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Owen’s fabulous first friday

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I.
We are all busy and in being busy we push things along the schedule we create and are often bound by the grid of the calendar. Rushing to get out of the house to get to school on time, to get to the next meeting or set one up, to start/finish work, to pick up from school, to get dinner ready, to get to bed, to start again. Everyday we try to align to one-another in a continuous flow of timings and sync points, in a pastiche of moments fixed in time; sometimes we are successful, a lot of the time not, and sometimes in being successful, we miss a lot.

Sometimes when you go somewhere you find something you were not expecting.

Sometimes when you go somewhere you find something you were not expecting.

So, as Owen and I cruise along route 78 to New York for our Fabulous First Friday, and as we near the city, after driving for an hour, I realize he has not once wanted to play on the iPad (which I brought in case), but instead has DJ’d the entire way from his iPod, playing me every song he has that he loves.

Owen masters the art of DJ'ing in the car.

Owen masters the art of DJ’ing in the car.

These are not songs I have much desire to hear, but he clearly not only revels in the thumping bass, but also in having me hear them with him. He taps and drums and sings and sits in meditation and I try to relax into it and not direct him to song selection or have him play music I think he should hear.

The choices were to drive through the Holland Tunnel and to our destination, or take the PATH into the city and subway. He elects to park in Hoboken and take the subway.

Owen holds the "Empire State building" in his hand. No it's didn't really work.

Owen holds the “Empire State building” in his hand. No it didn’t really work.

We arrive outside Washington Square around lunch-time.  We’re in one of the food capitals of the world, so naturally we go to McDonalds.  Sometimes in the face of overwhelming choice, you fall back on what you know.  We’re both happy with it.

We catch some jazz in the square.

We catch some jazz in the square.

We’re sitting along the wall with NYU students coming and going. As he wolfs down his bacon cheeseburger, I notice him noticing every single person going by. I say, “you like to watch the people, don’t you?” He, completely innocently, unaware and with an air of genuine curiosity, replies, “yes, especially the black girls. Their hair is all exactly the same!.” I text Heather while trying to not roll on the floor.

Casually checking out the scene.

Casually checking out the scene.

I need coffee, so we find a coffee shop nearby. As I stand in line, he snuggles up against me. He wants a decalf mocacchino – oh my. Though he winds up not really liking it, I enjoy my espresso; he spies several velvet couches and tries out walking on across them to the delight/chagrin of folks using them.

Owen discovers NYC style coffee.  He could almost be a NYU student.

Owen discovers NYC style coffee. He could almost be a NYU student.

II.

I’ve told Owen we’re going to see Blue Man group, in the original theater. Unless you’ve seen it, there is no real way to understand what it is – Blue Man group is really one of those things you have to “just see” to “just get.” All he knows is that it’s a show with music, drumming and guys painted blue. I know how much he is going to love it, but he has no idea.  Check out this link to YouTube – and you’ll still have no idea.

It's a great show for kids of all ages.  We saw it first in 1997 and it's just gotten better.

It’s a great show for kids of all ages. We saw it first in 1997 and it’s just gotten better.

We take our seats – we have amazing seats – waiting for it to start. Owen is getting nervous that it’s going to be loud; the music playing is a bit percussive. I tell him to ask the usher. He calls over a large black man with locs who greets him “hey little man.” Owen asks the following: Excuse me, can you tell me if this show will be loud? I am from Haiti and when I was in an orphanage as a baby there were a lot of gun shots outside and now that I am older I don’t like loud noises.

The usher handles so smoothly I almost wonder if he’s heard this before. He even says hey in Creole and explains he has lots of Haitian friends. He gives Owen a big smile and says, do you like loud music with a beat? That’s the kind of loud this will be. Owen visibly relaxes.

For the next 2 hours of thumping, antics, paper, marshmallows and general wild fun in an artistic sense of things, Owen is mesmerized. Sometimes laughing out loud, to the delight of everyone around, sometimes completely still and focused.

The silent Blue Man actually spoke to Owen.  Hmm.

The silent Blue Man actually spoke to Owen. Hmm.

As we pass by the gift stand and after we’ve snapped pictures with the Blue Men and Owen has managed to stick his thumb onto one of their heads (to the Blue Man’s surprise and, I think, delight…it’s hard to tell with those guys), and we’re out on the street heading to dinner, I can tell Owen really wanted something to remember it by. I ask him – he says it’s nothing. He insists it’s nothing. I gently prod him – on any other day I may have gotten frustrated – and after a moment it comes out – he really wanted the drum sticks. So we go back and get them.

