(3) K-3 Illustrated by Shadra Strickland. Jordan (mother of NBA star Michael) compiles an appealing collection of songs, prayers, and blessings (mostly Judeo Christian, with one ancient Tibetan Buddhist blessing, one Islamic prayer, and one Navajo song) for young children. Familiar American spirituals include "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" and "Kumbaya." Strickland's rich linoleum-cut illustrations of children in nature and at peace make this collection shine.

Reviewer: Alia Jones

(2) YA Illustrated by Shadra Strickland. Alternating first-person, free-verse narratives, beginning in 1952, tell of Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving's romance, which grows into a marriage that violated Virginia's interracial marriage ban and led to the Supreme Court case in 1967. Energetic drawings capture many personal moments, while ample primary source material vividly depicts the social environment. Interviews with the Lovings' family and friends add impressive detail. Timeline. Bib.

Reviewer: Ernie Cox | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2017

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Shadra Strickland. Every Sunday night, young African American narrator Evie goes "Sunday shopping" with Grandma. They browse advertisements, pretending to visit stores and discussing everything they're "buying." Bright mixed-media illustrations blend realistic portraiture with their flights of fancy. Sharper emotions--worry for Evie's mother in the armed forces; awareness of constrained finances--underlie this cozy story, but Evie and Grandma's joy in each other is reassuring.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2015

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Shadra Strickland. Young Michael didn't question much about his segregated life, but once he starts ("I just had to know what that white water tasted like") his mind opens to possibility: "Maybe everything I thought I couldn't do was just in my imagination." While message-laden, the simply told story is effective; the loosely rendered sepia-tinted illustrations evoke a past era.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Shadra Strickland. Watson's lyrical prose describes life before and after Hurricane Katrina, as seen through the eyes of (fictional) children in a New Orleans neighborhood. The voices speak of family relationships, survival, and a slow return to normalcy--a paradigm for the resiliency of youth. Strickland's varied illustrations capture the many moods of the text and the assertion that "Katrina turned New Orleans inside out."

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Shadra Strickland. Bird dreams of becoming an artist. He especially enjoys watching and drawing birds. After the death of his drug-addict brother, Bird finds solace in his wise uncle's comparison between a bird's broken wing, which can be fixed, and a "broken soul," which cannot. This plaintive picture book in verse for intermediate readers features free-flowing watercolor, gouache, charcoal, and pen illustrations.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith