Ethnic Groups Ethnic Groups > African
Ajeemah and His Son
This very powerful, short chapter book (83 pages) is set first in Africa, then on a slave ship, and then in Jamaica where Ajeemah and his son are taken. It tells the story of a father and son who are captured outside of their village and torn from their
Author: Berry, James |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Ashanti to Zulu
Each letter of this alphabet book describes a different African culture. It is meant as a reference or resource book, but the fabulous illustrations create a lively African world.
Author: Musgrove, Margaret |
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At Her Majesty's Request
Queen Victoria oversees the education and upbringing of an African princess after she was rescued from execution by a ship captain who brought her to England.
Author: Myers, Walter Den |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Butter Man, The
The father of a young child recalls a time of poverty and famine in Morocco. Written in descriptive language, this is a story within a story. Rich author's note and glossary help support this read to become a literary event. Folk art paintings by Julie
Author: Alalou, Elizabeth |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
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Etched in Clay: The Life of Dave Enslaved Potter and Poet
This imaginative volume of poetry is both a tribute to Dave the Potter and a positive biography of a potter who worked his artistic magic despite being a slave. It is poetic in style, autobiographical, written in more than one voice and each entry is jour
Author: Cheng, Andrea |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | language arts - writing | social studies
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Jump at de Sun
This interesting biography of the author and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston emphasizes her unique celebration of black life and language at the turn of the century when such topics were unpopular. Her niece wrote the introduction.
Author: Porter, A. P. |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
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Kente Colors
A simple text and vibrant illustrations, which are organized by color, depict the customs of the Ashanti people in Central West Africa who wear Kente cloth for special occasions.
Long Walk to Water, A
When the Sudanese civil war reaches his village in 1985, eleven-year-old Salva becomes separated from his family and must walk with other Dinka tribe members through southern Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya in search of safe haven. Based on the life of Salva D
Author: Park, Linda Sue |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Long Way Gone, A: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
The story of a Sierra Leonian boy who at age 12 was recruited and forced into being a gun toting, drug crazed soldier and then learned how to live with what he had done after going through a UNICEF rehabilitation program.
Author: Beah, Ishmael |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Memories of Sun
This is a collection of modern day short stories and poems about Africa. It has three divisions: 1) Africa 2) Americans in Africa 3) Africans in America. Although most of the 12 stories are engaging, teachers will want to read beforehand since some may
Author: Kurtz, Jane (Ed.) |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
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Negro Speaks of Rivers, The
E.B.Lewis depicts Langston Hughes' poem through beautful watercolor illustrations which help in the understanding of the poem.
Author: Hughes, Langston |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Negro Speaks of Rivers, The
E.B.Lewis depicts Langston Hughes' poem through beautful watercolor illustrations which help in the understanding of the poem.
Author: Hughes, Langston |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Othello, A Novel
The author retells Shakespeare's play Othello as a novel, relocating the setting to late 15th century England and changing the racial identities of Iago and Emilia to African. Boldface type calls attention to passages from Shakespeare. Iago manipulates
Author: Lester, Julius |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
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Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science
Begins with a prologue in which the authors each address their research process on this topic. A detailed history of sugar and the effects of its production on the world. Sugar cane drove the Atlantic slave which is explained in this book using songs, or
Author: Aronson, Marc and Budhos, Marina |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading | science
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Sundiata
With roots in the 13th Century history of Mali in West Central Africa, the legend of Sundiata and how he gains the kingship prophesied at his birth is illustrated with exquisite cut paper artwork. Historical facts are included in the endmatter and a beau
Author: Wisniewski, David |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
This Our Dark Country: The American Settlers of Liberia
This is a history of Liberia which was established on the west coast of Africa in 1822 as a haven for free African Americans. Some U.S. history is also included as background context. End matter includes photos, maps, endnotes, bibliography, and index. Th
Author: Reef, Catherine |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Virgie Goes to School with Us Boys
This is a recounting of a true family story about Virgie, who wants to go to school with her big brothers, despite her young age, the fact that girls were thought not to need an education, and the distance she must travel (7 miles).
Author: Howard, Elizabeth |
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Wangari's Trees of Peace: A True Story From Africa
The true story of how Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan educated in the USA, started a movement to replant trees in Kenya, one seedling at a time. Wangari won the Nobel Peace Prize for replenishing of the forests in her country.
Author: Winter, Jeanette |
HSE Descriptors:
science | social studies
|
Witness
Structured as a play with characters, acts, and text, this story depicts a small Vermont town facing issues of racism and bigotry introduced by the Klu Klux Klan in the 1920's. The courage of two young girls and the adults who support them leads the way t
Author: Hesse, Karen |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Ethnic Groups > African-American
145th Street: Short Stories
Engaging short stories written in Myers' natural writing styles that contain serious side plots and portray some of the people who live on one block of 145th Street in Harlem. Characters are portrayed honestly and jump off the page to keep the reader enga
Author: Myers, Walter Dean |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | language arts - writing
|
47
In this part fictional slave narrative and part science fiction story, 47, a young slave without a name, learns from mysterious Tall John how to "neither a master nor a nigger be".
Author: Mosley, Walter |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Abraham's Battle
An ex-slave named Abraham, a young Confederate soldier, and a girl from Gettysburg meet in the cataclysmic days of the Civil War battle. Abraham meets Lincoln after the President gives his famous address.
Author: Banks, Sara Harrell |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
African American Answer Book
This book contains 325 multiple choice questions and answers, all about African American people and history. A name index is included.
Author: Rennert, R.S. |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Ain't Nothing But a Man: My Quest to Find the Real John Henry
The author is a historian who became interested in John Henry, a supposedly mythical ex-slave who outraced the steam engine in digging a tunnel through the side of the Allegheny Mountains. This book chronicles the author's efforts to find the truth about
Author: Nelson, Scott Reynolds |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
All Around Town
Columbia, South Carolina of the 1920's and 1930's is chronicled by photographs by Richard Roberts and text by the author. One reader thought the text was too childish.
All the Colors of the Race
A collection of poems celebrating the family and minority heritages. The poems are spoken in the voice of a girl, the child of an African-American mother and Jewish father.
American Plague, An
Subtitled "The True and Terifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793," this account focuses on the 1793 outbreak in Philadelphia but also addresses the politics of medical research. It won several awards.
Author: Murphy, Jim |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Amistad: A Long Road to Freedom
When slaves on the ship Amistad rebelled and tried to return home to Africa, they were captured and embroiled in legal battles of slavery and abolition in the U.S. The book includes sections on Further Reading, Bibliography, Epilogue, and endpaper courtr
Author: Myers, Walter Dean |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
And Not Afraid To Dare
This is a collection of short (15-20 page) biographies of 10 African American women: Ellen Craft, Charlotte Forten Grimke, Mary Fields, Ida B. Wells, Mary McLeod Bethune, Clara Hale, Leontyne Price, Toni Morrison, Mae C. Jemison, and Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
Author: Bolden, Tonya |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Angel to Angel
The author-poet celebrates mothers in this collection of poems illustrated by archival photographs of African American families.
Author: Myers, Walter Dean |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Anthony Burns
The subtitle of this book is "The Defeat and Triumph of a Fugitive Slave." Especially appropriate for use in GED classrooms, Anthony Burns is based on fact and includes a timeline and historical footnotes. Hamilton fills out the details to crea
Author: Hamilton, Virginia |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
As Good as Anybody
Martin Luther King Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who had both experienced discrimination, joined forces in the Civil Rights Movement.
Author: Michelson, Richard |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal
The life of Bass Reeves, from slavery to US marshal, the most feared and respected lawman in the territories. This is a story of a remarkable African-American hero of the Old West. Actual photos, western vocabulary, timeline,further reading/websites, res
Author: Nelson, Vaunda Micheaux |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal
The life of Bass Reeves, from slavery to US marshal, the most feared and respected lawman in the territories. This is a story of a remarkable African-American hero of the Old West. Actual photos, western vocabulary, timeline,further reading/websites, res
Author: Nelson, Vaunda Micheaux |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Barack Obama, Son of Promise, Child of Hope
Framed by the story of an African American mother and her son, who keeps interjecting questions and comments, the narrative tells the story of Barack Obama around the theme of hope and the importance of education. Both the words of Nikki Grimes and the ar
Author: Grimes, Nikki |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Bat Boy and His Violin, The
Reginald is more interested in his violin than his father's job managing the worst baseball team in the Negro Leagues. Then his father makes him the team's bat boy, and his music begins to lead the team to victory. Father and son begin to understand each
Bayard Rustin: Behind the Scenes of the Civil Rights Movement
Activist Bayard Rustin is the focus of this biography, although the book also provides a great deal of information about the 20th century Civil Rights Movement in the U.S.
Author: Haskins, James |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Before John Was a Jazz Giant
The author imagines the sounds of John Coltrane's childhood that influenced his musical compositions as an adult. A historical note, selected listening and further reading are included.
Author: Weatherford, Carole Boston |
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Before John Was a Jazz Giant
The author imagines the sounds of John Coltrane's childhood that influenced his musical compositions as an adult. A historical note, selected listening and further reading are included.
Author: Weatherford, Carole Boston |
|
Bells of Christmas, The
This long picture book may be read slowly, although it is not broken into chapters. It is a reminiscence of an African-American family's celebration of Christmas in the 1890s and is set in the farmlands of Ohio.
Author: Hamilton, Virginia |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Big Jabe
This tall tale relates how Jabe helped slaves.
Bill Pickett: Rodeo Ridin' Cowboy
This book tells about the life of a rodeo-riding African American cowboy. The book ends with a two-page history of Black cowboys.
Author: Pinkney, Andrea Davis |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Birmingham, 1963
A fictional narrator tells, in poetry, about the day she turned 10, which was also the day of the church bombing in Birmingham
Author: Weatherford, Carole |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Black and White Airmen: Their True Story
The history of airmen in WWII is told through the experiences of two men from Cincinnati, one African American and one Caucasian. Information about race relations at the time is woven throughout the narrative.
