Born Driven
Saxton Moore Jr.
Nolwe Azul Tamis
Oni Press
November 28, 2023
Ages 6-9

On your mark…get set…go! Young Wendell Scott loves fixing bikes for the children in the neighborhood. He also loves racing anyone or anything from kids on bikes to birds in the sky. When the hometown soap box derby is announced, Wendell decides he will enter, and he will win! Despite facing competitors with fancy racecars, Wendell is determined to win with his car made from junk found around the house. He was not allowed to buy parts from the local hardware store because of the color of his skin. Illustrated with organic shapes, tertiary colors, and zippy, action-packed images, Wendell’s car sped through the twists and turns on the racetrack—surprising everyone with his dynamic driving skills. Although Wendell encountered many obstacles pursuing his dream, he persevered and realized his dream of becoming a professional racecar driver.

In fact, Wendell Scott was “the only African American man to be inducted into both the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and the NASCAR Hall of Fame. [He was] the first African American team owner and driver to compete full time and win in NASCAR” (p. 20-22). Scott’s accomplishments were remarkable amidst the pervasive racism of the white-only racing industry. The theme of Born Driven in the words of Wendell Scott’s grandson is that “anything is possible with enough drive and willpower” (p. 4). This message is an important one for young people in a post-pandemic world, where motivation, resilience, and willpower can be difficult to harness. As Scott often said, “If it’s hard to do, do it today. If it’s impossible, do it tomorrow” (p. 20). Born Driven is Saxton Moore Jr’s debut book; research for the story can be found in the fact file on the final spread of the picture book.

In this week’s Butler Bookshelf, we are showcasing books that celebrate friendship and express gratitude. In the Spanish translated version of We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, Traci Sorell–a member of the Cherokee Nation–introduces readers to the celebrations and experiences of the Cherokee community throughout the year in Estamos Agradecidos: Otsaliheliga. This book centers around the word “otsaliheliga,” which is an expression of gratitude in the Cherokee Nation. Readers moves through the seasons alongside a modern-day Cherokee family, making sure to express gratitude along the way. In addition to introducing readers to Cherokee customs, culture, language, and more throughout the story, she also includes a glossary, Cherokee syllabary, and an author’s note.

Check out other works in our collection about gratitude and friendship below!

All Are Welcome: Give What You Can
Written by Alexandra Penfold and illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman
Published by Random House Children’s Books
Available now!

Bear Says Thanks
Written by Karma Wilson and illustrated by Jane Chapman
Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books
Available now!

Bigger Than Me
Written by Erica Simone Turnipseed and illustrated by Kara Bodegón-Hikino
Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Available now!

Chicken Soup for the Soul BABIES: Say Thank You (But Why?)
Written by Zeena Pliska and illustrated by Hazel Quintanilla
Published by Charlesbridge
Available now!

Estamos Agradecidos: Otsaliheliga
Written by Traci Sorell and illustrated by Frané Lessac
Published by Charlesbridge
Available now!

Hidden Truths
Written by Elly Swartz
Published by Delacorte Press
Available now!

The Butler Children’s Literature Center is excited to announce a new Wednesday feature of our Effie Lee Morris Collection of African American Books. The original literature collection was bequeathed to us in 2012 by librarian and children’s services advocate Effie Lee Morris, and the Butler Center has continued to grow it each year.

Comprised of both contemporary and historical works, the Morris collection includes a variety of genres published over the course of the last century, including works from award-winning authors such as Walter Dean Myers’ Hoops (Delacorte Press, 1981) as well as newer standout authors like Kacen Callender’s King and the Dragonflies (Scholastic Press, 2020). The collection also contains older and possibly lesser-known titles like John Shearer’s I Wish I Had an Afro (Cowles Book Company, 1970) and works from acclaimed illustrators like Brian Pinkney and Faith Ringgold. As a non-circulating collection, the titles are available for public use in the Butler Children’s Literature Center, Rebecca Crown Library Room 214.

Read and learn more about Effie Lee Morris here, including a digital archive with interviews and their full transcripts.

Today’s Butler Bookshelf is focused on nonfiction books! This week on the Butler Bookshelf you will find My Incredible India by Jasbinder Bilan. Bilan tells the story of a young girl, Thara, and her grandmother, Nanijee. On Friday nights, Thara sleeps over at Nanijee’s house in an inviting bedroom carefully decorated for Thara. In her bedroom, Nanijee stores a beautiful wooden trunk with objects from her travels around India. Each Friday, Nanijee removes an object from the trunk and narrates the story about the uniqueness of the object. Thara falls asleep and dreams of the Nanijee’s stories of growing up in India. The book includes a map of India, a timeline of India’s history, and websites for additional information.

For more amazing titles, check out the list below!

Masked Hero: How Wu Lien-teh Invented the Mask That Ended an Epidemic
Written by Dr. Shan Woo Liu and Illustrated by Lisa Wee
Published by MIT Kids Press
Available now!

My Incredible India
Written by Jasbinder Bilan and Illustrated by Nina Chakrabarti
Published by Candlewick Press
Available now!

No World Too Big
Edited by Lindsey Metcalf and Illustrated by Jeanette Bradley
Published by Charlesbridge
Available now!

Stand Up and Speak Up Against Racism
Written by Yassmin Abdel-Magied and Illustrated by Aleesha Nandhra
Published by Walker Books
Available now!

Writing in Color: Fourteen Writers on The Lessons We’ve Learned
Edited by Nafiza Azad and Melody Simpson
Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books
Available now!

How to Love: A Guide to Feelings & Relationships for Everyone
Written and illustrated by Alex Norris
Walker Books
Ages 13+
Available November 14th, 2023!