He asks me to hold them. With Owen, in this situation, that means he values them so much, he doesn’t want anything to happen to them – let alone that he might drop or forget them somewhere. I am not sure if my heart is breaking or filling – or maybe it’s both at the same time.

III.
We’re getting hungry so we decide to head to dinner early. But we have plenty of time. As we’re walking up Lafayette Owen stops and looks down into the grate. There beneath us are subway tracks. He wants to watch a subway go right under us. As we stand there, the rest of the city disappears. The crazy duo across the street with the drummer and bearded fellow with bunny ears on dancing, the French lady taking a bicycle rental, the students in the Starbucks, the police cars whizzing by; the only thing that exists is the grate and waiting for a subway to go by.

No he didn't drop something, there is going to be a train under there for goodness sake!

No he didn’t drop something, there is going to be a train under there for goodness sake!

20 minutes pass. Owen decides to give up. Just then a train not only goes by, it stops under us. A family walks by with a stroller, Owen jumps up in excitement and calls out to them – they think he’s dropped something down there – but he calls look look there’s a train! They smile. But more, they notice the train too. And I don’t think they would have otherwise. I would not have otherwise.

It’s then I realize that time has shifted for me. I am on Owen time – and that’s a very different schedule. It’s not easy to be on Owen time, but there is something – that when I actually allow myself to do it – when it’s just he and I – that is almost magical about it.

***

We head down to the subway and go to Time Square. We emerge in a different city – or it feels like different anyway. It’s overwhelming, so of course I up the ante and we go to Toys R Us. I can’t help it – he spots an AirHogs copter-thing – I get it. He is thrilled beyond belief. This is a boy who never asks for anything. Not for Christmas, not for birthday; nothing. I get it.

He resisted throwing this Angry Bird, but I had to take a picture anyway.

He resisted throwing this Angry Bird, but I had to take a picture anyway.

IV.

Heather found this Brazilian Steakhouse – Plataforma. I’ve never been to one – not a real one anyway – and Owen doesn’t know it at all. They explain how it works and then the food begins to arrive.

Green = bring me more; Red = stop, I can't take it!

Green = bring me more; Red = stop, I can’t take it!

Owen has a certain zest for life – and particularly for good food that is not just difficult to describe – it’s incredibly infectious. So much so that people at other tables pick up on it. The roving wait staff really pick up on it. They are ecstatic when he flips his coaster over to green for more. In fact, they come over and give him more when it’s still red.

Thank you. Now do that again 178 more times please.

Thank you. Now do that again 178 more times please.

The steak is incredible. I text Heather. I don’t want her to be envious, but I just have to share it with her. Owen is going crazy for the meat. I am having the best Caipirinha I’ve had. Ever. Make that I’m having two. They make them tableside. They make Owen a non-alcoholic version. He commands me to close my eyes and he moves them around to confuse me. I– by smell – guess wrong as to which is mine – thankfully I can taste the difference. He is laughing. We toast every 2-4 minutes all night during the dinner.

Owen enjoys a child friendly version of Brazil's national drink. Awesome.

Owen enjoys a child friendly version of Brazil’s national drink. Awesome.

The servers come and go, and ask if we’d like them to take our picture. The general manager comes over and chats with us – for quite a while. We get a recommendation for dessert from the two ladies who are from Brazil – they ate these as kids. Owen wants to bring part of his home – I suspect to show his brother.

I am wishing I could be like this with him everyday.

Special does not begin to describe the dinner. No – not the dinner – although that is special and I am looking for excuses for our whole family to go. “Special”…does not begin to describe the our dinner together, it’s something else entirely.

The only thing that could have made this better for Owen would have been riding a bike everywhere.  However I decided a hospital visit wasn't worth it.

The only thing that could have made this better for Owen would have been riding a bike everywhere. However I decided a hospital visit wasn’t worth it.

V.

We leave the city, fulfilled. We’re tired.

Sometimes getting there is the point.

Sometimes getting there is the point.

We go to our hotel – since that has become a mandatory part of the Fabulous First Friday – but not in the City – in NJ. And that’s ok. I am happily exhausted. Owen wants to swim. Any other day and we would not do it. But we on Owen time right now. We swim. More accurately, he swims, I soak in the hot tub. We wake and have a great buffet breakfast.

