Sonia Rodriguez

 I’ve invited non Black people who are in someway connected to youth literature to share a list of 5-10 books written or illustrated by Blacks that will appeal to children. I asked for anything from board books and graphic novels to biographies and adult crossover. The authors or illustrators could be living or dead, U.S. residents or not. Today’s guest is Dr. Sonia Rodriguez. Sonia Alejandra Rodriguez is an Associate Professor of English at LaGuardia Community College (CUNY) in New York City. Her research focuses on Latinx children’s and young adult literature, gender & sexuality studies, and Latinx studies. And, she’s know Black children’s literature.

Here’s Sonia!

Thank you for all you do. Here are my 5 recommended selections.

• Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson
• I am Alfonso Jones written by Tony Medina and illustrated by Stacey Robinson and John Jennings
• Mama’s Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation by Edwidge Danticat
• Schomburg: The Man Who Built A Library by Carole Boston Weatherford with Illustration by Eric Velasquez
• Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Boy by Tony Medina