Sign-In
Cart
Origin and Grind
Paperback
Publisher Price: $10.00
Publisher: C.R.Hale Publishing
Published: Apr 1 2026
Pages: 20
Weight: 0.20
Height: 0.05 Width: 8.50 Depth: 11.00
Language: English
Before the block wakes up and before the horns start their grind, Ro flips the sign to Open at Origin & Grind - a coffee shop rooted deep in North Memphis, Tennessee. He turns to his daughter Zora and says, Today we listen to the beans and their mind.
Origin & Grind is a lyrical, spoken-word picture book that follows nine-year-old Zora Robinson as her father, Malik Ro Robinson, teaches her the art and history behind their family's coffee roasting craft. Through poetic, rhythmic language and vivid graphic-novel-style illustrations, Ro guides Zora from the roaster's first crack all the way back to the Ethiopian highlands - where a shepherd named Kaldi first noticed his goats dancing wild from a cherry-red find.
This ain't just beans in heat, Ro tells her. This is heartbeat work, rhythm and repeat. Sample roast small - that's how we listen. How we hear what the soil been missin'. We don't just roast - we remember. Every crack, every scent, got a story to render.
Side by side with Ro, Zora learns that coffee didn't start in a chain café. It came from African soil, from Ethiopian hills, and from hands that tended the earth long before the world gave it a French name or a price tag of regret. She learns that to roast with intention is to reclaim something true - to put history back in the flame.
Back at Origin & Grind, the whole block gathers. Miss Laverne comes for peace, not the clocks. Dee from down the street sketches beats at the bar. Every sip, every sound - that's who they are. Together, Ro and Zora grind slow, honor fast, and lift the past so the flavor lasts.
Rich with Afrocentric motifs, kente-inspired borders, and warm espresso tones, Origin & Grind is part love letter to Black entrepreneurship, part celebration of African coffee heritage, and part community portrait of a neighborhood where craft, culture, and memory live in every cup.
Perfect for: readers ages 6-12, classroom cultural education, Black History Month, family read-alouds, school and public libraries, and community programs celebrating Black-owned small business.
Every bean has a story. Every block has a culture.
Also from
Hale, C. R.
Teen CMEr's Guide to the Steward Board: foundations for ministry 2.0: foundations for ministry
Hale, C. R.
Paperback
Also in
History
Disgustingly Delicious: The Surprising, Weird and Wonderful Food of the World
Mariño, Soledad Romero
Hardcover
Top Secret Files: World War II, Spies, Secret Missions, and Hidden Facts from World War II
Bearce, Stephanie
Paperback
Courage Under Fire: True Stories of Bravery from the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines
Gunderson, Jessica
Miller, Adam
Otfinoski, Steven
Other
Revolutionary Friends: General George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette
Castrovilla, Selene
Hardcover
20th Century African American History for Kids: The Major Events That Shaped the Past and Present
Weston, Margeaux
Paperback
Bones and Berserkers (Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #13): 13 True Tales of Terror from American History
Hale, Nathan
Hardcover
Unbreakable: A Japanese American Family in an American Incarceration Camp
Gutiérrez, Jolene
Tonai, Minoru
Hardcover
Terrifying True Tales: Haunting Histories, Creepy Cryptids, and Scary Stories from Around the World
Towler, Paige
Hardcover
Weird But True! Usa: Expanded Edition: 350 Fascinating Facts about the Fifty States
National Geographic Kids
Paperback
A World Without Summer: A Volcano Erupts, a Creature Awakens, and the Sun Goes Out
Day, Nicholas
Hardcover
Greeking Out Tales from the Underworld: Ghostly Myths from Around the Globe
Curtis, Kenny
Hughes, Jillian
Hardcover
Weird But True! Usa: Expanded Edition: 350 Fascinating Facts about the Fifty States
National Geographic Kids
Hardcover
Reading the Bones: Homo Naledi and the Mysteries of Human Evolution
Mead, John S.
Aronson, Marc
Hardcover
Red, White, Blue and Uncle Who?: The Stories Behind Some of America's Patriotic Symbols
Bateman, Teresa
Hardcover
Treasury of Greek Mythology: Classic Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes & Monsters
Napoli, Donna Jo
National Geographic Kids
Hardcover
America Celebrates: The Most Incredible and Influential People, Places & Events of the Last 250 Years
Andrus, Aubre
Hardcover
Follow the Water: The Unbelievable True Story of a Teenager's Survival in the Amazon
Cochrane, Ellen
Hardcover
My Bicentennial Summer: True Adventures from the Most Epic Family Road Trip of All Time
Neri, G.
