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Material Type | Library | Call Number | Suggested Age | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book | Searching... Cabell County Public Library | SAN | Juvenile | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
"Lovely and timely. So glad Joshunda is telling our stories." - Jacqueline Woodson
Eight-year-old Ava Murray wants to know why there's a difference between the warm, friendly Bronx neighborhood filled with music and art in which she lives and the Bronx she sees in news stories on TV and on the Internet. When her mother explains that the power of stories lies in the hands of those who write them, Ava decides to become a journalist.
I Can Write the World follows Ava as she explores her vibrant South Bronx neighborhood - buildings whose walls boast gorgeous murals of historical figures as well as intricate, colorful street art, the dozens of different languages and dialects coming from the mouths of passersby, the many types of music coming out of neighbors' windows and passing cars. In reporting how the music and art and culture of her neighborhood reflect the diversity of the people of New York City, Ava shows the world as she sees it, revealing to children the power of their own voice.
Author Notes
Joshunda Sanders has been a prolific journalist since 1999 and served as a staff writer for some of the nation's largest news organizations, including the San Francisco Chronicle and the Houston Chronicle . She has also worked as a federal speechwriter, as Press Secretary to the Secretary of Energy during the Obama Administration, and as Director of Communications in North America for Change.org. She teaches in the First-Year Writing Program at The New School in New York City. She earned a BA in English at Vassar College and an MS in Information Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. She lives in the Bronx, not far from where she was raised.
Charly Palmer is an award-winning painter and collagist whose first children's book, Mama Africa!: How Miriam Makeba Spread Hope with Her Song , won the 2018 Coretta Scott King / John Steptoe New Talent Award and was named a Kirkus Best Book of the year. He is also the illustrator of There's a Dragon in My Closet . He currently lives and works in Atlanta, GA.
Reviews (1)
Kirkus Review
Eight-year-old Ava Murray is determined to become a journalist and write about the world, but first, she will start in the place she knows and loves best, her neighborhood in the Bronx, New York.This story begins with Ava waking up in the apartment she shares with her mother in the Bronx. She and her mother love their neighborhood; however, the little black girl notices that the negative stories of the Bronx on the news do not always match her experience. After watching the news together, Ava's mother explains, "Sometimes the way the world sees us / Is different from how we see ourselves." Ava's mother encourages her to focus on the creativity and sense of community they know, and Ava shares in class what she thinks is sometimes hidden or misunderstood about her home. Palmer's striking, painterly illustrations are reminiscent of the graffiti Ava and her mother talk about. They depict Ava and her mom with glowing, dark-brown skin and reveal influences of hip-hop and the multiple cultures that make up the Bronx. The book is a narrative poem; therefore, grammatical conventions are not always followed, most notably in the avoidance of periods. The unconventional punctuation could prove difficult for beginning readers, but the effect for those reading aloud is one of propulsive forward movement.A vibrant story about what makes a place home and the ties between culture and pride. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