Author: Fleischman, John |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Black Cowboy Wild Horses
This book is based on the true story of Bob Lemmons, a former slave, whose adventures as a cowboy in Texas were legendary.
Author: Lester, Julius |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Black Hands, White Sails
This book is mostly about the Atlantic whaling industry and the contributions of African American whalers. But it's also about abolition, the Underground Railroad, the Fugitive Slave Act, and the Civil War. And it's about U.S. economics in the 18th and 19
Author: McKissack, Patricia, & McKissack, Frederick |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | science
|
Black Hoops: The History of African Americans in Basketball
This book provides a history of basketball and African Americans in basketball. To help readers understand these issues, the author provides historical backdrops that address racism, segregation, the struggle to desegregate sports, and the civil rights mo
Author: McKissack, Frederick, Jr. |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Black Jack: The Ballad of Jack Johnson
An interesting account of fightin' Black Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight of the world in 1910. The prejudicial issues of the era made this a monumental task. Bold words and bold color art combine to create a rhythmic text that captures the ener
Author: Smith, Charles R., Jr. |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Black Legacy
This history of African Americans in New York City from a Dutch colony to the 1990's contains 18 chapters, documents and maps, Endnotes, a bibliography, and an index.
Author: Katz, William |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Black Pioneers
This well-researched history of African American pioneers, freedom fighters, and participants in the Underground Railroad tells little known stories of brave people who settled the midwest against great odds. The book contains archival photographs, a map
Author: Katz, William Loren |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Blacker the Berry, The
The author explores all the warm colors of skin tones in delicious to the tongue words and images.
Author: Thomas, Joyce Carol |
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Blacker the Berry, The
The author explores all the warm colors of skin tones in delicious to the tongue words and images.
Author: Thomas, Joyce Carol |
|
Blues Journey
Father and son team up to celebrate the blues in beautiful illustrations and lyrics. A short essay introduces the reader to the history and structure of blues. A timeline and glossary enable the reader to immerse himself in the form.
Author: Myers, Walter Dean |
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Blues Singers, The
The author tells his granddaughter about the origin of blues in America through 10 stories of great blues musicians he and his father had known. The interesting illustrations are done in a thick line, solid color style. A bibliography and a recording li
Author: Lester, Julius |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation
Andrea and Brian Pinkney bring their considerable talents to tell the story of the Montgomery bus boycott in wonderfully poetic language and blues rhythms. An Author's Note gives more historical information.
Author: Pinkney, Andrea |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation
Andrea and Brian Pinkney bring their considerable talents to tell the story of the Montgomery bus boycott in wonderfully poetic language and blues rhythms. An Author's Note gives more historical information.
Author: Pinkney, Andrea |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Breaking Ground, Breaking Silence
In 1991, New York's long-ignored African Burial Ground was rediscovered. The description of what scientists found there and how they pieced together information about life serves as a backdrop for stories of life for African Americans in Colonial New York
Author: Hansen, Joyce, & McGowan, Gary |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | science
|
Brown Angels: An Album of Picture and Verse
This book is a collection of very short poems and photographs of African-American children. Many of the photos are from the turn of the century.
Author: Myers, Walter Dean |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea
This well illustrated book of poetry uses the metaphor of nurturing tea for the extended family.
Author: Thomas, Joyce Carol |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Bud, Not Buddy
It's 1936, Flint, Michigan, and 10-year-old Bud (not Buddy) has run away from foster care to search for his father. (Newbery winner)
Author: Curtis, Christopher Paul |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Building a New Land
Each of the short chapters in this well written picture book addresses the lives, rights, changing roles, and contributions of African Americans in a different area of Colonial America. The author includes a timeline and a bibliography.
Author: Haskins, James & Benson, Kathleen |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Catching the Fire
Philip Simmons, the great-grandson of slaves, became a revered artist and creator of ornamental iron work masterpieces in Charleston, South Carolina. Detailed color photographs convey his craftsmanship. The author interviewed Simmons and his co-workers
Author: Lyons, Mary |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Champions on the Bench: The Cannon Street YMCA All-Stars
In 1955, the Cannon St YMCA's Little League team (from SC) cannot play in the Little League World Series because all-white teams refuse to play them. The story told in this book is based on these real events.
Author: Weatherford, Carole Boston |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Champions on the Bench: The Cannon Street YMCA All-Stars
In 1955, the Cannon St YMCA's Little League team (from SC) cannot play in the Little League World Series because all-white teams refuse to play them. The story told in this book is based on these real events.
Author: Weatherford, Carole Boston |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Chicken Sunday
Two African-American boys and their white friend, a girl, try to earn enough money to buy Miss Eula Mae the Easter bonnet she's been longing for. The children befriend a Jewish shopkeeper who helps them succeed.
Author: Polacco, Patricia |
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Childtimes
Three African American women, grandmother, mother, and daughter, reminisce about their childhoods.
Author: Greenfield, Eloise & Little, Lessive Jones |
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Circle Unbroken
A young girl learns the tradition of making sweet grass baskets.
Author: Raven, Margot |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Coming Home
The book tells the story of Langston Hughes' lonely childhood, demonstrating that certain themes and ideas that later emerged in Hughes' poetry grew from his experiences as a child.
Author: Cooper, Floyd |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Coming On Home Soon
A kitten comforts a young African American girl as she and her grandmother wait for the mother's return from working in Chicago during World War II.
Author: Woodson, Jaqueline |
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Coretta Scott
Coretta is a poetic tribute to the life of Coretta Scott King and the Civil Rights movement. This is an amazing biographical tribute in poetry which is most readable and offers all kinds of teaching opportunities.
The art work by Kadir Nelson really make
Author: Shange, Ntozake |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Daisy Bates: Civil Rights Crusader
Although she is best known for shepherding the "Little Rock Nine" through the dangers and stresses of the first school integration test, Daisy Bates pursued a life of community crusading despite obstacles and personal difficulties before and after Little
Author: Polakow, Amy |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave
Dave is an amazing artist, poet and potter who lived in South Carolina in the 1800's. His artistry was all the more amazing because of his slave status. The writing is spare and poetic and the illustrations are truly amazing and make the text come alive f
Author: Hill, Laban Carrick |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | language arts - writing | social studies
|
Days of Jubilee
Subtitled "The End of Slavery in the United States," this book chronicles the U.S. Civil War with particular attention to the different times and circumstances in which slaves were freed. The text is sprinkled with excerpts from slave narratives, letters,
Author: McKissack, Patricia, & McKissack, Frederick |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Dear Mr. Rosenwald
This is a fictionalized story of one community's efforts to build a school based on the historical Rosenwald schools. These schools in the American South were financed by Julius Rosenwald of Sears Roebuck and required collaboration of black and white com
Author: Weatherford, Carole Boston |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Dear One, The
15-year-old, pregnant Rebecca arrives at her mother's college friend's house to await the birth of her baby. She and others in the house learn to embrace differences and develop friendships.
Author: Woodson, Jacqueline |
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Dear Willie Rudd
Miss Elizabeth, thinking 50 years back, remembers Willie Rudd, the African American housekeeper who raised her, her mother, and her grandmother. She writes a letter to the long-dead Willie Rudd in which she explains the past and expresses her feelings.
Author: Gray, Libba Moore |
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Deep Blues
Bill Traylor, who worked as a farm laborer before and after the Civil War, was "discovered" as a folk artist at the age of 85.
Do I Dare Disturb the Universe:
Charlise Lyles grew up in Cleveland in the 1960s and 1970s. This memoir focuses on life in the projects, her family's struggle to survive, her mother's relentless work to provide opportunities for children. Mostly, though, it's about Charlise-- her though
Drawing in the Sand, A
In words and illustrations, Jerry Butler tells his story of becoming an artist--the people who encouraged him and the African American artists who established a tradition for him to join. Some students may find the uses of different type face distracting
Author: Butler, Jerry |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Dream Keeper and Other Poems, The
A reissue of Hughes' poetry book with seven additional poems (total of 66). The poems are short and make appropriate reading for all levels of learners. Many of the poems deal with issues of the African-American experience.
Author: Hughes, Langston |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Drylongso
Drylongso, which takes place west of the Mississippi in 1975, is the story of a poor farming family's battle with a drought. Drylongso, "a youth imbued with simple human kindness . . . a folk hero" (author's notes) arrives, and with him comes ho
Author: Hamilton, Viginia |
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Duke Ellington
This is the story of one of the greatest musicians and composers of the 20th century, Duke Ellington. (Coretta Scott King Award Winner; Caldecott Honor Book)
Author: Pinkney, Andrea Davis |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Elijah of Buxton
Eleven-year-old Elijah, the first to be born free in a Canadian settlement for runaway slaves at the end of the Underground Railroad, though considered "fra-gile" and talkative by adults, performs an heroic feat with his chucking stones.
Author: Curtis, Christopher Paul |
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ellington was not a street
The poet lovingly remembers her family's recent history that was filled with stars of the African American firmament. Brief biographies of the people depicted add welcome information.
Author: Shange, Ntozake |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Escape from Slavery: The Boyhood of Frederick Douglass in His Own Words
This edited and illustrated book provides generous excerpts from Douglass's Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. No textbook description of slavery could have even a tiny portion of the power of this chilling account.
Author: McCurdy, Michael (Ed.) |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Finding Fish
This is the autobiography of Antwone Fisher (basis for a movie made by Denzel Washington). Antwone's childhood was filled with emotional and physical abuse. He found a way to overcome this difficult beginning.
Finding Lincoln
Louis needs to write an essay but in Alabama in 1951, he's not allowed in the "whites only" library. Lewis solves his dilemma with bravery and the help of a kind librarian. Historical notes are included at the end of the story.