Rested.

Rested.

It’s not sad to come home like it was with Kyle. It somehow seems right. Complete, or just enough. I am not sure what. But I am sure that for some people, like Owen, it’s not about the whole experience; it’s about all the moments that happen. And you can only really have those moments, when you are in someone else’s rhythm.

 

Random Notes: Eggs & Bowling

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Kyle and Owen used to eat a ton of eggs when they were babies/toddlers. When they first came home from Haiti, they had pretty severe iron deficiencies. Eggs were a major source of iron for them and — believe it or not — they’d eat 2-3 eggs (sometimes 4) a day, each, every couple of days, when they were 10-11-12 months old. They loved eggs! (scrambled! hard boiled! over easy! omelets! any which way!) I was buying two dozen eggs a week for a good long while. Their big egg intake went on, until, at about age 3, it suddenly dropped off, and then — over time — they actually became fully repulsed by eggs. Sadly, this was the result of the daycare they attended when they were that age. The daycare often made “fake eggs” for the kids for breakfast (powdered, or some sort of egg mix of some sort). It killed K & O’s love of eggs. Ever since, they’ve been egg averse. Their egg aversion lasted for years. And I often wondered if it was going to last a lifetime. But about six months ago they started dabbling in eggs again. And they’ve built up their love for eggs again. And now, I’m back to buying two dozen eggs a week again.

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Meera is on the birthday party circuit big-time these days. Since school started she’s already gone to three birthday parties, and we have more on the calendar. Braydon and I take turns bringing her (although, truthfully, Braydon does a lot more than 1/2 of these). Sunday was my turn though. It was a bowling birthday party. I took the two photos above with my iPhone and they just totally crack me up!

Founders Day at Swain School

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Founders Day KO Founders Day M

Wednesday was Founder’s Day at Swain School. We are loving this place! The bambinos are thriving!

In the pictures above, the kids are getting “pinned” with the Swain School pin. All kindergarteners, and all new students to the school, are presented with their honor pin at the Founders Day ceremony. It is a huge deal to the kids. The bambinos were really into it. (In both photos, the J-M kids are on the far left.)

Founders Day K 1 Founders Day K 2

After the ceremony the school community heads outside for the annual tradition of planting a tree. There is one student representative from each classroom who is chosen to do the ceremonial shoveling of the dirt for the planting. Kyle was so proud to have been chosen by his teacher to represent their class. This was a big moment for him!

{all photos courtesy The Swain School}

An Amazing Evening with Brando Skyhorse

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We’ve had so many unique and wonderful opportunities as the result of living on campus. We’ve been able to do so many cool things as a family because of it. But last night topped them all for me. We had the most amazing evening.

Lehigh (like many universities) has a required summer reading book for the entering first-year class each year. Every incoming first-year student is expected to read the chosen book before arriving on campus. The book and the book’s themes are then incorporated into many of the first-year orientation programs. This year’s book was The Madonnas of Echo Park , by Brando Skyhorse.

