When Tomorrow Burns

 Rating: 4 out of 5| Buy this for your 6th grade classroom

My Thoughts:

The only other Tae Keller book I’ve read is Jennifer Chan is Not Alone, which explores bullying, alien hunting, a central mystery, and what it means to be unapologetically different. When Tomorrow Burns touches on many of those same themes—friendship, identity, mystery, and embracing who you are—but throws in romance, betrayal, contrasting family dynamics, socioeconomic differences, and a literal world on fire. Keller truly understands the pain and angst of middle school. She honors the "weird" kids, presenting them in their most complex, gifted, and heroic light.

This was a bit of a slow start for me; I put it down several times early on because I wasn't sure I wanted to invest in these three characters. At first, Vi and Nomi felt a bit too overwhelming in that distinct 5th- or 6th-grade way (anyone who has taught middle school girls will know what I mean). Meanwhile, Arthur felt overly needy for acceptance, which seemed at odds with his background and his long-standing friendship with Nomi and Vi.

However, once the three characters start rallying together, the pacing picks up significantly as their actions align more with true seventh-graders. The slow start wasn't a reflection of Keller’s writing—her prose toward the end, along with the poetic tree "memos," is absolutely beautiful. Once those authentic middle school voices truly emerged, the story took off, making this a solid 4-star read.

From the Publisher:

Once there was a tree. For two hundred years, there was a tree. There was a tree. There was a tree. Until the tree fell in a forest--and then there was a book.

When best friends Nomi, Vi, and Arthur were younger, they discovered a book of prophecies. It was so very comforting to know what was coming. But as the kids grew older, they forgot about the book.

Until the final prophecy started coming true.

Now, as seventh grade tests their friendship and wildfires threaten Seattle, the final prophecy promises fire and destruction. Nomi tries everything to prevent calamity. The only problem? She needs help...but Vi's acting strange and Arthur stopped talking to her.

Vi can't tell Nomi, but she's been texting the coolest boy in school, and it's going well--until that boy makes an unexpected request, and she must decide who she wants to be.

Meanwhile, Arthur joined the cross-country team, but he can't outrun the real reason he ended his friendship with Nomi. The best he can do is try to hide it.

As the prophecy escalates, past and present intersect, fate and friendship collide, and secrets spread like wildfire. Together, Nomi, Vi, and Arthur must face the future...even, and especially when it's so uncertain.

Publication Information:

• Author: Tae Keller
• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
• Publication Date: March 3, 2026
• Print Length: 272 pages
• Grade Level: 5-7

Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist For Justice

My Thoughts:

This graphic novel is reminiscent of the three graphic novels by the late Senator John Lewis, March. Taking place in a similar time, Dr. Smith's childhood in poverty as the son of a sharecropper is interspersed with the lead up to the 1968 Olympics in Mexico where Smith and his teammate John Carlos stood on the winner's podium after their track victory and raised their gloved hand in protest as the American flag was raised. This is an iconic photo usually seen in college history books with Smith and Carlos sharing one pair of black leather gloves. 

What needs to be learned from this book, and that is not talked about enough, is the backlash that these athletes received because of this silent protest. Although it is not true that their medals were stripped from them, when readers understand how these athletes were treated, then it is easier to understand why Kapaernick has never played in the NFL since his own silent protest.  This is a great time for this graphic novel to come out. Despite our seeming lack of progress in social equity and anti racist movements, despite our overturning of rights and our continued segregated schools, we need to find hope in these stories that the fight continues. 

From the Publisher:

On October 16, 1968, during the medal ceremony at the Mexico City Olympics, Tommie Smith, the gold medal winner in the 200-meter sprint, and John Carlos, the bronze medal winner, stood on the podium in black socks and raised their black-gloved fists to protest racial injustice inflicted upon African Americans. Both men were forced to leave the Olympics, received death threats, and faced ostracism and continuing economic hardships.

