Black History is American History. A lot of sports history is Black history, too! Here is a book that hits at the brilliant intersection of Black History, Women's History, and Sports history. Looking for your next great sports read? Mark your calendar right now for our event with Andrea Williams! 


There is only one woman in the National Baseball Hall of Fame: Effa Manley, co-owner of the Negro League's Newark Eagles. This is her story.
 

Before Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947, Negro Leagues Baseball was the only game in town for black athletes. And those leagues owed their existence and success to savvy businesspeople like Effa Manley, the black female co-owner of the Newark Eagles. Effa was the team's business manager, leading her team to win the Negro World Series in 1946. But this victory was bittersweet: Integration was on its way, and the demise of the Negro Leagues would soon follow. 

In this riveting nonfiction account, Andrea Williams weaves the parallel stories of the segregated leagues with the tale of an inspiring woman who was at the center of it all.

Andrea Williams is an author, journalist, and editor. As a journalist, her work has been published across various outlets, including Mediabistro, CNNMoney, Conde Nast Traveler, and others. Before turning to full-time writing, she worked in marketing and development for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in her hometown of Kansas City, Missouri.

This is going to be a fantastic conversation about her work and this important book! This virtual event is a Zoom webinar for the safety of our author and our guests. Please register in advance by clicking this link. 

 

A little literary banter during your Friday lunch break! Friday Fiction Book Club is a great way to kick your reading habit into gear this year, and make some new friends in the process! We meet for 1 hour, once a month on Zoom. 

This month, we're reading The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, a book that's still on everyone's must-read list! If you've been meaning to read it, crack it open now and join us! 

The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it’s not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it’s everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters’ storylines intersect?


Because this is a regular Zoom meeting, we want to keep everyone safe. If you'd like access to the Zoom link, please send a request to Kyra at events@silverunicornbooks.com


 

Do you have a young voracious reader in your life? We're delighted to offer Middle-Grade Book Club to the young readers in our community who want to read and discuss a new book every month! Hosted by local author Rebecca Caprara, our Middle-Grade Book Club offers the opportunity to discuss books with peers and do a little storytelling for yourself! 

This month, the Middle-Grade group is reading Lupe Wong Won't Dance by Donna Barba Higuera: 

My gym shorts burrow into my butt crack like a frightened groundhog.

Don't you want to read a book that starts like that??

Lupe Wong is going to be the first female pitcher in the Major Leagues.

She's also championed causes her whole young life. Some worthy…like expanding the options for race on school tests beyond just a few bubbles. And some not so much…like complaining to the BBC about the length between Doctor Who seasons.

Lupe needs an A in all her classes in order to meet her favorite pitcher, Fu Li Hernandez, who''s Chinacan/Mexinese just like her. So when the horror that is square dancing rears its head in gym? Obviously she''s not gonna let that slide.



For the safety of our young guests, if you'd like to join us for this Zoom meeting, you need to email to make the request. Please email Kyra at Events@silverunicornbooks.com to get the link. 

Our next next launch is a nonfiction picture book packed with adventure, girl power, and bugs! You don't want to miss this special launch!

It's not every day when we're able to launch a gorgeous picture book into the world AND host the author, illustrator, and book subject for the event! We're proud to host author Heather Lang, illustrator Jana Christy, and Dr. Margaret Lowman ("Canopy Meg") as they launch The Leaf Detective: How Margaret Lowman Uncovered Secrets in the Rainforest! 

Meg Lowman was always fascinated by the natural world above her head. The colors, the branches, and, most of all, the leaves and mysterious organisms living there. As a scientist, Meg set out to climb up and investigate the rain forest tree canopies—and to be the first scientist to do so. But she encountered challenge after challenge. Male teachers would not let her into their classrooms, the high canopy was difficult to get to, and worst of all, people were logging and clearing the forests. Meg never gave up or gave in. She studied, invented, and persevered, not only creating a future for herself as a scientist, but making sure that the rainforests had a future as well.


All pre-orders of The Leaf Detective will be signed by Heather! Pre-
order your book today to make sure you get your signed copy! 


Please consider donating a book to Dr. Lowman's TREE Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to tree research, exploration, and education. You can find out more about it here. If you'd like to purchase a book for donation, please add a book to your cart and write "TREE Foundation Donation" in the comments box at checkout.  

