Black families

The Boy in the Black Suit book cover

The Boy in the Black Suit

By Jason Reynolds
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by Kristen R
Apr 8, 2021

Matt Miller, a senior in high school, is dealing with the recent death of his mom to cancer.  Mr. Ray, Matt’s neighbor, offers him a job at the funeral home.  He is hesitant to take it but can’t pass up the good paycheck. So, Matt becomes the boy in the black suit because he starts wearing it every day.  In a way it brings Matt comfort to watch the funerals.  “I liked watching other people deal with the loss of someone, not because I enjoyed seeing them in pain, but because, somehow, it made me feel better knowing that my pain isn’t only mine.”

When he least expects it, Matt meets Lovey.  She

Black mother kisses child goodnight

Bedtime Bonnet

By Nancy Amanda Redd
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by Becky C.
Feb 4, 2021

Bedtime Bonnet is a joy. When a young child’s special bedtime bonnet goes missing, she searches the house for clues, interviewing each person in her multi-generational family as they prepare their own hair for bed. Brother twist his locs into a durag, Grandma rolls her “silver mane” with old-timey foam rollers, and Dad brushes his hair before donning his wave cap. Mom and Sister fix their hair too, but Grandpa doesn’t need to worry about getting his bald head ready for bed. Oh, wait, speaking of—that silly Grandpa! Where is he hiding? Maybe he knows what happened to his granddaughter’s special