The Blue Fish Chronicles

       Freedom in Congo Square was written by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. It is a poem picture book. A picture book containing only one poem. This is a poem about a place in New Orleans, Louisiana called Congo Square; it is in Louis Armstrong Park. In 1817, Congo Park has designated the only space for slaves to gather. During this time, slaves worked from sunup until sundown and Sunday was their only day of rest. They would gather in this area and conduct African customs such as music, language, and religion. This poem highlights some of their day-to-day routines and marks each day until they were “free” (Carole Boston Weatherford, R Gregory Christie, and Freddi Williams Evans 2016). This book mostly contains words that are familiar to the intended reader however there are some words that the reader might not know, and they are explained in the glossary at the back of the book. At the front of the book, there is information that...

       César: ¡Sí, se puede! Yes, We Can!  is a book of poems written by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand and illustrated by David Diaz. It is about the life of Cesario Estrada Chavez who was also known as César Chavez. Born in Yuma, Arizona in 1927, became a pivotal person in the unionization of farm workers. This book contains a table of contents that names its 19 poems. The book also contains notes, a glossary, a short blurb on his life, a timeline of his life, and quotes from César. The quotes are used in each of the poems and give the title of the poem and the page number. The book also contains a sources page. This book is informational about César’s life. Those who live in areas with migrant workers and might have parents who are so would connect with the story. It would give insight to those who do not have the experience. Some of the words are written in César’s native language, Spanish, and might be difficult for those unfamiliar with the language to read, espe...

     Leaf Litter Critters is a book of poems written by Leslie Bulion and illustrated by Robert Meganck. The poems are themed on the topic of the tiny critters that live within the leaf litter layer. Each poem talks about different types of critters that live there. Each poem features science notes somewhere on the two-page spread per poem. There is a table of contents and there are 19 poems. After the pages that contain the poems, there is a glossary for words that might be unfamiliar to the reader. Most of the words are familiar to the reader but some words might be difficult to read and might be new to the reader. After the glossary, there are poem notes. Each poem has a short poem note that informs the reader of the type of poem they read and some additional information. After the poetry notes, there are experiments that the reader might try to further investigate this world in addition to some further resources noted after that. The last informational page has a dia...