Enjoy Storytime this Black History Month with these Children Books

Children and families can enjoy these fun and educational books highlighting Black history, culture and style. For more recommendations, take a look at the Pratt Library’s Black History Month collection.

My Red, White, and Blue
By Alana Tyson

We Dream a World
By Yolanda Renee King

Fighting with Love
By Lesa Cline-Ransome

Justice Ketanji
By Denise Lewis Patrick

Hip-Hop: The Beat of America
By Jarrett Williams

Standing in the Need of Prayer
By Carole Boston Weatherford

Sankofa
By Eric Adjepong

We Are Here
By Tami Charles

Harlem at Four
By Dr. Michael Datcher

Your Voice, Your Vote
By Leah Henderson

When I Wrap My Hair
By Shauntay Grant

Natural Me
By MzVee

What’s New for Teens this February

Teens, fall for a new book this February! Take a look at the latest books available at the Pratt Library. Check them out!

A Tempest Of Tea
By Hafsah Faizal

Book | eBook | eAudio

Thieves’ Gambit
By Kayvion Lewis

Book | eBook | eAudio

Nightbane
By Alex Aster

eBook | eAudio

Ode to my First Car
By Robin Gow

Book | eAudio

Bless the Blood
By Walela Nehanda

Book | eBook

Wish of the Wicked
By Danielle Paige

Book | eBook

Infinity Alchemist
By Kacen Callender

Book | eBook | eAudio

If I Have to be Haunted
By Miranda Sun

Book | eAudio

How the Boogeyman Became a Poet
By Tony Keith Jr.

Book

The Dark Descent
By Kalyn Josephson

eBook

Phoebe’s Diary
By Phoebe Wahl

Book | eBook

A Curse for True Love
By Stephanie Garber

Book | eBook | eAudio

Books for Fall for this February

Love is in the air this February! Download these Romance eBooks and eAudiobooks from Overdrive in honor of Valentine’s Day.

The Neighbor Favor
By Kristina Forest

eBook | eAudio

Fangirl Down
By Tessa Bailey

eBook | eAudio

Right on Cue
By Falon Ballard

eBook | eAudio

Not That Kind of Ever After
By Luci Adams

eBook | eAudio

Second Chances in New Port Shephen
By TJ Alexander

eBook

She’s All I Need
By Chiquita Dennie

eBook

Gigi, Listening
By Chantel Guertin

eBook

Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend
By Emma R. Alban

eBook | eAudio

In It to Win It
By Sharon C. Cooper

eBook

The Art of Desire
By Stacey Abrams

eBook

Pride & Prejudice
By Jane Austen

eBook | eAudio

A Lot Like Adiós
By Alexis Daria

eBook | eAudio

The Art of Scandal
By Regina Black

eBook | eAudio

The Singles Table
By Sara Desai

eBook

Not the Plan
By Gia De Cadenet

eBook

What’s New this February at the Pratt!

Here’s a look at some of the latest books available this month at the Enoch Pratt Free Library. Happy reading!

Wandering Stars
By Tommy Orange

Book | eBook | eAudio

The Phoenix Crown
By Kate Quinn & Janie Chang

Book | eBook | eAudio

The Chaos Agent
By Mark Greaney

Book | eBook

What Have We Here?
By Billy Dee Williams

Book | eBook | eAudio

Bride
By Ali Hazelwood

Book | eBook | eAudio

The Mayor of Maxwell Street
By Avery Cunningham

Book | eBook

Medgar & Myrlie
By Joy-Ann Reid

Book | eBook | eAudio

The Women
By Kristin Hannah

Book | eBook | eAudio

Ours
By Phillip B. Williams

Book | eAudio

How to Find a Four-Leaf Clover
By Jodi Rodgers

Book

The Excitements
By CJ Wray

Book | eBook

End of Story
By A.J. Finn

Book | eBook

The Sixties Underground Press and the Digital Age: Part 2

By Josie Breck, Periodicals Department

Okay, But Where Are The Memes?

Defined very broadly, a meme is like an in-joke for a mass audience. The sources of memes are often copyrighted, but not as a rule – it’s more about what little chunks of culture resonate with people than the legality of using that chunk for your own purposes. Relaxed attitudes towards copyright allow for memes to spread. That attitude was as endemic in underground press as it is in online communities. 

A notorious example was R. Crumb’s “Keep on Truckin’!”, a comic which spread across the underground without his explicit permission. The meme became so popular that companies like A.A. Sales made unofficial merchandise. When Crumb tried to sue A.A. Sales, the comic was ruled to be in the public domain due to a since-rescinded technicality. (Crumb’s appeal to the Sixties underground aside, he often used racial caricature and sexual violence in his work, something he intensified to shake off his popularity. As such, recent critical assessments don’t favor him.)

A notorious example was R. Crumb’s “Keep on Truckin’!”, a comic which spread across the underground without his explicit permission. The meme became so popular that companies like A.A. Sales made unofficial merchandise. When Crumb tried to sue A.A. Sales, the comic was ruled to be in the public domain due to a since-rescinded technicality. (Crumb’s appeal to the Sixties underground aside, he often used racial caricature and sexual violence in his work, something he intensified to shake off his popularity. As such, recent critical assessments don’t favor him.)

There are Similar stories of meme ascension for digital-era cartoonists such as Matt Furie, whose Pepe the Frog became a right-wing signifier. K.C. Green’s work has also hit meme status several times, most famously his “This is Fine” comic. Each of these artists has responded to their work being used in this way with new works which subvert (or rebuke) the audience’s expectations.

A few other memes of the Sixties underground include satirical portrayals of Nixon, the cryptic “Paul is dead” rumors regarding Paul McCartney, and the chorus of Arlo Guthrie’s Alice’s Restaurant, a song which encouraged its own memetic spread.