Author: Malaspina, Ann |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Finding Lincoln
Louis needs to write an essay but in Alabama in 1951, he's not allowed in the "whites only" library. Lewis solves his dilemma with bravery and the help of a kind librarian. Historical notes are included at the end of the story.
Author: Malaspina, Ann |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
First in the Field: Baseball Hero Jackie Robinson
This biography of Jackie Robinson, which focuses on his life until he retired from professional baseball, is accompanied by photographs. A timeline that notes African American sports milestones concludes the book.
Author: Dingle, Derek T. |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
First Part Last, The
[revised from dust jacket] Bobby is a classic urban teenaged boy-- impulsive, eager, restless. On his 16th birthday, he learns that his girlfriend Nia is pregnant. Their lives change dramatically, both during the pregnancy and after baby Feather is born.
Fly High!
This is an illustrated biography of Bessie Coleman, whose interest in aviation and desire "to be somebody" led her to become the first African American woman to earn a pilot's license.
Author: Borden, Louise & Kroeger, Mary Kay |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Follow the Drinking Gourd
Peg Leg Joe travels from plantation to plantation teaching slaves the song "Follow the Drinking Gourd," which conceals directions for the route north to freedom. The book follows one slave family as they are directed north to the Underground Railroad and
Author: Winter, Jeanette |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Followers of the North Star
These poems present a profile of African-American heroes in an historical and cultural context. Heroes and heroines include Benjamin Banneker, Harriet Tubman, cowboy Deadwood Dick, George Washington Carver, Jackie Robinson, Leontyne Price, and Martin Lut
Author: Altman, Susan & Lechner, Susan |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Francie
This engaging novel shows a slice of life in small-town Alabama in the 1940s, as told from the perspective of 13-year-old Francie. Francie, her mother, and her brother anxiously await a chance to join her father in Chicago. In the meantime, Francie comes
Free To Dream
This book, subtitled The Making of a Poet: Langston Hughes, offers Hughes's poetry as well as a biography.
Author: Osofsky, Audrey |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
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Freedom Rides: Journey for Justice
These are stories about the Freedom Riders during the early years of the Civil Rights movement. The detail and "human" perspective provided goes well beyond most written descriptions. This is an engaging account of the actions of incredibly brave heroes.
Author: Haskins, James |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Freedom River
In this true story, John Parker, an ex-slave in Ripley, Ohio, helps a family on the Underground Railroad. Beautiful watercolor collages illustrate the story. Historical notes, additional books, suggested websites, and maps make this useful in the classr
Author: Rappaport, Doreen |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Freedom Walkers
This detailed account of the Montgomery bus boycott that began the Civil Rights Movement includes material on the leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rev. Ralph Abernathy, but also focuses on other heroes like Rev. Robert Graetz, Joanne Robinson and
Author: Freedman, Russell |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Freedom's Children
Thirty African Americans tell their youthful experiences in the civil rights movement. The book includes a chronology, a who's who, a list of acronyms, and a bibliography.
Author: Levine, Ellen |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Freedom's Fruit
Mama Marina, a conjure woman in the Low Country of the Carolinas in the time of slavery, uses a magic spell to free her daughter and the man she loves. The book includes an Author's Note that compares the American folktale with the Greek myth of Persepho
Freedom's Gifts
An African American girl visits Texas relatives and learns about the history of Juneteenth, the day for celebrating freedom from slavery.
Author: Wesley, Valery |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
From Miss Ida's Porch
People from the street gather on Miss Ida's porch to hear stories, especially stories about important Black musicians (Lena Horne, Duke Ellington, Marian Anderson) and their personal connections to them. These I-remember-when stories are both heartfelt a
Author: Belton, Sandra |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Going Back Home: An Artist Returns to the South
This book is a partnership between African American artist, Michele Woods, who returned to the South and painted her family history, and author Toyomi Igus, who gave words to Woods's paintings.
Author: Igus, Toyomi |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Good Women of a Well-Blessed Land
This is a topical history of women in early America (1600s to beginning of American Revolution). Primary source material is used to the extent possible. Lives of White, Black and Native American women are featured. An index, bibliography, and a website b
Author: Miller, Brandon Marie |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Grandmama's Pride
This is a most beautiful book focusing on the segregation practiced in the south during the 1950's leading to the civil rights laws passed in the 60's. The illustrations make the book come alive with details showing the inequalities practiced in every day
Author: Birtha, Becky |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Grandmama's Pride
This is a most beautiful book focusing on the segregation practiced in the south during the 1950's leading to the civil rights laws passed in the 60's. The illustrations make the book come alive with details showing the inequalities practiced in every day
Author: Birtha, Becky |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Great Migration, The
This book consists of reprints of a series of sixty paintings, by Jacob Lawrence, depicting the migration of African-Americans from the South to the North. In search of a better life, people moved by the thousands, from rural lifestyles to urban poverty.
Author: Lawrence, Jacob |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Harlem Hellfighters, The
This book is mostly about the "Harlem Hellfighters," the 369th Infantry Regiment in WWI. This story is set in the larger context of the role of African American men in war prior to WWI.
Author: Myers, Walter Dean |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Harriet and the Promised Land
The text, consisting of a single rhyming poem, is an accompaniment to Lawrence's contemporary and vivid paintings. The poem tells the story of Harriet Tubman, a slave who led other slaves to freedom.
Author: Lawrence, Jacob |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Harriet Powers's Bible Quilts
This oversized paperback includes 24 photos of Powers' Bible quilts, a difficult introductory essay, and two pages of identifying information about the stories behind the quilts.
Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years
Bessie was 103 and Sadie was 105 when they collaborated with Amy Hill Hearth to write this story of their lives and times. Additionally the Delany sisters offer their perspectives on society, living conditions, people, events, etc. from the past century.
Author: Delany, Sarah & Delany, A. Elizabeth |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Hell Fighters: African American Soldiers in World War I
This book tells the story of the "Hell Fighters," a voluntary infantry that was one of the few African American regiments to see action during World War I.
Author: Cooper, Michael L. |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Her Stories
The book focuses on stories of females-animal stories, supernatural tales, folktales, and oral histories. It includes an afterword by Virginia Hamilton and an excellent bibliography.
Author: Hamilton, Virginia |
|
Here in Harlem
Walter Dean Myers recreates the Harlem of his youth in poetry and populates it with colorful characters through their voices.
Author: Myers, Walter Dean |
|
Hired Hand, The
When Old Sam hires a new hand to work at the sawmill, the hired hand teaches Sam's lazy son a lesson when the son tries to con an old man. Retold from an oral African American tale, the story is beautifully illustrated by Jerry Pinkney.
Author: San Souci, R. |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Hoop Kings
A dozen NBA stars provide the focus for these poems. In endnotes, the author describes his writing process.
Author: Smith Jr., Charles R. |
|
Hoop Queens
This is a collection of 12 poems about stars of the WNBA. An afterword explains how the poet found a focus for each poem by considering the woman's play.
Author: Smith Jr., Charles R. |
|
How I Discovered Poetry
Marilyn Nelson describes her childhood in America in the 1950s, as the daughter of an African American Army officer. The poems span from her fourth to fourteenth year and touch aspects of civil rights, "Red Scare," atom bomb and the stirrings of the femin
Author: Nelson, Marilyn |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies | language arts - writing
|
Hundred Penny Box, A
A young boy loves his Great Aunt Dew, her stories, and her box of one hundred pennies, one for each of her birthdays. But Michael's mother is impatient with them both and wants to throw the box out.
I Have Heard of a Land
A hardworking African American woman stakes a homestead claim in the Oklahoma Territory in the period after the Civil War. Told in rich, lyrical language, the beautifully illustrated story reminds us that African Americans were a part of the settlement o
Author: Thomas, Joyce Carol |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
I Live in Music
Each line of Shange's poem is placed with one of Romare Bearden's paintings. The book ends with the complete poem, and with short biographies of Shange and Beardon.
Author: Shange, Ntozake |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
I Saw Your Face
Sketches from Tom Feelings's sketch book are used to frame a simple yet powerful poem about the "face game" played by the author with his mother that celebrates African-American heritage.
Author: Dawes, Kwame |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - writing
|
I See the Rhythm
The author and illustrator use different type faces, colors, a timeline, and paintings to involve the reader in the history, mood and movement of African American music. Types of music included are blues, ragtime, jazz, swing, bebop, cool jazz and gospel.
Author: Igus, Toyomi |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly
Patsy, a 12-year-old slave girl, keeps a diary during 1865, describing the changes in the plantation that come with the Emancipation Proclamation. The author appends historical notes, archival photographs, the wording of Constitutional Amendments 13,14,
Author: Hansen, Joyce |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
I, Too, Sing America
This is a collection of poetry, arranged chronologically, by African-American poets. Biographies of the poets accompany their poems.
Author: Clinton, Catherine (comp.) |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Indigo and Moonlight Gold
A little girl looks at the stars and dreams.
Interesting Athletes: Black American Sports Heroes
This is a collection of annotated newspaper cartoons about African American sports figures. The book is organized into chapters by type of sport. The cartoons originally appeared in newspapers (1930-1980).
Irene Jennie and the Christmas Masquerade
Irene Jennie is missing her parents as Christmas Day approaches in the slave quarters. The wild parade known as the Johnkankus diverts her loneliness and brings her a surprise.
Author: Smalls, Irene |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Jabberwocky
With his wonderfully bright, energetic illustrations, Myers gives an Mezo-American and African American spin to the famous poem by Lewis Carroll.
Myer's "reimagined" famous poem by Carroll is unique in its contemporary setting of an urban street basket
Author: Carroll, Lewis |
HSE Descriptors:
literature and arts
|
January's Sparrow
After a fellow slave is beaten to death, Sadie and her family flee the plantation for freedom through the Underground Railroad. As they make a new life in Michigan, they must remain alert for the slave catchers.
