Thursday, April 20th at 4:30 p.m.
Click here to register for our Book Bunch

Join Caroline and Donna for a book discussion and trivia game for 4th through 8th graders! We will be reading They Call me Guero by David Bowles. This is a perfect book to read to celebrate National Poetry Month.

Guero is a bilingual boy who also identifies as a border kid. He receives the nickname “Guero” because of his freckles and distinct red hair. However, Guero is a Mexican boy who loves music, video games, and reading. Guero also runs around with a group of misfit kids and tries to uphold his traditions as he discovers girls and a love for poetry.

The Trove will provide a free copy of the book for the first eight individuals to register for the discussion. When the books are available, we will email to arrange pickup; please list an email address and phone number when registering. You can place a hold on the book using our catalog. If you prefer the ebook you can find it on Libby.

Recommended Read:

One Last Word by Nikki Grimes
For grades 4-8
Library Collection: book
Libby: ebook
“Timely and thought-provoking, Grimes’ collection transports young readers through the enduring expressiveness of the Harlem Renaissance, juxtaposing classic poems of the era with her own original work and full-color art by contemporary African-American illustrators.Grimes’ choice of form, the Golden Shovel poem, does the magic of weaving generations of black verbal artistry into a useful, thematic, golden thread. A challenge indeed, the structure demands taking either a short poem in its entirety or a line from that poem, known as a ‘striking line,’ in order to serve as the foundation for a new poem in which each line ends with one word from the original. With this, the classic opening line of Jean Toomer’s ‘Storm Ending’ (‘Thunder blossoms gorgeously above our heads’) is reinvigorated within the new verse as Grimes reminds young readers that ‘The truth is, every day we rise is like thunder— / a clap of surprise. Could be echoes of trouble, or blossoms / of blessing.’ Grimes joins the work of historic black wordsmiths such as Georgia Douglas Johnson, Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, plus the less-anthologized yet incredibly insightful Gwendolyn Bennett and Clara Ann Thompson, with her contemporary characters and thematic entanglements to bring forth a Harlem Renaissance that is as close to the present as the weight of injustice and unfulfilled promise that they spoke through.This striking, passionate anthology reminds young readers and adult fans of poetry alike that while black life remains ‘no crystal stair,’ there remains reason to hope and a reserve of courage from which to draw.” –Kirkus Reviews