March 25, 2022
Preschool-Grade 2 Inspired by homeless people and individuals struggling with poverty in her community, Christopher wrote this thought-provoking picture book to imagine what a neighborhood could do to help this overlooked, forgotten population. In this sensitive story, a brown-skinned girl notices a white homeless woman, whom she calls the "Queen," sitting on an empty plot of land with her "royal hound." While others in the diverse neighborhood are afraid of this woman or fail to see her as a queen, the girl suggests that the queen is tired and haggard looking from all the battles she's fought. The child even convinces her reluctant mother to join her in bringing the woman tea and other gifts befitting a queen. Real change comes, however, when a fire starts in a shop one night and Queen shouts, awakening her neighbors in time to stop the spread. In gratitude, the neighbors pitch in to build Queen her own home, include her in the community, and end her poverty. Expressive illustrations lend a gentle, affirming mood to this difficult social problem.
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August 1, 2021
A child notices a person sitting on the corner whom others ignore or fear. The protagonist narrates this story of the woman who stays on the corner of their street with her dog. In the narrator's mind, the queen is tired from battles won and lost; she has slain dragons and journeyed far to arrive here with her royal hound. "But nobody around here knows this." The other neighbors want the woman to leave, but the narrator treats her like a queen, giving her gifts of tea and toast and listening to her stories. The imaginative kid sees the queen and her royal hound protecting their street at night. And indeed, one night, a fire threatens to destroy a building, and the queen's calls rouse the people in time to put it out. But once the tragedy is averted, the neighbors start to head back to their homes. The narrator speaks up, telling them what the queen did. The neighbors change their attitudes, and together they all build a home for the queen. This hopeful tale uses a youthful view of the world to imagine what our society could be like if all people and their experiences were valued and respected, though it leaves caregivers on the hook for explaining to justice-seeking children why the story's resolution is unlikely in real life. The illustrations match the innocence of the text. The narrator is Black, the queen is White, and the neighbors are of various races. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Sweet and thought-provoking. (author's note) (Picture book. 4-9)
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