Author: Polacco, Patricia |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
January's Sparrow
After a fellow slave is beaten to death, Sadie and her family flee the plantation for freedom through the Underground Railroad. As they make a new life in Michigan, they must remain alert for the slave catchers.
Author: Polacco, Patricia |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Jazz ABZ
Each letter of the alphabet introduces a famous jazz musician in a different poetic form. Of particular interest to teachers and students are the biographical sketches of the musicians and excellent notes on the poetic forms. The phenominal art work is
Author: Marsalis, Wynton |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Jazz: My Music, My People
This stunningly illustrated book offers short biographies of dozens of musicians, from Leadbelly and Jelly Roll Morton to Lena Horne and Dizzy Gillespie.
Jip: His Story
Jip, a young orphan in the mid-1850s, lives on a farm, interacts with Put "the lunatic," and wonders about his past. Eventually he attends school and, with the help of Teacher (Lyddie from the Paterson book by the same name) and her Quaker friend, discov
Author: Paterson, Katherine |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
John Blair and the Great Hinckley Fire
This is a retelling of the effects of a firestorm in 1894 on a train and its 150+ passengers. John Blair, the train's porter, became a hero for his common sense and bravery in the face of extraordinary danger.
Author: Nobisso, Josephine |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
John Brown: One Man Against Slavery
This book tells the story of John Brown, White abolitionist and dissident, from the point of view of his daughter Annie. The book brings historical ideas and moral conflicts alive in a personal and elaborate way. The book answers the question: Can one p
Author: Everett, Gwen |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
John Henry
This beautifully illustrated, award-winning book tells the tale of the ex-slave John Henry who outraced the steam engine in digging a tunnel through the side of the Allegheny Mountains. The book begins with introductory notes from both Julius Lester and
Jumping the Broom
An eight-year-old slave girl describes the preparations and customs for her sister's wedding on the plantation. The combination of hardships and vitality depicted in this book creates a strong sense of community and of extended family.
Author: Wright, Courtni |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Juneteenth
Photographs from various locations in the U.S. depict the celebration of Juneteenth, June 19, 1865, the day African Americans learned of their freedom.
Author: Branch, Muriel Miller |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Keep on Singing
The story of the life of the singer Marian Anderson is told in ballad form. The author's notes at the end of the book include additional biographical information.
Author: Livingston, Myra Cohn |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Knoxville, Tennessee
This brief and beautifully illustrated poem celebrates a young child's summer in Knoxville, TN.
Author: Giovanni, Nikki |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Langston Hughes: American Poet
This is a reissue of a picture book biography of Langston Hughes (originally published in 1974). The illustrations and Author's Note (a must read) are new.
Author: Walker, Alice |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Leon's Story
A custodian at a Maryland school tells his own story of growing up poor in North Carolina, of racism, of hatred, of resilience, of Martin Luther King, and of the things that matter in life.
Author: Tillage, Leon Walter |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Let It Shine
These ten essays on African American women introduce well-know and some lesser known freedom fighters. The colorful illustrations, the informative text, and the chatty tone will attract readers. The author's introducation and suggestions for further read
Author: Pinkney, Andrea |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Let Them Play
This beautifully illustrated book tells the true story of the 1955 state champion little league team from South Carolina, who were all African-American and who encountered segregation problems as they continued to win.
Author: Raven, Margot |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Letters from a Slave Girl
Drawn from her 1861 autobiography, these fictionalized letters tell the story of Harriet Jacobs, a slave from North Carolina who went through great struggles to escape slavery. The book ends with two family trees, one a Black family and one White, a glos
Author: Lyons, Mary |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Life Doesn't Frighten Me
In this single poem, Angelou celebrates courage to face internal and external fears, the courage that grows out of a belief in ourselves. The contemporary art is bold and child-like but may have the power to scare children. The text is repetitive and ea
Life Is So Good
This is the autobiography of George Dawson, grandson of slaves, who began to learn to read at age 98. Like Having Our Say, this book offers an African American perspective to 100 years of history. Moreover, Dawson's character and philosophy for l
Author: Dawson, George & Glaubman, Richard |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - writing | social studies
|
Like Sisters on the Homefront
When 14-year-old Gayle gets into "trouble," she and her baby Jose leave New York City to live with family in rural Georgia. At first bored with and distressed about her situation, Gayle eventually makes friends with her cousin Cookie. Through "tellings" b
Author: Williams-Garcia, Rita |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Linda Brown, You Are Not Alone
Well-known children's author Joyce Carol Thomas has collected pieces by 12 writers to commemorate the Supreme Court ruling Brown vs. Board of Education. The reading level varies significantly from piece to piece.
Author: Thomas, Joyce Carol |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Long Journey Home
These six short stories are based on historical fact; Lester's notes at the end of the book describe the original sources. Each features an African American protagonist. All are ordinary people who led extraordinary lives.
Author: Lester, Julius |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Ma Dear's Aprons
The life of the author's great grandmother, a single parent who was a domestic worker in Alabama, is celebrated.
Author: McKissack, Patricia C. |
|
Make Lemonade
When fourteen-year-old LaVaughn takes a job baby-sitting for seventeen-year-old Jolly's two children, neither girl realizes how much she'll learn from the other. Despite no job, a lousy apartment, and a bleak future, Jolly, with the help of LaVaughn and
Author: Wolff, Virginia Euwer |
|
Malcolm X
In a clear, simple, and beautifully illustrated text, Walter Dean Myers emphasizes the life not death of Malcolm X as he grew to be a great leader for racial equality. Quotations and a timeline make the text especially useful in the classroom.
Author: Myers, Walter Dean |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Many Thousand Gone: African Americans from Slavery to Freedom
This is a beautifully illustrated collection of true stories about the struggle that African Americans faced in gaining their freedom. The book is
divided into 3 parts: Slavery in America; Running-Aways; and Exodus to Freedom. An Afterword, bibliogra
Author: Virginia Hamilton |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies | language arts - writing
|
Marching for Freedom
The compelling story of the events in Selma, Alabama that led to the voter rights march to Montgomery in 1965. Interviews with some of the marchers and black and white photographs highlight the struggles of African Americans to get the right to vote.
Author: Partridge, Elizabeth |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Maritcha: A Nineteenth Century American GIrl
Based on an unpublished memoir, this picture book tells the story of daily life for a middle-class African American girl in New York in the 19th century. Maps and photographs illustrate the story.
Author: Bolden, Tonya |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Martin Luther King
Folk art paintings accompany this biography of Dr. King. A timeline of important events in his life concludes the book.
Author: Bray, Rosemary |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Mighty Miss Malone, The
Newberry Award winning author Christopher Paul Curtis has written a heart wrenching historical novel about one unforgettable family during the turbulent days of the Great Depression. Each family member has his/her own drama and the plot centers around a
Author: Curtis,Christopher |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Minty
Long before her years as leader in the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman, nicknamed Minty, was a strong-willed child who dreamed of running away while suffering the brutalities of slavery. Old Ben taught her survival skills that she would need later.
Author: Schroeder, Alan |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Miz Berlin Walks
A little African American girl learns to love the old white lady who walks by her home every day.
Molly Bannaky
This is a biography of the grandmother of the famous mathematician, Banjamin Banneker, who came to America in 1683 as an indentured servant and married her freed slave. The author includes an historical note.
Author: McGill, Alice |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Momma, Where Are You From?
When a young girl asks her mother where she comes from, she receives a loving description of her hard-working childhood in the segregated South told in rich, rhythmic language with lush illustrations.
Author: Bradby, Marie |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
More Than Anything Else
Few people around young Booker T. Washington are able to read. But Booker, age 9, finds a chance and takes it. This biography, which also shows life in post-Civil War West Virginia, is full of eloquent language and dramatic, lantern-lit paintings.
Author: Bradby, Marie |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
My Dream of Martin Luther King
The author tells the story of the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. as a dream with King as a young boy suffering the injustices of segregation. Her strong paintings, more somber than her usual colorful quilt-like illustrations, give a solidity to the drea
Author: Ringgold, Faith |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
My Heroes, My People
Portraits of native American, Africans, and people of mixed race--both images and brief biographies--present a less well-known history of the American West. A Note on Sources and Further Reading and an index promote classroom use. The unusual illustratio
Author: Monceaux, Morgan & Katcher, Ruth |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
My Name Is York
York, a slave of Captain Clark, accompanies his master on the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition. An afterword gives additional biographical information and the end papers contain maps. The illustrations and language are especially evocative.
Author: Van Steenwyk, Elizabeth |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
My People
Beautiful sepia-tone photographs illustrate Langston Hughes' poem "My People"
Author: Hughes, Langston |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | language arts - writing | social studies
|
Mysterious Thelonious
Chris Raschka has blended musical notes with glorious color to make the reader see how Thelonious Monk's music would appear on paper. Reading the words on the page resembles reading musical notes on a scale rather than the traditional left-to-right, top-
Author: Raschka, Chris |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Nation's Hope, A
An "elegant and powerful picture book biography which centers around the historic fight" of Joe Louis during WWII, where prejudice was set aside. The illustrations and historical tidbits add to this story of an unforgettable legend.
Author: De La Pena, Matt |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
New Year Be Coming!
Through beautiful colored woodcuts and rhythmic gullah dialect, this book describes happenings for each month of the year in the South Carolina low country. A recipe, a glossary, and an introduction to the Gullah dialect are included. Some students migh
Author: Boling, Katharine |
|
Nightjohn
An escaped slave returns to the South to teach others how to read. This 92-page book is very bleak, and the violence is quite graphic.