You want to be part of this event and it's perfect for the STEM-curious kiddo in your life. That's why we're hosting it at a special time, 4pm, which is unusual for us. So make sure you mark your calendar now and then register in advance for the event! For the safety of our guests and audience, this event is a Zoom Webinar and you need to register in advance to attend. Please click this link to register.

 

Two book launches in two months! Last month, it was middle-grade. This time? YA! Acton author Nicole Lesperance is on a roll! We're proud to launch her SECOND book of the year, The Wide Starlight, and host fabulous ABRHS librarian Anna Drury to help us celebrate! 

It's February Break and you're not going anywhere. Why not cozy up to a new, fabulous book written by an author right in your hometown? Fiction fans who love young-adult novels should mark their calendars right now for this special event! It's extra cool to also host library extraordinare Anna Drury, who will ask Nicole questions and speak with her about the book during the event. 

More about The Wide Starlight: 


Never whistle at the Northern Lights, the legend goes, or they’ll sweep down from the sky and carry you away.

Sixteen-year-old Eline Davis knows it’s true. She was there ten years ago, on a frozen fjord in Svalbard, Norway, the night her mother whistled at the lights and then vanished.

Now, Eli lives an ordinary life with her dad on Cape Cod. But when the Northern Lights are visible over the Cape for just one night, she can’t resist the possibility of seeing her mother again. So she whistles—and it works. Her mother appears, with snowy hair, frosty fingertips and a hazy story of where she’s been all these years. And she doesn’t return alone.

Along with Eli’s mother’s reappearance come strange, impossible things. Narwhals swimming in Cape Cod Bay, meteorites landing in Eli’s yard, and three shadowy princesses with ominous messages. It’s all too much, too fast, and Eli pushes her mother away. She disappears again—but this time, she leaves behind a note that will send Eli on a journey across continents, to the northern tip of the world: Find me where I left you.


Watch the launch, read the book, and cheer on a hometown author as she launches another great book! Mark your calendar and register for the event today! For the safety of our guests and audience, this event is a Zoom webinar. Please register in advance to receive the link. 

We love Middle-Grade at the Silver Unicorn! We're delighted to host local author Jen Petro-Roy and fellow middle-grade author Alyson Gerber to celebrate the release of Jen's Life in the Balance! 

We don't know if you've noticed, but middle-grade is having a "moment" and we're really excited about it. Big topics, themes that matter, humor, growth, adventure... Middle-Grade is for the young reader in your life who is ready to explore more sophisticated themes in deeper ways. 

Jen and Alyson offer young readers two books with serious topics that matter. 

Jen's Life in the Balance is about a girl name Veronica. Veronica Conway has been looking forward to trying out for the All-Star softball team for years. She's practically been playing the game since she was a baby. She should have this tryout on lock.

Except right before tryouts, Veronica’s mom announces that she’s entering rehab for alcoholism, and her dad tells her that they may not be able to afford the fees needed to be on the team.

Veronica decides to enter the town talent show in an effort to make her own money, but along the way discovers a new hobby that leads her to doubt her feelings for the game she thought she loved so much.

Is her mom the only one learning balance, or can Veronica find a way to discover what she really wants to do with her life?


Alyson's Focused is about a girl named Clea. Clea can't control her thoughts. She knows she has to do her homework . . . but she gets distracted. She knows she can't just say whatever thought comes into her head . . . but sometimes she can't help herself. She knows she needs to focus . . . but how can she do that when the people around her are always chewing gum loudly or making other annoying noises?

It's starting to be a problem-not just in school, but when Clea's playing chess or just hanging out with her best friend. Other kids are starting to notice. When Clea fails one too many tests, her parents take her to be tested, and she finds out that she has ADHD, which means her attention is all over the place instead of where it needs to be.

Clea knows life can't continue the way it's been going. She's just not sure how you can fix a problem that's all in your head. But that's what she's going to have to do, to find a way to focus.


If you're a parent looking for books that might help your young reader understand a big idea, or if you are a parent with young readers in the house looking for new things to add to  their personal library, this is a great event for you!

You can preorder Jen's Life in the Balance right now on our website and all pre-ordered books will be signed! 


For the safety of our guests and attendees, this is a Zoom Webinar event. Please register for the link by clicking here. We look forward to seeing you there!