Reading, Writing & Pondering

  Carved In Ebony: Lessons from the Black Women Who Shape Us by Jasmine L. Holmes tells the stories of ten black women of faith in the United States. Holmes tells readers in the introduction that she is a writer, a teacher and a mother. She wrote this book as "part biography and part memoir--part research, part love letter." She tells us that these women were not perfect but that "every one of them represents a beautiful fact of Christian womanhood that has inspired me in my own walk. . ." She hopes that the reader will also see God's handiwork in each of the stories and also be inspired to live and proclaim God's goodness. The ten women featured in Carved in Ebony are: Elizabeth Freeman, a midwife; Sara Griffith Stanley, an abolitionist and missionary; Frances Ellen Watkins Harper,a poet and writer ; Amanda Barry Smith, a preacher and founder of an orphanage; Maria Fearing, a teacher and missionary; Maria Stewart, an abolitionist, speaker, teacher and wri...

  Crowned with Glory by Dorena Williamsonson is an adorable book aimed at young black girls. I love how this book is affirming in both the pictures and the storyline for little girls of color today. This book is aimed at children ages 4 to 8 years old is 40 pages long and about 8 1/2 inches square--it is a nice size for young children to hold and it is a good size to read to them. The words in this book are affirming and are aimed at today's children. There are a couple of slang words that are in use today that make it relevant to our times.  As the cover shows the young girl with her beautiful, black hair, this book talks about how that hair is from God and is their "crown of glory." I'm not a black girl so I don't know the challenges they have with their hair but I do understand that it can be challenging. As a white woman with extremely curly, kinky hair throughout my life, I can resonate with that encouragement through Crowned with Glory and I love it. It al...