Author: Paulsen, Gary |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Ninth Ward
This is a powerful reenactment of the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and how it affected the poor section of the ninth ward. The hurricane and subsequent levee failure come to life through the eyes of a twelve year old special girl. The voi
Author: Rhodes, Jewell Parker |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies | science
|
No Crystal Stair
Nelson combines research with family stories to document the life of her great-uncle Lewis Michaux, an extraordinary literary pioneer of the Civil Rights era and his Harlem bookstore's role in the Civil Rights movement.
Author: Nelson, Vauna, Micheaux |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
North by Night
Lucy Spencer and her Ohio farm family are involved in the Underground Railroad in 1851, a time when The Fugitive Slave Act levied severe punishment and fines for harboring runaway slaves. Lucy makes a courageous decision that changes her life and that of
Author: Ayres, Katherine |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
North Star to Freedom
This book is subtitled "The Story of the Underground Railroad," and it is that, but it's also more-- the history of slavery is presented, biographies of key figures are provided, lesislation is discussed. The author is Canadian, so this provides an intere
Author: Gorrell, Gena K. |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Nothing But Trouble: The Story of Althea Gibson
Althea Gibson was perpetual motion and perpetual trouble until mentors helped her channel her energy into tennis where she became a champion, and the first African American to win the Wimbledon. The colorful illustrations capture her boundless energy.
Author: Stauffacher, Sue |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Nothing But Trouble: The Story of Althea Gibson
Althea Gibson was perpetual motion and perpetual trouble until mentors helped her channel her energy into tennis where she became a champion, and the first African American to win the Wimbledon. The colorful illustrations capture her boundless energy.
Author: Stauffacher, Sue |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Now Is Your Time! the African-American Stuggle for Freedom
The subtitle of this book is The African-American Struggle for Freedom. The book contains 23 chapters on topics such as the Dred Scott Case and Brown v. Board of Education, an afterword, an author's note, a bibliography, and an index.
Author: Myers, Walter Dean |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Now Let Me Fly
This book gives a fictional account of Minna, a young African girl, taken from her homeland and sold into slavery. The epilogue carries the story forward to the Emancipation Declaration.
Author: Johnson, Dolores |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Now Sheba Sings the Song
This book consists of one long poem and dozens of sketches of African-American women. It is a sensuous book that celebrates the sexuality, the history, and the strength of Black women.
Oh, Freedom!
Most of the book is transcripts of interviews children conducted with people who were involved in the Civil Rights Movement. Several essays that provide a chronology of African-American life and a foreword by Rosa Parks complement the interviews.
Author: King, Casey, & Osborne, Linda |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Old African, The
a beautifully told and illustrated story that, according to the dust jacket, is "based on legend." The Old African has magical powers. This is the story of his capture and enslavement as a young man and ultimately, his plan to free his fellow slaves.
Author: Lester, Julius |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
One More River to Cross
This is a photographic chronicle of African American life. The text is very simple. The photos are very powerful. The author includes an index of the photos.
Author: Myers, Walter Dean |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Other Side, The
Spurred by a letter from her grandmother saying that "they're pulling Shorter down," the poet returns to the people and places of her childhood in Shorter, Alabama. The poems are accessible and concise but filled with powerful feeling. Photographs from
People Could Fly, The
These collected folk tales that were told by slaves fall into four categories: animal stories, tall tales, the supernatural, and tales of freedom. The author includes an introduction and a bibliography.
Author: Hamilton, Virginia |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Picture Book of Jesse Owens, A
This very readable biography tells the life story of Jesse Owens, the 1936 Olympic star, and the prejudice he combated throughout his life. The book ends with a page of notes and a page of dates.
Author: Adler, David |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Pink and Say
This long picture book tells the story of Pinkus Aylee, an African-American soldier in the Civil War, and of his mother, Moe Bay and of his friendship with a young White boy. A moving book that may be more appropriate for adults than for children, it cel
Author: Polacco, Patricia |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Place Called Freedom, A
Freed slave James Starman takes his family from Tennessee to Indiana where they are joined by other African Americans over many years, establishing a very unique community.
Author: Sanders, S. |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Princess of the Press
This biography of Ida Wells- Barnett chronicles her remarkable career in civil rights as a journalist against lynching, publisher of African American newspapers, speaker and activist for women's right to vote, and founder of the National Association for t
Author: Medearis, Angela |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Raisin in the Sun, A
When an African-American family chooses to integrate an all-white neighborhood, all of their value systems and relationships come under pressure.
Author: Hansberry, Lorraine |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Remember
Spare text and very moving photographs recount times surrounding Brown vs. Board of Education school desegregation from the perspective of children.
Author: Morrison, Toni |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Remember the Bridge
Illustrated by prints and black-and-white photographs and bracketed by two "bridge" poems, the poetry relates the experience of African Americans from Africa to the Civil Rights Movement.
Author: Weatherford, Carole |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Rio Grande Stories
In Albuquerque, 7th grade students decide to write a book on their diverse heritage to raise money for the school. As they research traditions and family stories, they learn unexpected things about themselves. Chapters alternate between stories about th
Romare Bearden
This biography of the multi-talented artist Romare Bearden is vibrantly illustrated with reproductions of his work. An author's note, a timeline, a bibliography, a glossary, and a list of the locations of art works make the book as useful in the classroo
Author: Greenberg, Jan |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Roots and Blues
Adoff uses a shaped speech style to create images of the birth of jazz and its rhythms of life in the South from ancestral drumbeats to sounds of everyday life and work.The unique poetry prances across the page making it as unique as the American form of
Author: Adoff, Arnold |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Ruth and the Green Book
An easy narrative about travel in this country by car for African Americans in the 50s and 60s. Ruth's story is fiction, but the "The Negro Motorist Green Book" and its role in helping a generation of African American travelers avoid some of the indigniti
Author: Ramsey, Calvin A. |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Sarney
A sequel to Nightjohn, the book follows the life of Sarny, the slave girl that Nightjohn taught to read, as she travels to New Orleans in the aftermath of the Civil War to find her children who had been sold into slavery.
Author: Paulsen, Gary |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
School for Pompey Walker, A
At the dedication of a school named for him, Pompey Walker tells how he and a white friend, Jeremiah, raised money to build a school for ex-slave children. With the help of his friend, Pompey allows himself to be sold over and over again, escaping each t
Author: Rosen, Michael J. |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Separate Battle, A: Women and the Civil War
This must-have addition to a Civil War collection weaves together stories of slave women, abolitionists, women's rights leaders, and famous and not-so-famous women to offer a look at women's experiences during the Civil War. Diaries and letters are frequ
Author: Chang, Ina |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Seventeenth Child, The
The author writes the oral history of her mother, who is the seventeenth child in her family growing up in the South during the Depression.
Author: Rice, Dorothy & Payne, Lucille |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
She Would Not Be Moved
Kohl tells the historically correct version of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Rosa Park's role in it. This revised biography of Rosa Parks stresses her activist background and the violent environment of racism to counter the prevailing picture of her as a
Author: Kohl, Herbert |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Shimmy, Shimmy, Shimmy Like My Sister Kate
Noted author Nikki Giovanni has selected and comments on poems by some of the greatest African-American writers of this century.
Author: Giovanni, Nikki |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading
|
Show Way
Simple text and stunning illustrations tell the intergenerational story of Woodson's ancestors.
Author: Woodson, Jacqueline |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Silent Thunder: A Civil War Story
The book is set on a Virginia plantation in 1862. Eleven-year-old Summer and her older brother Rosco live with their mother on the Parnell Plantation as talk of President Lincoln's coming proclamation to free slaves reaches the community. Each of the mai
Author: Pinkney, Andrea Davis |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Slavery Time: When I Was Chillun
Excerpts from 12 oral histories from former slaves, gathered during the Depression by WPA workers, provide several perspectives about slave life as remembered by the people interviewed, who were in their 80s and 90s at the time of the interviews.
Author: Hurmence, Belinda |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
smoky night
1
Author: bunting, eve |
HSE Descriptors:
literature and arts | literature and arts | literature and arts | literature and arts | literature and arts
|
Song Shoots Out of My Mouth, The
This is an exciting collection of vibrantly illustrated poetry about music--classical, jazz, gospel, blues, opera, marching band. Backnotes extend learning about music, artists, and key works.
Author: Adoff, Jaime |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Sorrow's Kitchen: The Life and Folklore of ZN Hurston
Part of the Great Achievers series, this book chronicles the life and writings of Zora Neale Hurston, the important African-American writer of the first-half of this century. The book is 121 pages and contains lots of photographs. The author has woven c
Author: Lyons, Mary E. |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading
|
Soul Looks Back in Wonder, The
This lavishly illustrated book is a collection of 13 poems by African American poets such as Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, and Alexis de Veaux.
Author: Feelings, Tom |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Sound the Jubilee
During the Civil War, Maddie, an eleven-year-old house slave, journeys with her mistress to Nags Head near Roanoke Island which has become a Yankee-protected community for run-away slaves. Maddie grows up there with her family and finds a place for herse
Author: Forrester, Saundra |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Stitching Stars: The Story Quilts of Harriet Powers
The book recounts both the story of Harriet Powers during the century of the Civil War and the story of her two "story quilts" that now reside in museums. The book is illustrated with photographs of Bible stories from the quilts with explanatory captions
Author: Lyons, Mary |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Story Painter: The Life of Jacob Lawrence
This biography of the African American painter Jacob Lawrence, known for his series Migration and Toussaint L'Ouverture, is illustrated by the painter's works.
Author: Duggleby, John |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
Based on a true incident, this story tells of a young slave girl's brainstorm of sewing a map of the Underground Railroad onto a quilt so that others could find their way to freedom.
Author: Hopkinson, Deborah |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Sweet Music in Harlem
Inspired by a real photograph of jazz musicians taken in 1958, the fictional story recounts young C. J.'s search through Harlem for his uncle's hat, a hat his uncle wants to wear in a photograph. Included is the historical photograph with the identities
Author: Taylor, Debbie |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Sweet Smell of Roses, A
The book jacket says it all: "There's a sweet, sweet smell in the air as two young girls sneak out of their house, down the street, and across town to where men and women are gathered, ready to march for freedom and justice?--with Martin Luther King, Jr.
