I love finding and using picture books in the secondary classroom. They are so powerful as mini lesson resources because they can be read aloud, the pictures and graphics say just as much as the words, and like poetry, they can be used to teach writing, revision and presentation skills.
This book, by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson is a fabulous read on its own about a Harlem book store owner, Lewis Henri Michaux, who also happens to the great uncle of the author. Telling the story from the point of view of Lewis Michaux Jr., this is a fabulous love letter to a father and also to a community. Micheaux was an important pillar of the Harlem community from the 1930s to the early 1970s and this picture book is able to capture his legacy through his witty signs and the way he honored reading and knowledge over profit.
So how to use this? I think this is a great template to write biographies and memoirs. We all have people in our own families who are interesting, but maybe not famous. How can we share their life by choosing one thing, talking to people, recording some of their common sayings, and/or using pictures, letters and talk story memories around the dinner table to create a love letter/memoir that can be passed on to future generations? There is so much tech available to us so the publishing and art possibilities are endless. Use this book along with other similar books to immerse students in the genre of memoirs or biographies of ordinary people. And in honor of the "Professor," if you still have a local book store in your community, invite them to your classroom, even over Zoom and have them talk about why they wanted to own/run a bookstore.
I just want to end this post by calling out my own neighborhood mom and pop bookstore, Basically Books in Hilo Hawaii. They outlasted the big bookstores like Borders Books and even if they are a small store, they offer teacher discounts and bring in local writers for book tours.
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