For our September issue, journalist Martha Hinton reported on new approaches to teaching the topic of slavery in U.S. classrooms. 

Hinton spoke to Kwame Alexander about his book, The Door of No Return, a middle grade novel in verse about a child in Africa in the 19th century. He is careful to say that this book shouldn’t be characterized as a novel about slavery.

. “[It] was important to me that we get beyond the narrative that the beginning of our story happened here in this New World, that in fact, that’s the middle of our story,”  says  Alexander, a New York Times best-selling author and Newbery Award winner. "And so The Door of No Return is my attempt at writing a proper beginning.”

New Orleans photographer Harlin Miller photographed Alexander in Congo Square for our cover. 

In this issue:

• A New Way to Teach Slavery. Could Kid Lit Show the Way? by Marva Hinton
• Pronouncing Kids’ Names Correctly Matters. Here’s How to Get it Right. by Gail Cornwall
• Censorship Attempts Will Have a Long-lasting Impact on School Library Collections, SLJ Survey Shows By Kara Yorio
• Adult Graphic Novels for Teens by Brigid Alverson
• 12 Books for Kids and Tweens That Celebrate Neurodiverse Minds | Great Books by Alison Staley
• Make Picture Books Browsable | First Steps by Rachel Payne