Author: Johnson, Angela |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Sweet Words So Brave
Narrated as a story told by a old, Black storyteller to a young child, the book relates the history of African American writers which is illustrated with beautiful, bold paintings by Jerry Butler. The use of different type faces may distract some readers
Author: Curry, Barbara & Brodie, James |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Sweethearts of Rhythm: The story of the greatest all-girl swing band in the world
The 16-member, all-woman, racially diverse swing band The International Sweethearts of Rhythm from the war years of the 1940's are brought to life by the idiomatic speech and rhythms of Nelson's poetry and by Pinkney's vibrant illlustrations. The individ
Author: Nelson, Marilyn |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Talking with Tebe
Editor Lyons collected these excerpts about Clementine Hunter, considered one of America's finest folk artists, from magazine and newspaper articles and tape-recorded interviews. The artist's work illustrates the book.
Author: Lyons, Mary E. (Ed.) |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Teacup Full of Roses
Three brothers live with their mother, disabled father and aging aunt in Washington, D.C. during the Vietnam war. Paul, the oldest and his mother's favorite, returns home from another drug rehabilitation program just as Joe, the middle very responsible s
Author: Mathis, Sharon |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
There Comes a Time
This book, winner of the 2001 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, chronicles the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. The book begins with slave trading and ends with the "Black Power" movement of the late 1960's. A timeline, bibliography, and index are included.
Author: Meltzer, Milton |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
This Is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration
A rope found by a little girl becomes a multigenerational object to her family and helps to tell the story of their migration from the South. It has many uses and eventually becomes a storytelling prompt.
Author: Woodeson, Jacqueline |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
This Our Dark Country: The American Settlers of Liberia
This is a history of Liberia which was established on the west coast of Africa in 1822 as a haven for free African Americans. Some U.S. history is also included as background context. End matter includes photos, maps, endnotes, bibliography, and index. Th
Author: Reef, Catherine |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
To Be a Slave
Reminiscences of slaves and ex-slaves report their experiences of being owned and sold as property in the United States during the 19th Century. Many accounts of brutality are unsettling. This is a reprint of a 1968 edition with new introductory materia
Author: Lester, Julius |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
To Hell with Dying
Because of the controversial subject matter and the language of the title, this book would have to be introduced carefully and treated sensitively. The author tells the story of growing up down the road from old alcoholic Mr. Sweet, who would fall on his
To Kill A Mockingbird
In this classic American novel set in the 30s, Lee tells the story of two children growing up in the South with their lawyer father who represents an African-American man accused of raping a white woman. The novel is rich and complex in plot and theme.
Author: Lee, Harper |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Toning the Sweep
Emily goes to the desert with her mother to help her dying grandmother Ola pack up her house and move. She slowly comes to terms with her family history and her coming loss.
Trouble Don't Last
This is the story of 11-year-old Samuel and "cranky old Harrison," who leave the Kentucky farm where they are slaves and head north to freedom, encountering non-stereotypical members of trhe Underground Railroad. The author is the historian at Hale Farm a
Author: Pearsall, Shelley |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Twelve Rounds to Glory
This biographical tribute told in rap-inspired verse captures the life of the "Louisville Loudmouth" who was in so many respects the "Greatest of all Time." This amazing account of Muhammed Ali's life is told in twelve chapters, like a 12 round boxing mat
Author: Smith, Charles |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - writing | language arts - reading
|
Uncle Jed's Barbershop
A woman tells the story of her Uncle Jed, an African-American barber who traveled a regular route, saving his money for his own shop. When she became sick, he gave up his money for her operation, and when the Depression came, he lost everything again. F
Author: Mitchell, Margaree K. |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Uptown
Colorful collage and an easy-reading text belie a very sophisticated tour of Harlem including the Metro-North train, brownstones, shopping on 125th street, a barbershop, summer basketball, the Harlem Boys' Chois, and sunset over the Hudson River
Voice of Her Own, A
This biography of Phillis Wheatley, a American Revolution era slave who became the first Black woman poet, includes excerpts of her poetry, an epilogue, and notes by the author and illustrator.
Author: Lasky, Kathryn |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - writing
|
Voice That Challenged a Nation, The
A detailed biography of Marian Anderson, an exceedingly talented woman who overcame some racial barriers and tolerated others in order to do what she loved best, recounts how she became involved in the Civil Rights Movement. In addition to wonderful arch
Author: Freedman, Russell |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Wake Up Our Souls
Well-written biographies and stunning reproductions of the work of approximately 30 African American artists introduce us to painters, photographers, and mixed-media artists born between 1830 and the present. The design makes the book beautiful and the e
Author: Bolden, Tonya |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Walking the Log
The author paints scenes and reminisces about her childhood in the turn of the century South. The books contains information about daily life, work (especially picking cotton), childhood games, family values, and the author's life long interest in art.
Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963, The
The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African American family from Flint, Michigan are drastically changed after a trip to Alabama in 1963. This is a powerful book, sometimes powerfully funny and sometimes powerfully touching
Author: Curtis, Christopher P. |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Way a Door Closes, The
Told in a poetry format, a teenage boy describes his reaction to his father's leaving the family, and then to his return.
Author: Smith, Hope Anita |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | language arts - writing
|
We Are One: The Story of Bayard Rustin
Bayard Rustin's biography not only emphasizes his well-known role as advisor and organizer to leadership in the Civil Rights Movement but expands our view with his activities as speaker, singer, actor, artist, and non-violent activist. This biography pro
Author: Brimner, Larry Dane |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
We Are the Ship: The Story of the Negro League Baseball
This book is about the beginnings and history of Negro League Baseball. The accomplishments of many of the better players are described. Paintings of the players are included. There is a bibliography and filmography at the end of the book.
Author: Nelson, Kadir |
HSE Descriptors:
| social studies
|
When Harriet Met Sojourner
The author imagines the meeting of two brave activists for the freeing of slaves --Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman when they were in Boston in 1864. The story is told with the aid of very powerful artwork.
Author: Clinton, Catherine |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Women of Hope
The author wrote essays on thirteen African American women to accompany photographs of the Bread and Roses Cultural Project. The essays feature inspiring women who exhibited courage in overcoming barriers of race and gender in fighting for rights we all
Author: Hansen, Joyce |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Words with Wings
This riveting collection of paintings, prints, and sculpture by African-American artists enrich poems by outstanding African-American poets. The book includes a beautifully written introduction about the role of art and poetry and brief biographies of th
Author: Rochelle, Belinda ed. |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Wreath for Emmett Till, A
Told in a poetic form known as heroic crown sonnets, the thoughtfully illustrated poem causes the reader to experience the murder of 14 year old Emmett Till in Mississippi. The author provides an introduction to the poetic form, biographical information
Author: Nelson, Marilyn |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading
|
Your Move
When gang initiation threatens his younger brother, James summons the courage to make up his own mind.
Ethnic Groups > African-American > well-known people
Amelia to Zora: Twenty-Six Women Who Changed the World
Minute biographies of 26 illustrious women with quotes from each. Discover woman who have changed people's lives and read about their childhood, hardships and successes to inspire girls and women of all ages.
Author: Chin-Lee, Cynthia |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Amelia to Zora: Twenty-Six Women Who Changed the World
Minute biographies of 26 illustrious women with quotes from each. Discover woman who have changed people's lives and read about their childhood, hardships and successes to inspire girls and women of all ages.
Author: Chin-Lee, Cynthia |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal
The life of Bass Reeves, from slavery to US marshal, the most feared and respected lawman in the territories. This is a story of a remarkable African-American hero of the Old West. Actual photos, western vocabulary, timeline,further reading/websites, res
Author: Nelson, Vaunda Micheaux |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal
The life of Bass Reeves, from slavery to US marshal, the most feared and respected lawman in the territories. This is a story of a remarkable African-American hero of the Old West. Actual photos, western vocabulary, timeline,further reading/websites, res
Author: Nelson, Vaunda Micheaux |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Barack Obama, Son of Promise, Child of Hope
Framed by the story of an African American mother and her son, who keeps interjecting questions and comments, the narrative tells the story of Barack Obama around the theme of hope and the importance of education. Both the words of Nikki Grimes and the ar
Author: Grimes, Nikki |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Becoming Billie Holiday
Weatherford uses the titles of Billie Holiday songs as titles for poems that tell the story of Billie's life and road to fame.
Author: Weatherford, Carole Boston |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Before John Was a Jazz Giant
The author imagines the sounds of John Coltrane's childhood that influenced his musical compositions as an adult. A historical note, selected listening and further reading are included.
Author: Weatherford, Carole Boston |
|
Before John Was a Jazz Giant
The author imagines the sounds of John Coltrane's childhood that influenced his musical compositions as an adult. A historical note, selected listening and further reading are included.
Author: Weatherford, Carole Boston |
|
Birmingham Sunday
This powerfully told story of the horrific bombing of a church in Birmingham, ALABAMA which ended with the killing of three young girls and galvanized the civil rights movement across the country. The photographs and writing style of the author make for a
Author: Brimner, Larry Dane |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Black Jack: The Ballad of Jack Johnson
An interesting account of fightin' Black Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight of the world in 1910. The prejudicial issues of the era made this a monumental task. Bold words and bold color art combine to create a rhythmic text that captures the ener
Author: Smith, Charles R., Jr. |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Block, The
This collection of Langston Hughes poems is complemented by the illustrations of Romare Beardon. An introduction by Bill Cosby precedes the collection, and biographies of the poet and artist conclude it.
Author: Hughes, Langston |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Coretta Scott
Coretta is a poetic tribute to the life of Coretta Scott King and the Civil Rights movement. This is an amazing biographical tribute in poetry which is most readable and offers all kinds of teaching opportunities.