Sprouting from Norris’ originally popular webcomic on love advice, How to Love: A Guide to Feelings & Relationships for Everyone‘s conspicuous bright pink cover and unspoken promise of mastering love is an honest, funny, and freeing take on relationships. Unlike the title suggests, this “guidebook” ends up asking more thoughtful questions than giving answers, with chapter titles such as “What if I like being single?” or “Can I be friends with my ex?” that prompt self-reflection and challenge many relationship stereotypes. Norris emphasizes the joys of relationships built upon acceptance and self-love, but they also do not shy away from awkward, embarrassing, or hurtful realities that often meet readers with a warm yet blunt tone of advice like, “there will be times when you feel hurt, but these are the times it is most important to be kind to yourself” (p. 91-92). This book’s candid and accepting nature will easily welcome teenagers into the vulnerable, emotional space of love and relationships.

Each chapter is a short cotton candy-colored comic, and readers can either skip around to topics of interest or read it in its entirety. Norris thoughtfully contrasts the images and text—the simple, clean graphics and vivid colors balance the complexity of romantic feelings, and the humorous graphics often offset the sensitivity and sadness that can accompany relationships. Through these inclusive graphics and text that center self-love, friendship, communication, and connection, Norris masterfully celebrates the journey of love rather than the goal of a relationship.

With colder weather quickly approaching and the sun setting a little earlier, this week’s Butler Bookshelf features books in our collection that celebrate nighttime beauty, the beginning of the colder seasons, and other weather-related stories. Joe is one such character that is fascinated by the night, so much so that he wants to find a way to travel to the stars. While Joe’s friends tell him it’s impossible, his father quickly becomes his fervent copilot as they try everything they can think of to reach the stars. When their towers, rockets, ladders, and trampolines don’t work, Joe’s dad just might have an idea that will let Joe be amongst the stars. Check out A Way to the Stars by David Almond for a tender story of a father and son appreciating the world around them, along with other stories in our collection below!

Cosmic Wonder: Halley’s Comet and Humankind
Written and Illustrated by Ashley Benham-Yazdani
Published by Candlewick Press
Available now!

Gather
Written by Kenneth M. Cadow
Published by Candlewick Press
Available now!

Thank You, Moon: Celebrating Nature’s Nightlight
Written by Melissa Stewart and Illustrated by Jessica Lanan
Published by Alfred A. Knopf
Available now!

Wacky Weather: All About Odd Weather Events
Written by Todd Tarpley and Illustrated by Aristides Ruiz and Alan Batson
Published by Random House Children’s Books
Available now!

A Way to the Stars
Written by David Almond and Illustrated by Gill Smith
Published by Candlewick Press
Available now!

Winter: A Solstice Story
Written by Kelsey E. Gross and Illustrated by Renata Liwska
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers and Paula Wiseman Books
Available now!

Santiago Saw Things Differently: Santiago Ramon y Cajal, Artist, Doctor, Father of Neuroscience
Christine Iverson
Illustrated by Luciano Lozano
Candlewick Press
November 14, 2023
Ages 5-9

Immerse yourself in the illuminating story of the multitalented Nobel Prize winner Santiago Cajal—the little known founder of neuroscience. Santiago discovered at the age of eight that he loved to draw using charcoal or chalk, especially on gates, doors, and blank walls in the neighborhood. The neighbors felt that the drawings were an annoyance, “but Santiago saw things differently. He was an artist and always would be” (p. 8). Santiago’s father wanted him to be a doctor, but he continued to draw and paint in secret. Santiago and his father stumbled upon human bones in an old graveyard, and he was hooked on human anatomy. “He saw the human body as a work of art” (p. 20). Santiago attended medical school and invented a way to study nerve cells more clearly under a microscope. Through his nervous system work and scientific drawings of nerve cells, he helped doctors learn about the human nervous system, enabling more people to survive and heal from disease. 

Pages in this nonfiction picture book are enriched with a combination of digital illustrations and Santiago’s actual detailed scientific drawings of neural pathways. Muted blues, oranges, browns, and greens illustrate a curious young boy and later the man whose curiosity leads to his brilliant discoveries. Illustrations are positioned on sepia-toned pages giving the story an appropriate old-world feel for the backdrop of 1800’s Spain. Iverson’s bold text evokes Santiago’s pioneering spirit, passion, and perseverance. Educators and librarians may choose to share this book with children who enjoy biographies, science, and art and the themes of persistence, determination, and ambitious dreams. The afterword includes a description of the anatomy of a neuron, a self-portrait, and further reading on the personal and professional life of the “Father of Neuroscience.” Santiago Saw Things Differently shines a light on a scientist who deserves more recognition for his remarkable accomplishments.  

The theme for this week’s Butler Bookshelf is spooky Halloween stories, featuring Monstrous by Jessica Lewis. Lewis tells the haunting tale of 17 year-old Latavia Johnson who is living with her grandmother in Sanctum, Alabama for six weeks before heading to college. Sanctum is a strange town with even stranger residents who treat Latavia as an outsider. One night, Latavia is yanked out of her home into the Red Wood, a forbidden forest on the outskirts of town, and is given up as a human sacrifice to a bygone monster. Latavia will do whatever it takes to survive including becoming a monster herself. For more amazing titles, check out the list below!

Camp Sylvania

Written by Julie Murphy

Published by Harper Collins

Available now!

Ham Helsing: Raising the Stakes

Written by Rich Moyer

Published by Penguin Random House

Available now!

Hatchet Girls

Written by Diana Rodriguez Wallach

Published by Delacorte Press

Available now!

Misfit Mansion

Written by Kay Davault

Published by Simon & Schuster

Available now!

Monstrous

Written by Jessica Lewis

Published by Delacorte Press

Available now!

The October Witches

Written by Jennifer Claessen

Published by Simon & Schuster

Available now!