madonnas
Brando Skyhorse came to Lehigh yesterday to give a public lecture last night. During the day he spent time on campus. We arranged for him to attend the first-year Eckardt Scholars seminar in the morning (the entering cohort of Eckardt Scholars have a seminar just for them during the fall semester). And we also arranged for him to have dinner with that same group of students (there are 13 of them). The dinner turned out to be an amazing experience — surely for everyone involved — but especially, I think, for me.
It was the kind of evening you always imagine happening on college campuses (but, unfortunately, just about never actually does happen). I felt like I was on a movie set — it was that dreamy-ish!
It was an epic night with this incredible author, 13 exceptional students, my family and me, the director of Lehigh’s First Year Experience, and the director of Lehigh’s Community Service Office… all together… for a fabulous meal and genuinely engaged conversation… in a cozy real home… really together… on campus. It was the stuff that dreams-of-college are made of. For real.
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It was the birthday of one of the students. I put candles in our dessert cake, and we all sang happy birthday to her. Imagine… being a freshman in college… turning 19, and having a famous author sing happy birthday to you!?! Imagine… being a professor… and having students with whom you’re close enough to do stuff like this?!? Imagine… being an author on the lecture circuit… and now you’re in the real home of someone (instead of an event venue), and you’re singing happy birthday to a student who read your book as required summer reading!?! It was really pretty special.
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Brando Skyhorse was wonderful. He was down-to-earth, he connected with the students, he was nice, he was real. He generously signed all of our books.
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A certain 5-year-old was much more interested in playing with the students than she was interested in chatting it up with the famous author. A certain 5-year-old has no clue how very unusual her little life is. (Her 9-year-old brothers are starting to really “get it”; they are starting to understand how unique their life is; and they definitely know how rare it is to have a famous author come to your home for dinner. Kyle, in particular, got great enjoyment from the evening, and connected — in about as much depth as any 9-year-old possibly could — with Brando Skyhorse.) But you know what? There is something really great about having that clueless 5-year-old in our midst; she keeps it real and reminds everyone of just what does (and does not) really matter.
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The entire evening was magical for me. From my perspective, I felt like everything came together, the dots all connected, and all that I’ve been working toward — in terms of pulling together all the pieces of this huge endeavor of living on campus — was fully in motion. It felt mystical and magical.
I took a huge risk in doing this (moving onto campus, as Lehigh’s first faculty family in the Residential Fellows Program), and last night I saw how the risk was worth it. There is a lot that is hard about doing what I/we are doing. But last night was a wonderful reminder that sometimes, when wonderful people from divergent places come together, in a real warm and homey home, good stuff happens.
* * *
I need to finish this post with perhaps the most important piece of the puzzle: Lehigh Catering. I just have to acknowledge it. This group is incredible and truly — truly — makes what I’m doing possible. It is only because of our ability to work with them that an event like last night can be pulled off so splendidly. I have to explain: We bring in LU Catering for all of our events — so they know us well. We’ve developed great relationships with the front-line folks (the people who actually come to set up, serve, and break-it-down). We have an especially great relationship going with Jeff — one of the catering staff. He’s our favorite catering guy, and we request him any time we can.
Jeff was our guy last night. He’s like a friend of the family at this point — but he’s also a true professional. He came in, set it all up (he knows our space so well by now that he can just take liberties to be creative and make it work, despite how tiny and cramped and non-conducive to entertaining our space actually is). He works miracles! Believe me! Then he worked the event and made it run perfectly smooth. The food was delicious! And then, he cleaned it all up. Seriously… that is how “I” do it. Because it isn’t “I”… it is us. (Photo below: Jeff serving cheesecake with fresh berries)
jeff
This is all just to say: Thank you LU Catering! And thank you Jeff! The J-Ms love you!
(Photo below: Jeff and the bambinos)
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And, because I know some Lehigh folks will read this post–
Thank you too to some other very important people who made last night possible:
  • Allison Ragon, Director of Lehigh’s First-Year Experience
  • Carolina Hernandez, Director of Lehigh’s Community Service Office
  • Our Eckardt Scholars students (who made us proud) & The Eckardt Scholars Program (which funded the dinner)
  • And, of course, as always — Jeanne Kassis, my “Right Hand Woman,” who coordinates all of this, does all the ‘real’ work to put it together, finds a way to make my visions realities, and makes everything happen but gets none of the glory. Jeanne Kassis, I love you and I could not do what I do without you. Seriously. You rock my world!

It was a great evening!

Spooktacular 2013!

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Spooktacular

Sunday we went to Lehigh’s SPOOKTACULAR!

This is an annual event put on for the community by Lehigh’s Community Service Office. Families (this year over 600 people attended!) are warmly welcomed onto campus for an afternoon jam-packed with tons of activities and food — all 100% free — and all run by student volunteers.

We had never been before, and — like so many things we’ve done at Lehigh in the past year — we probably never would have gone if we weren’t living on campus. But we are living on campus, and we did go. And, honestly, I was impressed beyond impressed with the spectacular-ness that was Spooktacular. I cannot rave enough about how absolutely amazing this event was.

