If they're not getting at her about her homemade clothes or her good grades, it's about her dark skin. When a new teacher arrives with a visible skin condition and abundant confidence, Maleeka strives to learn to love herself the same way. Gr 8 Up–Flake's breakout novel centers Maleeka, a Black seventh grader who suffers every day from the taunts of the other kids in her class. However, when her grandmother falls ill, Caprice must go back to Baltimore and face a deep secret she’s suppressed. In this tale of pain and reclaiming the power of one’s story, Caprice has to find her voice to face not only her past, but her future as well. Placing Caprice's experiences alongside Pecola's yields rich conversation about Black girlhood, sexual abuse, and the role of community support in establishing self-identity and healing.įlake, Sharon G.
Gr 5 Up–In Booth's middle grade title, Black tween Caprice is faced with a tough choice: take a spot in the yearlong program at a school she loves, or spend her eighth grade year in Newark with her best friend. Incorporate these multimodal resources to provide a deeper exploration of the novel's themes of self-perception, racism and colorism, misogynoir, body image, and Black girlhood for young readers of Morrison's heartwrenching classic.īooth, Coe.
To cope, she develops an overwhelming desire for blue eyes, eventually collapsing emotionally and physically under the weight of deep trauma, self-hatred, and white supremacy. Published in 1970, The Bluest Eye is Toni Morrison's first novel, and centers the trials and tribulations of a young Black girl growing up in post–Depression era Ohio. Pecola Breedlove struggles to thrive while experiencing familial abuse and consistently being diminished as "ugly" by her community for her dark skin. Our aim is to inspire educators to breathe fresh life into lessons around these works by giving students new context to understand why these classics are still relevant today.īe sure to check out the 2022 “Refreshing the Canon” lists for more read-alikes of longtime summer reading picks. Inspired by the most popular titles that emerged, SLJ editors and members of NCTE’s Build Your Stack® Committee have curated this year’s round of “Refreshing the Canon” selections.Īdditionally, we’ve put together multimodal lists of recommendations-including nonfiction, graphic novels, documentaries, and more-that educators can feature in classrooms and libraries alongside the exemplar texts. Last month, SLJ asked librarians and educators to weigh in on which classics should remain on summer reading lists.
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