In his first-ever memoir for young readers, Tommie Smith looks back on his childhood growing up in rural Texas through to his stellar athletic career, culminating in his historic victory and Olympic podium protest. Cowritten with Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Honor recipient Derrick Barnes and illustrated with bold and muscular artwork from Emmy Award–winning illustrator Dawud Anyabwile, Victory. Stand! paints a stirring portrait of an iconic moment in Olympic history that still resonates today.

Black-and-white illustrations throughout

Author: Tommie Smith, Derrick Barnes

Illustrator: Dawud Anyabwile

Publisher: Norton Young Readers

Pubication date: September 27, 2022

Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna

 

My Thoughts:

The paperback of this book just came out this month, which makes this cheap enough to buy as a class set for 6th or 7th grade classrooms. Inspired by her great grandmother's story of escaping from Mexico to the United States, Dobbs shares a heart breaking debut novel about a 12-year old Petra Luna who carries all of the responsibility for her family on her small shoulders. Her mother died during childbirth and her father is conscripted to fight for the Federales in 1913 Mexico. Petra Luna is responsible for her baby brother, her little sister Amelia and her Abuela. In addition, as a dark skinned Indio, she faces racism and disdain from her own community. 

This story is just one heartbreak after another, and Petra Luna must be as tough as the black-coal rock she carries around from her father. Middle grade students cannot help but invest in Petra Luna and her dreams, even when her abuelita says that they are barefoot dreams, which means that as indios who are the poorest of the poor and educated, Petra's dreams are just fantasy and she should understand her place in this world. 

From the Publisher:

A tale of one family's perilous journey to cross the U.S. border during the Mexican Revolution that is every bit as relevant and heartbreaking today 

It is 1913, and twelve-year-old Petra Luna's mama has died while the Revolution rages in Mexico. Before her papa is dragged away by soldiers, Petra vows to him that she will care for the family she has left—her abuelita, little sister Amelia, and baby brother Luisito—until they can be reunited. They flee north through the unforgiving desert as their town burns, searching for safe harbor in a world that offers none.

Each night when Petra closes her eyes, she holds her dreams close, especially her long-held desire to learn to read. Abuelita calls these barefoot dreams: "They're like us barefoot peasants and indios—they're not meant to go far." But Petra refuses to listen. Through battlefields and deserts, hunger and fear, Petra will stop at nothing to keep her family safe and lead them to a better life across the U.S. border—a life where her barefoot dreams will become reality.

Author: Alda P. Dobbs

Publisher: Sourcebooks for Young Readers

Publication date: August 2, 2022 (paperback)

What Unites Us: The Graphic Novel

 

Publication Date: March 9, 2021

When large historical events happen in America, as Americans, we look to our long time news analysts to use their lived lens and long history observing and reporting on society to make sense of the chaos and give us their take on events as they unfold. Therefore, when the January 6, 2020 insurrection at the US Capitol happened in Washington DC, The Tonight Show Host, Jimmy Fallon, went to revered retired news anchor Dan Rather to both share his observation and give a calming perspective on what he saw. 

Of the insurrection, Rather says, "it was like watching a very bad horror movie." 

I started this graphic novel right after watching his interview and Dan Rather, in that same calming voice that clearly reports out atrocities to democracy is consistent in his message that "if we hold steady, we are going to be ok." (as he keeps humming patriotic tunes like God Bless America "land that I love/Stand beside her and guide her/Through the night with the light from above. . .")

This graphic novel, based on his book of essays by the same title, uses the American fine line drawings of Tim Foley to bring these very relevant essays to younger audiences. As I read, I just felt comfort that although something like this, meaning the storming of the capitol incited by rhetoric from a sitting president, has never happened in US history before, we are going to be ok.

Rather has a historical counter to the day's actions as a result of President Trump's rhetoric inciting violence:

I have seen how a nation can pick itself up and make progress, even at divisive and dysfunctional political moments. . .I have found that the vast majority of men and women, and children I have met over the course of my life are kind and well intentioned. . .For all the stories of misdeeds on which I have reported, there have been many more of heroic actions and communal empathy.