Hardcover
When Paul Revere Rode: Voices from the First Night of the American Revolution
Thomson, Sarah L.
Hardcover
Cryptids: Uncover the Secrets Behind the World's Most Baffling Beasts and Curious Creatures
MacFarlane, Tamara
Hardcover
The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity
Day, Nicholas
Paperback
Witches and Wizards: Explore the World of Magic, Witchcraft, and Sorcery
Neon Squid
Puca, Angela
Hardcover
America as It Happened: A Moment-By-Moment Journey Through Time, from Prehistory to the Present Day
What on Earth!
The Washington Post
Hardcover
Baseball's Shining Season: America's Pastime on the Brink of War
Sandler, Craig
Sandler, Martin W.
Hardcover
Glass: Looking In, Looking Out: (A Nonfiction Book about the Science, History, and Everyday Uses of Glass for Ages 7-10)
Theule, Larissa
Hardcover
The Big Book of Birthdays: How Birthdays Are Celebrated Around the World
Feunekes, Anna Lena
Hardcover
My Latin America and the Caribbean: A Celebration: (An Educational Nonfiction Picture Book about Cultures, Landscapes, and Biodiversity for Kids Ages
Goldin Marcovich, Gabriela
Hardcover
Marvel's Captain America Across the Country (National Geographic Kids Readers, Level 2)
Berne, Emma
National Geographic Kids
Hardcover
How the Word Is Passed (Adapted for Young Readers): Remembering Slavery and How It Shaped America
Smith, Clint
Hardcover
The Extraordinary History of the Fae: Fairies, Spirits, and Other Magical Beings
Atkinson, Hazel
Hardcover
Above the Trenches (Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #12): A World War I Flying Ace Tale
Hale, Nathan
Hardcover
The Web of War (Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #14): A World War II Tale Volume 14
Hale, Nathan
Hardcover
Beasts from Before the Dinosaurs: Extraordinary Forgotten Creatures from 250 Million Years Ago
Lerwill, Ben
Hardcover
What Ended the Golden Age of Airships? the Hindenburg Disaster: A Who HQ Graphic Novel
Kindred, Chris
Who Hq
Hardcover
Wow in the World: Dinosaurs Are Wow!: A Roaring Thunder of Prehistoric Wonder
Raz, Guy
Thomas, Mindy
Hardcover
Get Connected!: The Story of Communication from Hieroglyphics to Body Language
Barnham, Kay
Hardcover
Blades of Freedom (Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #10): A Tale of Haiti, Napoleon, and the Louisiana Purchase
Hale, Nathan
Hardcover
Fight for the Right to Read: Samuel Wilbert Tucker and the 1939 Sit-Down Strike for Library Reading Equality
Green, Michelle Y.
Gottesfeld, Jeff
Hardcover
Big Bad Ironclad! (Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #2): A Civil War Tale Volume 2
Hale, Nathan
Hardcover
Native American Stories for Kids: 12 Traditional Stories from Indigenous Tribes Across North America
Weso, Tom Pecore
Paperback
A Supreme Friendship: The Unlikely Bond Between Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia
Murphy, Debbie Rovin
Hardcover
Weird But True! Dinosaurs: 300 Dino-Mite Facts to Sink Your Teeth Into
National Geographic Kids
Paperback
An Epic History of Failure: A Blundering Book Full of Fun Facts and Mindless Mishaps
Younger, Natalie
Neon Squid
Hardcover
Explore the National Parks with Dr. Seuss's Lorax: A Dr. Seuss's the Lorax Nonfiction
Worth, Bonnie
Hardcover
Teaching for Change: How Septima Clark Led the Civil Rights Movement to Voting Justice
Clark-Rhines, Yvonne
Clark-Robinson, Monica
Hardcover
The Greatest Mistakes in History: Bloopers, Blunders, and Other Mishaps from History
Abbott, Simon
Paperback
The Patriots and the Pox: George Washington's Battle to Save the Continental Army
Anderson, Beth
Hardcover
The Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II (Scholastic Focus)
Fleming, Candace
Hardcover
Raid of No Return (Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #7): A World War II Tale of the Doolittle Raid
Hale, Nathan
Hardcover
Friedel and Gina: A True Story of Sisterhood and Survival During the Holocaust
Dronfield, Jeremy
Hardcover
Donner Dinner Party (Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #3): A Pioneer Tale Volume 3
Hale, Nathan
Hardcover
Everything You Need to Ace World History in One Big Fat Notebook, 2nd Edition: The Complete Middle School Study Guide
Workman Publishing
Paperback
The Doomsday Detectives: How Walter and Luis Alvarez Solved the Mystery of Dinosaur Extinction
Jenson-Elliott, Cindy
Hardcover