2 LQ titles named NECBA “Windows & Mirrors” Selections
The New England Children's Bookseller Advisory Council revealed its fall Windows and Mirrors list last week at the NEIBA conference in Providence, R.I. Since 2015, a committee from NECBA has put together a yearly list of diverse children's books that embody the idea of Windows & Mirrors, as explained by Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop. Two LQ books made this year's list: Brooms and Mani Semilla Finds Her Quetzal Voice. The booksellers gave lovely blurbs, and we are very proud. Join us in celebrating this recognition!
Mani Semilla Finds Her Quetzal Voice by Anna Lapera
Narrated in a voice that is hilarious, frank, and vulnerable, twelve-year-old Mani’s struggles navigating her half-Chinese-Filipino-American and half-Guatemalan heritage, tween angst, family life, and middle school are realistic and relatable. At once intimate and intergenerational, Ana Lapera’s debut brilliantly weaves together Mani’s Guatemalan family’s experiences of sexism and activism with her own budding courage to speak out against her school’s rampant culture of bullying and sexual harassment. Fans of Hazel Hill Is Gonna Win This One will love this book!
- Alyssa Raymond, Copper Dog Books (Beverly, MA)
Brooms written by Jasmine Walls and illustrated by Teo DuVall
It’s cool, it’s witchy, and it’s full of queer and BIPOC strength! I cannot stop talking about how gorgeously written and illustrated this book is. The themes of found family, love that feels like home, and the power of community and those who came before you lend to a story filled with magic, perseverance, and nods to real-life history and the current day. With amazing representation of various backgrounds and physical abilities, including sign language usage, Brooms shows that 2SLGBTQIA+ BIPOC deserve and have the right to grow old and live lives that are true to themselves.
- Diana Lima, Brookline Booksmith (Brookline, MA)