The art work by Kadir Nelson really make
Author: Shange, Ntozake |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Find Where the Wind Goes
This is an autobiography of Mae Jemison, the first woman of color to become an astronaut. She uses the metaphor of "wind" to describe events from her life.
Author: Jemison, Mae |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - writing
|
Gwendolyn Brooks
This biography describes the influences and hardships of the early years and the political activism of the later years of the African American poet Gwendolyn Brooks. The book includes a chronology, archival photos, an index, a list of published works and
Author: Hill, Christine M. |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies | language arts - writing
|
Happy Feet
This very easy, lyrical text with gorgeous illustrations tells the story of the opening of the Savoy in Harlem, which is of special interest to the narrator "Happy Feet" because he was born on that night. The book not only educates the reader about the S
Author: Richard Michelson |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Martin's Big Words
Brief and easy-to-read biographical statements are accompanied by MLK's words and award-winning illustrations. An abbreviated Civil Rights chronology and bibliography conclude the book.
Author: Rappaport, Doreen |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Nothing But Trouble: The Story of Althea Gibson
Althea Gibson was perpetual motion and perpetual trouble until mentors helped her channel her energy into tennis where she became a champion, and the first African American to win the Wimbledon. The colorful illustrations capture her boundless energy.
Author: Stauffacher, Sue |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Nothing But Trouble: The Story of Althea Gibson
Althea Gibson was perpetual motion and perpetual trouble until mentors helped her channel her energy into tennis where she became a champion, and the first African American to win the Wimbledon. The colorful illustrations capture her boundless energy.
Author: Stauffacher, Sue |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Piano Starts Here
This wonderfully illustrated picture book reads in the first person like a reminiscence, but actually was written long after jazz pianist Art Tatum died. It tells the story of his childhood, his family,his terrible eyesight, and his journey to success. T
Author: Parker, Robert Andrew |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading
|
Ray Charles
In a beautiful reprint of a 1973 book, the author tells the story of the legendary blind musician Ray Charles. An Afterword updates the earlier version.
Author: Mathis, Sharon |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Richard Wright and the Library Card
This is a 'slice of life' biography about the author Richard Wright set in his late adolescence/ young adulthood. Events deal with discrimination, Richard's discovery of literature, and how he decided to become an author.
Author: Miller, William |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Rosa
Giovanni tells the story of Rosa Parks' infamous bus ride. In the telling, the author speaks to the strength of the African-American community in their struggle for equal rights. The author weaves other tales (Emmett Till) into the story to give the rea
Author: Giovanni, Nikki |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow
The story of Satchel Paige's baseball career told by a fictional baseball player who once batted against Paige. Biographical and historical information are included in a preface and appendix.
Author: Sturm, James and Tommaso, Rich |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
There Comes a Time
This book, winner of the 2001 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, chronicles the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. The book begins with slave trading and ends with the "Black Power" movement of the late 1960's. A timeline, bibliography, and index are included.
Author: Meltzer, Milton |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Twelve Rounds to Glory
This biographical tribute told in rap-inspired verse captures the life of the "Louisville Loudmouth" who was in so many respects the "Greatest of all Time." This amazing account of Muhammed Ali's life is told in twelve chapters, like a 12 round boxing mat
Author: Smith, Charles |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - writing | language arts - reading
|
We Are the Ship: The Story of the Negro League Baseball
This book is about the beginnings and history of Negro League Baseball. The accomplishments of many of the better players are described. Paintings of the players are included. There is a bibliography and filmography at the end of the book.
Author: Nelson, Kadir |
HSE Descriptors:
| social studies
|
Words Set Me Free: The Story of Young Frederick Douglass
Born a slave with little hope of ever learning to read, this story of Frederick Douglas, a man determined to read despite huge hurdles, provides an inspiring story for people of all ages.
Author: Cline-Ransome, Lisa |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading
|
Ethnic Groups > African-American > well-known people > Anderson, Marian
When Marian Sang
This book is an introduction to the life of Marian Anderson, depicting her music, her inspiration, and her struggles as a singer against segregation .
Author: Ryan, Pam Munoz |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Ethnic Groups > African-American > well-known people > Angelou, Maya
I, Too, Sing America
This is a collection of poetry, arranged chronologically, by African-American poets. Biographies of the poets accompany their poems.
Author: Clinton, Catherine (comp.) |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Ethnic Groups > African-American > well-known people > Banneker, Benjamin
Molly Bannaky
This is a biography of the grandmother of the famous mathematician, Banjamin Banneker, who came to America in 1683 as an indentured servant and married her freed slave. The author includes an historical note.
Author: McGill, Alice |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Ethnic Groups > African-American > well-known people > Carver, George Washington
Carver
Personal and professional details of the life of George Washington Carver are told in poems from the perspectives of many people.
Author: Nelson, Marilyn |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | science
|
George Washington Carver
This biography of George Washington Carver, known as the "peanut man," is illustrated with his art work and archival photographs and includes notes, bibliographical resources and an afterword.
Author: Bolden, Tanya |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | science
|
George Washington Carver
This biography of George Washington Carver, known as the "peanut man," is illustrated with his art work and archival photographs and includes notes, bibliographical resources and an afterword.
Author: Bolden, Tanya |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | science
|
Ethnic Groups > African-American > well-known people > Douglass, Frederick
Days of Jubilee
Subtitled "The End of Slavery in the United States," this book chronicles the U.S. Civil War with particular attention to the different times and circumstances in which slaves were freed. The text is sprinkled with excerpts from slave narratives, letters,
Author: McKissack, Patricia, & McKissack, Frederick |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
North Star to Freedom
This book is subtitled "The Story of the Underground Railroad," and it is that, but it's also more-- the history of slavery is presented, biographies of key figures are provided, lesislation is discussed. The author is Canadian, so this provides an intere
Author: Gorrell, Gena K. |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Sweet Words So Brave
Narrated as a story told by a old, Black storyteller to a young child, the book relates the history of African American writers which is illustrated with beautiful, bold paintings by Jerry Butler. The use of different type faces may distract some readers
Author: Curry, Barbara & Brodie, James |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Ethnic Groups > African-American > well-known people > Ellington, Duke
Butter Man, The
The father of a young child recalls a time of poverty and famine in Morocco. Written in descriptive language, this is a story within a story. Rich author's note and glossary help support this read to become a literary event. Folk art paintings by Julie
Author: Alalou, Elizabeth |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Harlem Stomp!
Subtitled "A cultural history of the Harlem Renaissance," this book has 10 chapters that address how Harlem came to be a cultural "magnet" in the 1920s. The book interweaves history, poetry, and archival photos that brings the cultural history of Harlem t
Author: Hill, Laban Carrick |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading
|
Ethnic Groups > African-American > well-known people > Hughes, Langston
Coming Home
The book tells the story of Langston Hughes' lonely childhood, demonstrating that certain themes and ideas that later emerged in Hughes' poetry grew from his experiences as a child.
Author: Cooper, Floyd |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Harlem Stomp!
Subtitled "A cultural history of the Harlem Renaissance," this book has 10 chapters that address how Harlem came to be a cultural "magnet" in the 1920s. The book interweaves history, poetry, and archival photos that brings the cultural history of Harlem t
Author: Hill, Laban Carrick |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading
|
I, Too, Sing America
This is a collection of poetry, arranged chronologically, by African-American poets. Biographies of the poets accompany their poems.
Author: Clinton, Catherine (comp.) |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Langston Hughes
This well written and engaging biography is accompanied by many of Hughes's poems, some of his other writing, and intriguing illustrations. Especially interesting for Ohio readers is the focus on his life in Cleveland and the influence of Karamu House.
Author: Meltzer, Milton |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Langston Hughes: American Poet
This is a reissue of a picture book biography of Langston Hughes (originally published in 1974). The illustrations and Author's Note (a must read) are new.
Author: Walker, Alice |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Langston's Train Ride
This easy-reading picture book focuses on one episode from Langston Hughes's life--his realization that he WAS a poet. Reference is made to "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" and of the way its ideas developed.
Author: Burleigh, Robert |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
My People
Beautiful sepia-tone photographs illustrate Langston Hughes' poem "My People"
Author: Hughes, Langston |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | language arts - writing | social studies
|
Negro Speaks of Rivers, The
E.B.Lewis depicts Langston Hughes' poem through beautful watercolor illustrations which help in the understanding of the poem.
Author: Hughes, Langston |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Negro Speaks of Rivers, The
E.B.Lewis depicts Langston Hughes' poem through beautful watercolor illustrations which help in the understanding of the poem.
Author: Hughes, Langston |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Ethnic Groups > African-American > well-known people > Hurston, Zora Neale
Harlem Stomp!
Subtitled "A cultural history of the Harlem Renaissance," this book has 10 chapters that address how Harlem came to be a cultural "magnet" in the 1920s. The book interweaves history, poetry, and archival photos that brings the cultural history of Harlem t
Author: Hill, Laban Carrick |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading
|
Ethnic Groups > African-American > well-known people > Malcolm X
Malcolm X
In a clear, simple, and beautifully illustrated text, Walter Dean Myers emphasizes the life not death of Malcolm X as he grew to be a great leader for racial equality. Quotations and a timeline make the text especially useful in the classroom.
Author: Myers, Walter Dean |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Ethnic Groups > African-American > well-known people > Truth, Sojourner
Let It Shine
These ten essays on African American women introduce well-know and some lesser known freedom fighters. The colorful illustrations, the informative text, and the chatty tone will attract readers. The author's introducation and suggestions for further read
Author: Pinkney, Andrea |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
More Spice Than Sugar: Poems about Feisty Females
All the poems in this collection are about women and girls, some famous and some not. The three sections of the book are "When I Am Me," "She's a Winner" (about sports), and "Against the Odds." Work from some famous poets is included.
