Many of you may remember that around this time last year a young girl started looking for books with young black girls in them. Through her hard work and collection, she became pretty well-known. Marley Dias started 1000 Black Girl Books and has been an inspiration to me (also, her website is an amazing book resource!). She exemplifies how much we—not only as individuals, but as groups—can do to help and support others, starting from a young age. I feel as though so often many of us feel that we have to wait until we grow up to do something extraordinary. I thought that it was important to talk about someone who inspired me and didn’t wait until she grew up to do it.

The following are three books that I’ve read and enjoyed from Marley’s list:

The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkey is written in two styles, prose and poetry. It’s a beautifully written story about a young girl’s experience in a refugee camp. This book also won an award for ALA Notable Children’s Books.

Princeless written by Jeremy Whitely and illustrated by M. Goodwin (which I feel like I’ve mentioned before) is an amazing comic book series. It’s about a young girl who is tired of waiting for her prince to save her. (Seriously, if you haven’t read it yet, pick it up!)

And last, but certainly not least,

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson is a poetic tale of Jacqueline’s experience growing up. It’s won many awards and is definitely worth a read.

What books would you recommend?

-Abbey

Abbey is the Teen Librarian at the West End. She tends to read anything that someone hands her, but truly enjoys reading history and young adult novels.