PlayBelle wants to read! (Hear that? That's me jumping up and down.)
She wants to improve her comprehension and I've told her the only way to do that is to read. She wants to read a book together and discuss it. (I am doing the Snoopy dance!)
The spinster school marm in me is thinking The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley, or Kindred by Octavia Butler. She likes action and slavery. I wish there was a friendly readable biography of Harriet Tubman, but alas.
How about Piece of Cake by Cupcake Brown? It's gritty, action-packed, inspiring, always on the top of the Essence book charts, but literary-like. Ooh, how about Invisible Life by E. Lynn Harris? I just want her to get excited about a book that isn't by Zane or a hootchie-golddigger-ganstaboo book.
So tell me, what book should I pick to make PlayBelle fall madly, passionately in love with reading for the rest of her life?
She wants to improve her comprehension and I've told her the only way to do that is to read. She wants to read a book together and discuss it. (I am doing the Snoopy dance!)
The spinster school marm in me is thinking The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley, or Kindred by Octavia Butler. She likes action and slavery. I wish there was a friendly readable biography of Harriet Tubman, but alas.
How about Piece of Cake by Cupcake Brown? It's gritty, action-packed, inspiring, always on the top of the Essence book charts, but literary-like. Ooh, how about Invisible Life by E. Lynn Harris? I just want her to get excited about a book that isn't by Zane or a hootchie-golddigger-ganstaboo book.
So tell me, what book should I pick to make PlayBelle fall madly, passionately in love with reading for the rest of her life?
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13 comments:
Anything by J. California Cooper, Alice Walker,The Temple of my Familier, or Their Eyes were Watching God, Zora Neal,I really liked And This too Shall Pass, by E.Lynn, Kellybell the list is long."Just Above My Head" by James Baldwin is one of my favorite book, I am rereading it now...
DW
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
Dust Tracks On A Road by Nora Neale Hurston
Kindred! Their Eyes Were Watching God. To Kill a Mockingbird. On Beauty (Zadie Smith).
-Emerson Z. Hamsa
I would vote for "The Bluest Eye" by Tony Morrison. I loved the relationship that developed between the two females in the novel.
If I may be so bold, I would suggest my own book, which I just published: "The Rebellious Sixties? Yes, I Remember." It speaks to the most important period in the century. Through prose and poetry, it pays homage to the heroes of that period. And it also provide a long poem about two college students trying to have a relationship during this time. I think she would love it.
Ooh, daddy--Congrats on the book! I will check it out!
Thanks, Sistah.
Pride and Prejudice, of course.
If she's open to fantasy at all, she might like "Brown Girl in the Ring," by Nalo Hopkinson. Nalo's a Caribbean-Canadian writer and her books deal with young black women figuring their lives out (voodoo is sometimes involved!).
How about taking her to a bookstore or library a few times a month, and uncritically letting her pick out some books? Afterwards go for an ice cream cone or treat.
She'll remember those mommy-daughter outings and associate reading with that pleasure.
all excellent suggestions--thankyou!
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. by Harriet Jacobs
How about taking her to a bookstore or library a few times a month, and uncritically letting her pick out some books? Afterwards go for an ice cream cone or treat.
...as a librarian I second that!
"Secret Life of Bees" is a good story, great characters, and an engaging and easy read. A good starter.
I second "To Kill A Mockingbird" as well.
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