Author: Morrison, Lillian (comp.) |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading
|
Only Passing Through
Strong illustrations help tell this biography of Sojourner Truth. An Author's Note updates the relevance of Sojourner Truth and provides a helpful timeline.
Author: Rockwell, Anne |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Religion in 19th Century America
This book, part of a larger series on religion in America, focuses on U.S. religious history in the 19th century. Illustrations complement the text. A chronology, sources for further reading, and index are included.
Author: Wacker, Grant |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
When Harriet Met Sojourner
The author imagines the meeting of two brave activists for the freeing of slaves --Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman when they were in Boston in 1864. The story is told with the aid of very powerful artwork.
Author: Clinton, Catherine |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
With Courage and Cloth
This story of women's suffrage in the U.S. concentrates on the early 20th century, although previous activities serve as a context. Illustrated with archival photos from the time,the book includes a chronology, bibliography, profiles, and other sources.
Author: Bausum, Ann |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Ethnic Groups > African-American > well-known people > Tubman, Harriet
Many Thousand Gone: African Americans from Slavery to Freedom
This is a beautifully illustrated collection of true stories about the struggle that African Americans faced in gaining their freedom. The book is
divided into 3 parts: Slavery in America; Running-Aways; and Exodus to Freedom. An Afterword, bibliogra
Author: Virginia Hamilton |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies | language arts - writing
|
More Spice Than Sugar: Poems about Feisty Females
All the poems in this collection are about women and girls, some famous and some not. The three sections of the book are "When I Am Me," "She's a Winner" (about sports), and "Against the Odds." Work from some famous poets is included.
Author: Morrison, Lillian (comp.) |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading
|
Moses
The author's note describes this book on Harriet Tubman as a "fictionalized spiritual journey" comparing her answering the call of God to lead her people out of slavery to Moses leading the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt. The author includes a forewo
Author: Weatherford, Carole |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
North Star to Freedom
This book is subtitled "The Story of the Underground Railroad," and it is that, but it's also more-- the history of slavery is presented, biographies of key figures are provided, lesislation is discussed. The author is Canadian, so this provides an intere
Author: Gorrell, Gena K. |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Separate Battle, A: Women and the Civil War
This must-have addition to a Civil War collection weaves together stories of slave women, abolitionists, women's rights leaders, and famous and not-so-famous women to offer a look at women's experiences during the Civil War. Diaries and letters are frequ
Author: Chang, Ina |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
When Harriet Met Sojourner
The author imagines the meeting of two brave activists for the freeing of slaves --Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman when they were in Boston in 1864. The story is told with the aid of very powerful artwork.
Author: Clinton, Catherine |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Ethnic Groups > African-American > well-known people > Wells, Ida B.
Let It Shine
These ten essays on African American women introduce well-know and some lesser known freedom fighters. The colorful illustrations, the informative text, and the chatty tone will attract readers. The author's introducation and suggestions for further read
Author: Pinkney, Andrea |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Geography Geography > locations Geography > locations > continents/regions Geography > locations > continents/regions > Africa
African Princess
Illustrated with paintings, photographs, and artifacts, six biographies tell us about royal African women from Ancient Eygpt to the present: Hatshepsut of Egypt; Njinga of Matamba; Taytu Tetal of Ethiopia; Amina of Zaria; Tata Ajache of Dahomey; and Eliz
Author: Hansen, Joyce |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Ajeemah and His Son
This very powerful, short chapter book (83 pages) is set first in Africa, then on a slave ship, and then in Jamaica where Ajeemah and his son are taken. It tells the story of a father and son who are captured outside of their village and torn from their
Author: Berry, James |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Ashanti to Zulu
Each letter of this alphabet book describes a different African culture. It is meant as a reference or resource book, but the fabulous illustrations create a lively African world.
Author: Musgrove, Margaret |
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Brothers In Hope
The author, who worked with the International Rescue Committee, tells the story of the "lost boys" of Sudan, orphaned by war, who walked to refuge in Ethiopia, and later to Kenya. The first person narrative and vibrant illustrations add immediacy to the
Author: Williams, Mary |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Facing the Lion
Enhanced by a few, vivid color photos, this memoir recounts the Maasi childhood and first encounters with European and American culture of an American teacher who spends part of each year working in Kenya. An afterword brings the reader up to date with L
Author: Lekuton, Joseph |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Light Shining through the Mist
Lush color photographs and text tell the story of how Dian Fossey studied the gorillas in Africa and died trying to protect them and their habitat during a time of political unrest.
Author: Matthews, Tom |
HSE Descriptors:
science
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Long Walk to Water, A
When the Sudanese civil war reaches his village in 1985, eleven-year-old Salva becomes separated from his family and must walk with other Dinka tribe members through southern Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya in search of safe haven. Based on the life of Salva D
Author: Park, Linda Sue |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Mandela
This picture book biography tells Nelson Mandela's story, from his childhood to his imprisonment and ultimate freedom.
Author: Cooper, Floyd |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Memories of Sun
This is a collection of modern day short stories and poems about Africa. It has three divisions: 1) Africa 2) Americans in Africa 3) Africans in America. Although most of the 12 stories are engaging, teachers will want to read beforehand since some may
Author: Kurtz, Jane (Ed.) |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
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Now Sheba Sings the Song
This book consists of one long poem and dozens of sketches of African-American women. It is a sensuous book that celebrates the sexuality, the history, and the strength of Black women.
Safari
Bateman, a famous nature artist, creates a pictorial safari of African wildlife. The text offers detailed, interesting lore and the information boxes contain facts about habitat, height, weight, food, and range. The photograph-like paintings engage the
Author: Bateman, Robert |
HSE Descriptors:
science
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Song of Be
When Be was a child, she and her mother left their people--the Namibian Bushmen--to work on a white man's plantation. Spending time with her grandfather helps her forget how much she misses others. With Namibia on the verge of freedom, Be finds the cour
Author: Beake, Lesley |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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This Our Dark Country: The American Settlers of Liberia
This is a history of Liberia which was established on the west coast of Africa in 1822 as a haven for free African Americans. Some U.S. history is also included as background context. End matter includes photos, maps, endnotes, bibliography, and index. Th
Author: Reef, Catherine |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Wangari's Trees of Peace: A True Story From Africa
The true story of how Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan educated in the USA, started a movement to replant trees in Kenya, one seedling at a time. Wangari won the Nobel Peace Prize for replenishing of the forests in her country.
Author: Winter, Jeanette |
HSE Descriptors:
science | social studies
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Geography > locations > continents/regions > Africa > African village life
Angels of Mercy
This book is about the army nurses of WW II. Chapters about WW II in general, about nurses in Europe, and about nurses in the Pacific are loosely connected. Some text recounts important events of the war; other portions tell more personal recollections. I
Author: Kuhn, Betsy |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Baboon King, The
Set in Africa, this powerful book explores the themes of the importance of community through the exile of Morengaru from his tribe and survival, not against but with nature, in his life with a group of baboons.
Chanda's Secrets
Sixteen-year-old Chanda, who lives in a fictional sub-Saharan
country that is feeling the impact of HIV/AIDS psychologically(fears, lies, and sundered relationships)and socially (ostracism of tainted people, necessity of hiding), takes a courageous stand
Author: Stratton, Allan |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Long Way Gone, A: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
The story of a Sierra Leonian boy who at age 12 was recruited and forced into being a gun toting, drug crazed soldier and then learned how to live with what he had done after going through a UNICEF rehabilitation program.
Author: Beah, Ishmael |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Mansa Musa
A beautifully illustrated story of the quest for identity of a descendent of Sundiata, the famous king of Mali in Central Africa. The author's note describes her research and lists resources. The Dillons provide ethnic design motifs,an historical map, a
Author: Burns, Khephra |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Memories of Sun
This is a collection of modern day short stories and poems about Africa. It has three divisions: 1) Africa 2) Americans in Africa 3) Africans in America. Although most of the 12 stories are engaging, teachers will want to read beforehand since some may
Author: Kurtz, Jane (Ed.) |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Talk, Talk
This Ashanti legend tells of the day when all the animate objects--animals, yams, stones, and dogs--began to talk and frighten the villagers.
Author: Chocolate, Deborah |
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Uncommon Traveler
Mary Kingsley, who grew up in Victorian England, isolated, without formal education but with her Father's library, made trips to explore West Africa, where she accomplished many firsts and survived many adventures. The beautiful watercolor illustrations,
Author: Brown, Don |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
History History > region History > region > Africa
Ashanti to Zulu
Each letter of this alphabet book describes a different African culture. It is meant as a reference or resource book, but the fabulous illustrations create a lively African world.
Author: Musgrove, Margaret |
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Butter Man, The
The father of a young child recalls a time of poverty and famine in Morocco. Written in descriptive language, this is a story within a story. Rich author's note and glossary help support this read to become a literary event. Folk art paintings by Julie
Author: Alalou, Elizabeth |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
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Mansa Musa
A beautifully illustrated story of the quest for identity of a descendent of Sundiata, the famous king of Mali in Central Africa. The author's note describes her research and lists resources. The Dillons provide ethnic design motifs,an historical map, a
Author: Burns, Khephra |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Negro Speaks of Rivers, The
E.B.Lewis depicts Langston Hughes' poem through beautful watercolor illustrations which help in the understanding of the poem.
Author: Hughes, Langston |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Negro Speaks of Rivers, The
E.B.Lewis depicts Langston Hughes' poem through beautful watercolor illustrations which help in the understanding of the poem.
Author: Hughes, Langston |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Old African, The
a beautifully told and illustrated story that, according to the dust jacket, is "based on legend." The Old African has magical powers. This is the story of his capture and enslavement as a young man and ultimately, his plan to free his fellow slaves.
Author: Lester, Julius |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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