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Mailbox Monday #668

Mailbox Monday has become a tradition in the blogging world, and many of us thank Marcia of The Printed Page for creating it.

It now has its own blog where book bloggers can link up their own mailbox posts and share which books they bought or which they received for review from publishers, authors, and more.

Velvet, Martha, and I also will share our picks from everyone’s links in the new feature Books that Caught Our Eye. We hope you’ll join us.

This is what we received:

National Geographic Readers: Stacey Abrams (Level 2) by Melissa H. Mwai from Media Masters Publicity for review.

Learn about the voting rights advocate and politician Stacey Abrams and her groundbreaking achievements in this appealing Level 2 reader. Young readers will find out about Abram’s childhood and her early career as a city attorney and as minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives. The reader also explores her run in Georgia as the first Black woman to be nominated by a major party for governor, and how losing that race inspired her to devote her life to making elections and the voting process more equitable for everyone.

The level 2 text provides accessible, yet wide-ranging information for independent readers. Explore Abrams’s life, achievements, and the challenges she faced along the way to leading the fight against voter suppression and becoming a champion for change.

National Geographic Readers: Kamala Harris (Level 2) by Tonya Grant from Media Masters Publicity for review.

Explore one of the most powerful and highest-ranking female figures in American history with this biography of Vice President Kamala Harris in this Level 2 reader.

On January 20, 2021, Kamala Harris made history. That day, she became the first woman, the first Black American, and the first South Asian American to be elected as Vice President of the United States. Young readers will learn about Harris’s childhood, her early career, and her journey that led to winning the vice presidency. This early reader also explores how Harris devoted her life to helping others, from serving as the Attorney General of California, to being elected as a U.S. Senator, to working alongside President Joe Biden on the campaign trail and in the White House.

Speak Up, Speak Out!: The Extraordinary Life of Fighting Shirley Chisholm by Tonya Bolden from Media Masters Publicity for review.

Before there was Barack Obama, before there was Kamala Harris, there was Fighting Shirley Chisholm. A daughter of Barbadian immigrants, Chisholm developed her political chops in Brooklyn in the 1950s and went on to become the first Black woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. This “pepper pot,” as she was known, was not afraid to speak up for what she thought was right. While fighting for a better life for her constituents in New York’s 12th Congressional District, Chisholm routinely fought against sexism and racism in her own life and defied the norms of the time. As the first Black woman in the House and the first Black woman to seek the presidential nomination from a major political party, Shirley Chisholm laid the groundwork for those who would come after her.

Extensively researched and reviewed by experts, this inspiring biography traces Chisholm’s journey from her childhood in a small flat in Brooklyn where she read books with her sisters to Brooklyn College where she got her first taste of politics. Readers will cheer Chisholm on to victory from the campaign trail to the hallowed halls of the U.S. Capitol, where she fought for fair wages, equal rights, and an end to the Vietnam War. And while the presidential campaign trail in 1972 did not end in victory, Shirley Chisholm shows us how you can change a country when you speak up and speak out.

Flowers Grow on Broken Walls by Farena Bajwa for review from Author Marketing Experts.

Flowers Grow on Broken Walls is a unique collection of poems and prose that talks about healing and finding yourself in a world that constantly tells you that’s who you shouldn’t be.

The poems/story goes over our everyday human emotions; from being heart broken and questioning our self-worth in a world of judgment and scrutinizing social media, to finding ourselves and appreciating those really important in our lives – especially our inner, true selves. It is story that is everyone’s story at one point or the other.

The collection displays a raw and honest portrayal of an artist who cannot help but create something beautiful in the midst of the ugliness she has been put through, and who continues to hope against all odds, as she lets go of what she has been told is important and finds herself in one truly is.

The story that starts with heart ache ends with healing, it starts with rejection from someone but ends with self-acceptance, which is the only way for true healing.

What did you receive?

National Geographic Readers: Stacey Abrams (Level 2) by Melissa H. Mwai

Source: Media Masters Publicity
Paperback, 32 pgs.
I am an Amazon Affiliate

National Geographic Readers: Stacey Abrams (Level 2) by Melissa H. Mwai is a wonderful introduction to a modern activist that provides information on her formative years, her college years, and her ambitions. We loved that this was easy to read for my daughter and the glossary in the back for terms like “district” and “election.” These will help kids who struggle with large, unfamiliar terms and those who want to learn more than the context clues provide. This book also has a short quiz to help kids and teachers review what readers have learned.

Readers will “meet” Stacey Abrams in the first pages, and learn how to phonetically say “election.” This introductory page sets the stage for why Abrams actively fought to improve voting in Georgia and allows children to see how elections are integral to democracy and how voices can be quieted through discrimination. There also are a set of “firsts” for Abrams and a fun story about how she selected the college she eventually attended.

National Geographic Readers: Stacey Abrams (Level 2) by Melissa H. Mwai is a great introduction to the election process, Stacey Abrams’ advocacy to improve voting access, and the role we all can play in ensuring democracy continues throughout the country. My daughter was not that interested when she started reading, but as she read more, she realized that things are not equal for everyone and she said that is unfair.

RATING: Quatrain