Leo Espinosa

If Casey rode a bicycle

Major Taylor: World Cycling Champion. by Charles R. Smith

July 19, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I had a few bikes in my day. I figured I was pretty good even as I fell off, had my dress caught in spokes stuff, ran into things. Oh yes, my athletics knew no boundaries of ineptitude. Of course, there was this young man in the 1800s who would have given me a ride for my money. His name was Major Taylor: World Cycling Champion. And I guess he was good. He won a few races (starting at age 13) and would fight racism, […]

Wide-awake and definitely NOT tired!

No More Naps!: A Story for When You're Wide-Awake and Definitely Not Tired by Chris Grabenstein

February 11, 2020 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Annalise Devin McFleece is Definitely Not Tired! Nope. Not her. She is a typical kid who cries, fights and will not, no matter what, go take her nap. A fate more than one parent has encountered I am sure. And Miss Annalise’s partents are suffering through that in No More Naps!: A Story for When You’re Wide-Awake and Definitely Not Tired. The McFleece family is your typical modern family: Mom, Dad and one cranky toddler named Annalise Devin. Her cries and screams can crumble the […]

Vacation Time

June 8, 2018 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

One of my jobs at the bookstore is to help with our Book of the Month Club. I get to read, I mean wrap the books. Okay, yes, I read them, too, especially when it is a picture book. And the other day I found Goldfish on Vacation by Sally Lloyd-Jones. This yellow covered book illustrated by Leo Espinosa had me thinking, “Ho-hum another fish gets to take a walk around the block with its human friends.” Um…. nope. Not exactly…. While the three fish […]

Islandborn

March 27, 2018 by BlackRaven 9 Comments

Lola and her classmates are mostly from “someplace else” but now call here home. A school project to draw what you remember best about that first place has Lola unsure of herself (after all, she was just a baby when she left and has no memories from then). Yet, she quickly figures out how to use the resources around her: her family, friends, neighbors and even the memory the island has of her, to capture her heritage. Adults will see current and historical events and […]

Help Our Mission