the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University. He was included in Time's 100 Most Influential People in 2020.

Keisha N. Blain is an American writer and scholar of American and African-American history. She is Professor of Africana Studies and History at Brown University.

Discussion questions