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"Life on Other Planets: A Memoir of Finding My Place in the Universe" by Aomawa Shields, PhD

Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight... And the second and third and you'll just keep wishing until you run out of desires. You'll never run out of stars, though, so you can spend all night wishing and do it again tomorrow. Wish hard enough, work even harder and, as in the new book "Life on Other Planets" by Aomawa Shields, PhD, you may see your hopes come true.

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"The Last Resort: Chronicle of Paradise, Profit, and Peril at the Beach" by Sarah Stodola

Your bags are packed. Yep, you're headed for five days of sun, sea, and sand. Early-morning dips in the ocean, flip-flops, and little grains of beach in the sheets every night. But you won't care, you'll be on V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N. Might want to check first, though: read "The Last Resort" by Sarah Stodola to be sure your venue's going to be there.

"To Walk About in Freedom: The Long Emancipation of Priscilla Joyner" by Carole Emberton

You are not confined to your chair. If you want to get up and move around, in fact, you can. Stand up, stretch, wiggle your toes, shake out the knots. Step out and drop in on the space next door or down the street and it's okay. You're not stuck in your chair or this room or even this building, and in "To Walk About in Freedom" by Carole Emberton, you'll get a new appreciation for that ability.

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"Dark Was the Night: Blind Willie Johnson's Journey to the Stars" by Gary Golio, illustrated by E.B. Lewis

It's almost time for lights out. Just before that, though, you have a ritual: you wash your face, brush your teeth, put on your jammies, crawl into bed, and get a bedtime story. Then it's lights out until morning but before your good-night kiss tonight, ask for one last thing. Ask for "Dark Was the Night" by Gary Golio, illustrated by E. B. Lewis.

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"Brave. Black. First." by Cheryl Willis Hudson, illustrated by Erin K. Robinson

Step right up. When you want to be first in line, that's what you have to do: get in place at the head, let everybody else queue behind you, and lead them forward. You might have to show them how it's done. You might have to show some responsibility. Or, as in the new book "Brave. Black. First." by Cheryl Willis Hudson, illustrated by Erin K. Robinson, you might have to take some big risks.

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"The Last Negroes at Harvard" by Kent Garrett with Jeanne Ellsworth

Remember, remember....? Skipping school, good teachers, hard lessons, practical jokes, smelly lockers, remember? If you don't, your oldest friends probably do. As in the new book "The Last Negroes at Harvard" by Kent Garrett with Jeanne Ellsworth, they were there alongside you when everything happened, remember?

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“Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick” by Zora Neale Hurston, edited with an introduction by Genevieve West, foreword by Tayari Jones

Everybody has that place. You know, that place where everyone knows you, they know what you want, and they get it for you before your coat’s half off. It’s where you can catch up on gossip and good news, where you take shelter and get sympathy. In “Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick” by Zora Neale Hurston, you also get a front seat.

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“Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America” by Candacy Taylor

Your tickets have been purchased. Reservations were made in your name and all that’s left is packing. Yep, you’re heading out for the weekend, a week, a month, gone on the trip of a lifetime and as you’ll see in “Overground Railroad” by Candacy Taylor, it’s a trip your grandparents might’ve been denied.

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“A Death in Harlem” by Karla FC Holloway

With a book in your hands, you can do almost anything.

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“Count Me In” by Varsha Bajaj

There are a few kids in your class that you usually try to ignore. That’s because they’re kinda mean. They call others names, knock books out of their hands, and say racist or hurtful things. They’re bullies, and you avoid them as much as possible, but as in the new book “Count Me In” by Varsha Bajaj, could there be something you don’t know?

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“Surrounded by Idiots” by Thomas Erikson

Every day of the week, you want to pound your head against your desk.

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“Martin Luther King, Jr.: Voice for Equality!” by James Buckley, Jr. and YouNeek Studios

The heroes in comic books arrive in fancy costumes. Their heads are ringed by bubbles that say things like “POW!” and “ZOOM!” and that’s when bad guys fall like dead twigs from a tree. BAM! All the heroes in comic books are super-powerful and mighty but here’s the thing: as you’ll see in the new book “Martin Luther King, Jr.: Voice for Equality!” by James Buckley, Jr. and YouNeek Studios, real heroes sometimes quietly wear suits and ties.

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“Becoming a Hair Stylist” by Kate Bolick

Sometimes, you feel like you could just dye. Or curl, or cut, or braid. Some days, you want a change in style, a different ‘do, maybe something like you’ve seen in a magazine. Or you want to be the person who makes that happen, so read “Becoming a Hair Stylist” by Kate Bolick and see if you have what it takes.

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“The Code of the Righteous Warrior” by Rev. Dr. Alyn E. Waller

These days, you just don’t know what to expect. Things used to be laid out nice and easy: a real man took care of business, he settled disagreements with his fists, and he was head of his household. But it’s a new world now with new expectations, and in “The Code of the Righteous Warrior” by Rev. Dr. Alyn E. Waller, you’ll know how to get through it.

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“Becoming a Veterinarian” by Boris Kachka

The minute the doctor walked into the room, you felt a sense of relief. Soon, the pain will be gone and you might finally get some rest. You could even have a name for the illness causing all these problems. Soon, your ailing pet will feel better, life will return to normal and in “Becoming a Veterinarian” by Boris Kachka, you’ll see what goes into the making of an animal doctor.

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“Black is the Body: Stories From My Grandmother’s Time, My Mother’s Time, and Mine” by Emily Bernard

Your mother dealt with things you can’t imagine. It was a different time when she was your age, with societal issues you’d never tolerate and rules you wouldn’t abide. Same with your grandma: scrapbooks, history books and museums are the only places you’ll see what she lived. So what will your children know?

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“You Can’t Go Wrong Doing Right: How a Child of Poverty Rose to the White House and Helped Change the World” by Robert J. Brown

Do unto others. Three words that are a shorthand reminder to be nice and treat people in the manner that you’d want to be treated. Do unto others and make life smoother. Be good, and be of service because, as Robert J. Brown reminds readers, “You Can’t Do Wrong Doing Right.”

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“Brown White Black: An American Family at the Intersection of Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Religion” by Nishta Mehra

Column A or Column B? Truth is, you don’t fit in either. You’re unique, from your toes to your hair, inside and out. People can try to categorize you, but it just won’t work. As you’ll see in the new book “Brown White Black” by Nishta J. Mehra, there’s a lot to learn.

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“A Bound Woman is a Dangerous Thing” by DaMaris B. Hill

Hands on the wheel. Hands on the hood, in the air, on the wall, on the ground. No sudden moves, no waving “hey” or scratching your nose, and don’t reach for a thing. Hands up – although, as you’ll read in “A Bound Woman is a Dangerous Thing” by DaMaris B. Hill, there are times when that doesn’t matter.

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“Blended” by Sharon M. Draper

One plus one is two. It’s simple: all you have to do is add or count, easy-peasy, a trick you probably learned shortly after you could talk. One plus one is two but as you grow up, you’ll notice that math can get funny and, in the case of the new book “Blended” by Sharon M. Draper, one plus one might suddenly become more.

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