Spooktacular 26
Carolina Hernandez (above with Kyle!) is Director of Lehigh’s Community Service Office. She’s become a good friend of our family. And I cannot overstate what a gift she is to Lehigh and the local community. This woman knows what she’s doing in running a campus community service office. Let me tell you! She is a rare gem and we are beyond fortunate to have her here at Lehigh. Spooktacular is just one of many (many!) things that Carolina’s office does throughout the year to provide tremendous service opportunities and experiences for the campus community. But it isn’t just the events and programs — it is her style of doing them — that really impresses me. It is amazing stuff that Carolina is doing and her impact on the community, and on Lehigh students, is huge.
Before I go on though… spoiler alert!
Kids wear their Halloween costumes to Spooktacular. So, I must reveal… The Bambinos Halloween Costumes 2013: a Knight, a Civil War Union Soldier, and Spidergirl!
in car
Kyle Meera Owen
Oh yes! It is a sight to see and experience! The bambinos in costume!
***
We checked into Spooktacular, not really knowing what to expect. We ended up spending the whole afternoon having so much fun!
Spooktacular 5
There were games on the lawn of the UC (“University Center”)…
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…and then we made our way inside the UC…
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…to discover pizza and meatball subs…
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…and tons and tons and tons of activities of every variety imaginable. Crafts, snacks, games, tattoos, and every sort of fun-Halloween-themed-activity you could possibly imagine. All being run by enthusiastic, energetic, college students eager to make every kid they encountered smile. I saw hundreds (hundreds!) of kids smiling the entire time– Kyle, Owen, and Meera most definitely included.
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And then there were haunted houses! Two of them! One for older kids, and one for younger kids. This was the bambinos’ first experience with haunted houses. It was a riot– The bambinos had a BLAST!!!!
(And, of course, we ran into the fabulous Christa Neu, an awesome Lehigh photographer who has now become a family friend.)
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And, as if all that wasn’t enough…
We were then invited outside for trick-or-treating in Trembley (a student residential area near the center of campus).
Students gave out candy from their doorways.
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It was such fun trick-or-treating!
And then we were whisked off for jack-o-lantern carving and hot-chocolate at a nearby fraternity house.
(Seriously! This event was unbelievable!!!)
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Spooktacular was awesome. We had so much fun and were so glad we went.
It made me proud to be a part of this place.
***
A huge thank you to Carolina, the CSO, and to all of the very many students who volunteer to make this event such a huge success. Really, you’ve impressed me beyond belief. It was an honor for our family to be able to take part in Spooktacular this year, and we are already looking forward to Spooktacular 2014!
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Favorite iPhone Pics from the Past Few Days (100% unedited)

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Meera took us out for lunch with the Friendly’s gift card she got from Jewel for her birthday

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a girl and her dog

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the boys at their favorite lunch place– hibachi at Kome

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grading with Rainbow Loom

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Dash

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playing with the bambinos’ current favorite person on the planet: our Head Gryphon Jon

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legos in the sunshine with Sayre friends/neighbors/students

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Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2, in 3D

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we are currently in the midst of Red Sox vs. Detroit in the ALCS

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evening walk

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toy train in Sayre B Lounge

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K & O got to sit in the dugout for a bit of LU Baseball’s last game of Fall Ball

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puppy class with Dash every Sunday

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Kyle with his current favorite book

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toy phone in the back pocket (just like the big girls on campus)

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tonight, dinner conversation, in Rathbone Dining Hall

Top Five: Great Chapter Books for Black Boys

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This is the introduction to a series of posts on our favorite chapter books for young (age 10 and under) black boys. Please share, link, and re-post anywhere and everywhere! Every school and town library in our country needs to have these books on their shelves!

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Over the years I’ve posted about some of our favorite books for black kids (click on links to go to those posts):

Kyle and Owen are now at an age where they are loving chapter books. As with the other phases of their book-reading-development, I have been seriously challenged to find great books for them with strong black characters. I am a real stickler about this: I am an adamant and firm believer that it is imperative for black kids to have lots of books with black characters. It is my own opinion that it is absolutely critical to provide black kids with a plethora of such books so that they are immersed in a world of reading that does not marginalize them, especially at younger ages. Our book shelves are filled with all sorts of books (and yes, we have Harry Potter and Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Magic Treehouse, etc. etc. etc.), but I am vigilant about making sure there is a solid core base of books with black representation.*

So, over the past nine years I’ve spent an enormous amount of time and energy researching and seeking out books which reflect black culture, possess rich black imagery, and highlight strong black characters, while at the same time being good, plain-and-straight-up, awesome books. Luckily, we are living at a time in history when such books do, in fact exist. Unfortunately, these books are not always so easy to find.

In the past couple of years, Kyle and Owen have been gradually making the shift from picture books to chapter books. Now, at age 9, they have sincere appreciation for a good chapter book with black main characters. It has been very clear to me that they prefer (greatly prefer) chapter books with black male characters. This is no surprise, of course. But an interesting twist is this: there are many, many more chapter books targeted for black girls than for black boys. I’ve had to do some pretty deep digging to come up with really good chapter books with black main characters.

