Written by Asia Citro, illustrated by Marion Lindsay, Published by Innovation Press, 2017. (Fiction, ages 6-9)
I love genre-bending books! This is a fun STEM and fantasy mash-up with an engaging duo. When we got our orange kitty I actually petitioned to have him named Sassafras, but unfortunately I was out voted.
BACKGROUND
African American Zoey and her cat Sassafras find out that Zoey’s mother actually treats sick fantastical creatures. Zoey gets to take over, but when she gets her first patient she must use the scientific method to treat it.
BEST FOR
A great highly illustrated early chapter book. A great way to sneak in some serious STEM for fantasy lovers or vice versa.
PAIR WITH
King and Kayla: and the Case of the Lost Tooth by Dori Butler
WHERE TO PURCHASE
If you are interested in reading Zoey and Sassafras
Shop your local indie bookstore
or here is a link for the book on Amazon
This is the picture book debut of author Helena Ku Rhee and really is a triple threat of a book. It is based on an interesting person in history, (Admiral Yi Sun-Sin of Korea during the 1500’s) showcases STEM and is just an engaging story overall with breathtaking illustrations.
I connected with Anjali. Growing up in Canada and the US I didn’t always wanted to be so “different”, and it took me a loooong time to embrace that. Plus, even though I do have a Western first name, I have never been able to find my name in those personalized souvenir racks!
Canada has a lot of publishing companies that produce great Indigenous children’s books written in own voice. This would be no exception. Author Monique Gray Smith is Cree, Lakota, Scottish and wrote this book with the intention of healing and reconciliation especially after a 150 year history of Indian Residential boarding schools where children suffered abuses, poor living conditions, and systematic erasure of their cultural identity.
Patricia C. McKissack was an award winning author who wrote over 100 books about the African American perspective in children’s literature. I was very fortunate to meet her at a past ALA conference before she sadly passed away in 2017. This picture book is her very last, leaving a title that teaches the importance of kindness, generosity, and representation.
Don Tate mentioned in the author’s note that he initially hesitated taking on projects about slavery. Growing up in the Midwest he said whenever they talked about Black History in class it would always be stories of slavery, as if African Americans were only the property of someone else. Later after much retrospect he became proud of the perseverance of African Americans and was intrigued by this particular story. I myself was blown away reading about the extraordinary life of George Moses Horton. February is also Black History month!
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