DMPL Book Chat discussion

Let us know which book you read for this bonus challenge below! If you'd like more information about the bonus challenges (including instructions for logging your books) or some recommendations, head to our 2023 Reading Challenge website at dmpl.org/readingchallenge.

"Walking Gentry Home" by Alora Young. I enjoyed this unique structure for tracing family history and appreciate the depth of genealogical research undertaken. Young, 2021 Youth Poet Laureate for the Southern United States, explores the maternal side of her ancestry which she can name back to 1796. The 120 poems recognize each individual's transition from girlhood to womanhood—some who are dark- and some who are light-skinned— amid the societal constructs of the time period. In the final section, she tells her own story.

IF GOD COULD RAP by Hafis Bey. Fascinating.

I read Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein with my 3 year-old. He giggled and giggled and made me repeat several poems multiple times, so I feel like I read this about 10x in the last week. Worth it.