In this series of posts I’m going to list our Top Five Favorite Chapter Books for Black Boys. I’m focusing specifically on chapter book series here. These will be posted in order, from Kyle and Owen’s favorite (#1), to their 5th favorite (#5). Bear in mind, all five of these sets of books are superb! I am simply listing them in rank order of my own boys’ favorites. Also, note: I have personally read every single one of these books right along with Kyle and Owen (we are big believers in reading aloud as long as our kids will let us). I can personally vouch that they are excellent chapter books!

I hope these posts will be useful for black boys, their parents, their extended family and friends, their teachers, their librarians, and their communities. If you’re looking for great chapter books for the black boys in your life, I’ve got you covered! Enjoy!

*This is a subject that I have thought about a lot, and on which I have done a lot of research, so please (please!) don’t leave mean and nasty comments about how uptight I am about this. As far as I am concerned, this is a topic that is not up for discussion. If you don’t want to know about great books for black boys, then simply skip these posts. Please (please!) don’t waste your time or mine by telling me that I’m wrong for being so adamant on this subject, or by telling me what a hypersensitive person I am for taking the stance that I do on this. I am a sociologist and a mom, and I’ll tell you this: it is what it is folks, and whether you want to believe it or not, things like this (providing books with black characters for your black children/students) do, indeed, make a difference… a big, big difference.

~ ~ ~

Links to the Great Chapter Books for Black Boys posts:

Top Five: Great Chapter Books for Black Boys (#1 of 5)

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#1 The STAT: Standing Tall and Talented series by Amar’e Stoudemire

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Amar’e Stoudemire is a six-time NBA All-Star and captain of the New York Knicks. He’s an amazing guy (check out his website by clicking here). He’s written a series of books based on his own life growing up as a very talented athlete and gifted basketball player. This series is targeted at middle-school readers, but Kyle and Owen have absolutely adored these books since we first discovered them about a year ago. We’ve read them all (and pre-order the ones forthcoming!), and without a doubt this is far and away Kyle and Owen’s favorite series.

When reading these books, I often have the strange feeling that they were written specifically with Kyle and Owen in mind, and I know that K & O feel that way too (I wonder if every kid who reads them feels that way about them?). They focus on the joys and challenges of working hard to overcome obstacles. What is particularly helpful for us is that these books have really helped Kyle and Owen to process their own athletic giftedness, and think about how to handle it. Through the story lines of these books the young Amar’e is faced with how to navigate his own course while staying true to his friends and family. What I love about these books is that although they highlight the athleticism of a very talented young black boy, they present him as multi-dimensional, nuanced, and complex; he isn’t simply a stereotype of the “athletic black male,” but rather a multi-faceted person in a realistically portrayed world.

You don’t have to be a mega-athlete to enjoy these books (take me for example! I am by no stretch of the imagination a mega-athlete, and yet I have very much enjoyed reading these books with my boys). But I do think that black boys, especially those interested in sports, will relate to, and love, this series. These books will give their readers a lot to think about (well beyond the basketball court.) And if you have boys like Kyle and Owen in your life (basketball obsessed, and — as referred to in Stoudemire’s books — boys who are “tall and talented”), I can pretty much guarantee that they will just eat these books right up!!

There are currently four books in this series, one forthcoming, and hopefully more in the works! The series includes:

  • Home Court
  • Double Team
  • Slam Dunk
  • Schooled
  • Most Valuable (expected January 2014)

So, there you have it! Kyle and Owen’s #1 favorite series of chapter books — Amar’e Stoudemire’s STAT: Standing Tall and Talented!

Top Five: Great Chapter Books for Black Boys (#2 of 5)

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#2 The Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs / Clubhouse Mysteries books by Sharon Draper

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Kyle and Owen love, love, love these books. Of all the chapter book series I’ve read to/with them, this series is my personal favorite. If I were making my own Top Five list, these would definitely be #1 on the list.

I’ll go ahead and make a bold statement here, and I will stand behind it 100%: I think that the children’s section of every library in the country — and definitely every school library — should have this collection. They are amazing books. I just can’t say enough about them. I have come to admire the author, Sharon Draper, in a big, big way (her numerous well-deserved awards and accolades are amazing!), and I can’t wait until Kyle and Owen are old enough to start reading all of her books for teens (check out her website at http://sharondraper.com/books.asp).

