© 2024, Nickolas B. Turner, licensed under CC BY-NC-N Book Review Baptist, Kelly J. Isaiah Dunn Saves the Day. New York: Crown Books for Young Readers, 2022. by Nickolas B. Turner Kelly J. Baptist’s Isaiah Dunn Saves the Day is a heartfelt book about a middle school African American male student named Isaiah Dunn. Isaiah is the main character. His mother has previously stopped drinking and gone back to school, and Isaiah, his sister, and his mother are living with a kindhearted neighbor. Isaiah aspires to follow in the footsteps of his deceased father, a writer, furthering his dreams by starting a writing business. He talks to his friend about helping him with the business and is presented with a unique opportunity to mentor a younger student who is going through a tough time and needs guidance from his peers in elementary school. Isaiah willingly accepts this opportunity to be a mentor, forcing him out of his comfort zone. Throughout this novel, we see how Isaiah is stretched and grown as a middle school student and mentor. Baptist, an author of diverse kids' books, is the inaugural winner of the We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) short-story contest. She has delivered an outstanding book, and I would recommend it for public, private, charter, or homeschool students to read. In particular, this book would be appropriate and beneficial for students who are in English Language Arts classes in 6th-8th grades; however, I would specifically target this book towards early middle school grades (6th-7th) due to the reading Lexile reading level (680L). As an 8th-grade English Language Arts teacher, I recommend this book as a great resource to spark in-class discussions around student leadership, diversity, life as a middle school student, and to spark higher-level thinking questions and conversations. In addition, since this book is structured in such a way that it lends itself to a daily journal entry format style of writing, this would also be suitable to discuss ELA daily journal entries or as bell ringer activities at the beginning of class. In her book, Baptist highlights African American characters, intentionally making Isaiah a superhero. Thus, the African American protagonist of the story will spark hope and encouragement in young black and brown students who may not often see themselves in middle school classroom books. As Christian educators, it is essential to have books that reflect all cultures and ethnicities in our classrooms since we are all made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27). Reflecting on the work of former Ohio State professor Dr. Sims Bishop, Kristen Strobbe affirms that “books should be windows into the realities of others, not just imaginary worlds, and books can be mirrors that reflect the lives of readers. Sliding glass doors refers to how readers can walk into a story and become part of the world created by the author— readers become fully immersed in another experience. Approaching children’s stories through the lens of windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors, prioritizes diversity, honors many cultures, and promotes
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