When I find myself a witness to events that I know will have an impact on all of our lives going forward, this book will be a calming beacon through the night to remind us that we are still here, and that what unites us is greater than what divides us. 

I think regarding the move from protest to insurrection by a Trump-fueled mob, Rather, in this book would share this, by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes:

I think we should be eternally vigilant against attempts to check the expression of opinions that we loathe. . .unless they so imminently threaten immediate interference with the lawful and pressing purposes of the law and that an immediate check is required to save the country.

The fact that our senators rallied to return to finish their certification of the votes is definitely the "check required to save the country" and as the days go by, I have been heartened by the quiet stories of "heroic actions and communal empathy" like the staff members who had the foresight to protect and take the ballot box with them, as well as New Jersey representative Andy Kim (D) who saw the desecration of the Capitol and, after he did his job to ratify the vote for President Elect Biden and VP Harris,  grabbed a rubbish bag to help clean up the mess left behind by the looters. 

Final note: I received an advance egalley of this book from Net Galley and the publisher First Second Books. Because of their generosity, I try not post a review more than a month before the scheduled publication date, however, I am publishing early because this graphic novel is so timely, and so important to be in classrooms today. This should be pre ordered, so I am publishing this a couple of months early. This has brought me comfort. I hope it brings students and the teachers who need to lead these difficult conversations in the coming months comfort too. 

Black Heroes of the Wild West

 

Black Heroes of the Wild West: Featuring Stagecoach Mary, Bass Reeves, and Bob Lemmons

My thoughts:

The look of this book reminds me of those old western dime novels. It just has a similar style, but the historic importance of these stories is to highlight the fake narrative around America's wild west. The American west was not, in fact, made up of white cowboys (the heroes and outlaws) and the "savage" Native Americans as the only two groups existing on the frontier. By resurrecting these hidden stories through text and graphics, readers are introduced to these unsung heroes and suddenly our American narrative is much more accurate,  rich, and diverse. I would definitely love to see an animated short on each of these historical figures. Thanks to the author, the ancestors seem ready to jump off the page into more adventures. 

These are stories that need to be shared in a genre and style that is also a talk back to the western dime novels of our American literary history.

Josephine (A memoir in verse)

Author: Patricia HRuby Powell
Pictures: Christian Robinson

In short: This memoir-in-verse relates the story of Miss Josephine Baker, her rags-to-riches rise, her entertainment career and mostly her passionate work for equality and an end to segregation.  This book is a Coretta Scott King Book Award, Honor, for the Illustrator, a Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award, Honor, and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Nonfiction Honor.

 My thoughts:  I am always looking for memoirs in verse. I think as a reader, putting the story in verse, especially for a musician, helps the reader feel the rhythm of that person's life. What I especially thought was a nice touch was how Powell used some actual quotes from Ms. Baker and put that prose into poetic form.

"I improvised, crazed with the music. /Even my teeth and eyes burned with fever./I leapt to touch the sky./When I regained earth/it was mine alone."

As a children's book or tween book, it does not shy away from the controversy and racism of that time. It does a good job of recording the ways that Ms. Baker tried to integrate herself into white society. However, I was left with more questions about this controversial figure. I still wanted to know why she continued to bleach her skin to fit in with high society. In other words if she was so interested in integration, why was she trying to look more white?

Another thing I wanted to see was how she was as a mother. Yes she adopted children from different ethnic backgrounds to make her "rainbow tribe" but then she is seen abandoning her husband for long stretches in Paris, coming back to divorce  him, and nowhere is there a mention of the children. Did she leave them with her husband, take them with her? I could not tell if the adoptions were for show or what she was like outside of the limelight.

I think as a memoir in verse, these types of questions left at the end are great for readers who want to know more and it will encourage them to seek more answers. The author does give references for further reading at the end so it is a place to start.