When I first discovered the Ziggy/Clubhouse Mysteries books it was very confusing, so I just want to note about that here: These books were originally published with the titles of “Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs.” The covers were illustrated with images of four clearly black boys. But then, at a certain point, the series title was changed to “Clubhouse Mysteries,” and the cover art was all re-done. See the cover images below and note the change. On the left are two examples of the original book covers, which are now out of print; on the right are the re-done book covers which are now for sale. It is a pretty drastic change — look, just for example, at the long locs on Ziggy in the bottom left cover, now missing in the new cover art for the same book:

ziggy original Clubhouse match up

ziggy original space ziggy redone

The “new” books were still published by the same publishing house (Alladin), and had the exact same text, but they were under different titles with different covers. Of course, I don’t know the inside story, but it is a pretty easy guess as to what happened — the publisher and/or the author (my guess is this was probably entirely orchestrated by the publisher) determined that the books would be more marketable to a broader audience if the look/feel/titles were “softened” and made “less black.” Having a little bit of experience with the publishing world myself, it is easy to become very cynical about this stuff. For Kyle and Owen and me, it was hard to see the rebranding of these books, the shift in the appearance of the covers, and the change in the series title. Disappointing, and disturbing. We thought about boycotting them (to protest the re-branding). However, these books are so good (I mean, they are just so, so, so good!), that we stayed loyal, read, and loved them all. Someday I’d love to hear the inside scoop as to what, exactly, happened that resulted in the rebranding. In the meantime, the bottom line is that these books were real page turners for Kyle and Owen. I appreciate how well written, and yet very educational, they all are. In our house, we call these the “Ziggy books” (sticking to the original series title), but in looking for them in your library or online, you might find it easier to search with the current series title “Clubhouse Mysteries.” Either way, and despite this backstory, these are a must-read series of six books:

  • The Buried Bones Mystery
  • Lost in the Tunnel of Time
  • Shadows of Caesar’s Creek
  • The Space Mission Adventure
  • The Backyard Animal Show
  • Stars and Sparks on Stage

This is a stellar series! If you read them, you’ll see exactly what I mean!

Top Five: Great Chapter Books for Black Boys (#3 of 5)

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#3 The Julian (and Huey, and Gloria) books by Ann Cameron

Julian 1Julian 2Julian 3Julian 4Julian 5

Huey 1Huey 2Huey 3

Gloria 1Gloria 2

I have a slight fascination with Ann Cameron. My fascination is mostly prompted by the fact that she’s a white female author who has written a series of books with a black boy as the main character, and which have the lives of black middle class families as the central storyline. Her biography is fascinating in and of itself (read it here), as she has done so many varied things — including, notably, being a Freedom Rider while in college at Harvard during the Civil Rights Movement. Cameron is most well known for her Julian series of children’s books, but she has other books for kids too (check out The Most Beautiful Place in the World, and The Kidnapped Prince, which we can vouch for as being very good; she has a couple of other books for older kids too).

I posted about the Julian books when we first read them, during the summer of 2011, when Kyle and Owen were 7 years old (click here). The books have three main characters — Julian, his little brother Huey, and their neighborhood friend Gloria. I clump all of the books together in one lump sum here. This series includes:

  • The Stories Julian Tells
  • More Stories Julian Tells
  • Julian’s Glorious Summer
  • Julian, Secret Agent
  • Julian Dream Doctor
  • The Stories Huey Tells
  • More Stories Huey Tells
  • Spunky Tells All
  • Gloria’s Way
  • Gloria Rising

We’ve read every one of them, and they are just plain wonderful!

Top Five: Great Chapter Books for Black Boys (#4 of 5)

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#4 The Miami Jackson Series by Patricia & Fredrick McKissack

Miami 3 Miami 1 Miami 2

Patricia McKissack is an incredible author of stellar children’s books. She’s been really prolific in this realm, often collaborating with amazing co-authors and illustrators. Just Google her, or Wikipedia her, or do an Amazon.com search for her name, and you’ll see a huge list of incredible books and resources for children. She and her husband, Fredrick McKissack, have written numerous Coretta Scott King Award-winning books (which says all you need to know). Kyle and Owen loved all three of the books in their Miami Jackson series. The kids in this series really come alive on the page, and the story lines are laugh-out-loud humorous. This series includes:

  • Miami Jackson Gets it Straight
  • Miami Jackson Makes the Play
  • Miami Jackson Sees it Through

A great trio of books!