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14 Cows for America
Author: Carmen Agra Deedy
“Because there is no nation so powerful it cannot be wounded, nor a people so small they cannot offer mighty comfort”.14 Cows for America is a little known story of a remarkable gift to the American people from a small Maasai village in Kenya following the events of 911. The colored pencil and pastel illustrations are stunning and capture the compassion of this once feared warrior tribe and their marvelous gift of life to the United States.
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Art from her Heart; Folk Artist Clementine Hunter
Author: Kathy Whitehead
Clementine Hunter's paintings went from hanging on her clothesline to hanging in museums. However, because of the color of her skin, a friend had to sneak her in when the gallery was closed. Ages 5-8
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Before John was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane
Author: Carole Boston Weatherford
This lyrical picture-book biography of John Coltrane focuses on his childhood and how he interpreted sounds before he made his music. Ages 6-9
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Belle, the Last Mule at Gee's Bend: A Civil Rights Story
Author: Calvin Alexander Ramsey
Miz Pettway tells young Alex about the historic role her mule played in the struggle for civil rights that was led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Based on actual events. Ages 5-8
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Ben and the Emancipation Proclamation
Author: Pat Sherman
Benjamin Holmes, a young slave practices reading even though slaves are not allowed to read. His ability to read comes in handy when he is put into a slave prison and his fellow inmates listen as he reads aloud the news of President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. Ages 8-12
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Black Jack: the ballad of Jack Johnson
Author: Charles R. Smith, Jr
Art and poetry combine to tell the story of boxer Jack Johnson, who became the first African-American world heavyweight boxing champion in the early part of the twentieth century. Ages 5-8
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Bud, Not Buddy
Author: Christopher Paul Curtis
Bud, a boy living in Flint, Michigan during the Great Depression, leaves a bad foster home to try to find the man he believes to be his father. Ages 9-12
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Carver, A Life in Poems
Author: Marilyn Nelson
The story of George Washington Carver’s life told through a series of lyrical poems. All Ages
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Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County
Author: Janice N. Harrington
A young farm girl tries to catch her favorite chicken, until she learns something about the hen that makes her change her ways. Ages 4-8
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Child of the Civil Rights Movement
Author: Paula Young Shelton
Paula Young Shelton shares her memories of the civil rights movement and her involvement in the historic march from Selma to Montgomery. Ages 6-9
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Dave at Night
Author: Gail Carson Levine
Dave sneaks out of the orphanage at night and is welcomed into the music- and culture-filled world of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920’s. Ages 9-12
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Elijah of Buxton
Author: Christopher Paul Curtis
In 1859, eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first free-born child in Buxton, Canada, which is a haven for slaves fleeing the American south, uses his wits and skills to try to bring to justice the lying preacher who has stolen money that was to be used to buy a family's freedom. Ages 9-12
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Escape of Oney Judge : Martha Washington's Slave Finds Freedom
Author: Emily Arnold McCully
Young Oney Judge risks everything to escape a life of slavery in the household of George and Martha Washington and to make her own way as a free black woman. Ages 6-8
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Gloria's Way
Author: Ann Cameron
Gloria and her friends, Julian and Huey, have lots of stories to tell and special times to share. Ages 6-9
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Grandma Lena’s Big Ol’ Turnip
Author: Denia Lewis Hester
Grandma Lena grows a turnip so big that it takes her entire family pull it up and half of the town to eat it. Includes a note about cooking soul food. Ages 3-8
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Heart and Soul; the Story of America and African Americans
Author: Kadir Nelson
Examines the history of the United States, focusing on events that influenced African-Americans and how they advanced liberty and justice in America. Ages 9 and older
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Henry's Freedom Box
Author: Ellen Levine
A fictionalized account of how in 1849,Virginian slave Henry "Box" Brown, escapes to freedom by shipping himself in a wooden crate from Richmond to Philadelphia. Ages 6-9
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I, too, am America
Author: Langston Hughes
A popular poem by Langston Hughes which highlights the courage and dignity of the African American Pullman porters in the early twentieth century. Ages 4-8
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Jackie and Me : A Baseball Card Adventure
Author: Dan Gutman
With the help of old baseball cards, Joe goes back in time to 1947 to meet Jackie Robinson, turning into an African-American boy in the process. Ages 9-12
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Jefferson’s Sons
Author: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
A fictionalized look at the last twenty years of Thomas Jefferson's life at Monticello through the eyes of three of his slaves, including two who were his sons by his slave, Sally Hemings. Ages 8-12
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Journal of Biddy Owens : The Negro Leagues
Author: Walter Dean Myers
Biddy, a batboy for the Birmingham Black Barons, describes some of the games, road trips and segregation facing the players. Ages 9-12
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Journal of Joshua Loper: A Black Cowboy
Author: Walter Dean Myers
Follow along with Joshua’s diary as the young African-American cowboy rides the Chisholm Trail on a cattle drive in 1871. Ages 9-12
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Let the Circle Be Unbroken
Author: Mildred D. Taylor
Four black children growing up in rural Mississippi during the Depression experience racial antagonisms and hard times, but learn from their parents the pride and self-respect they need to survive. Ages 9-12
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Lions of Little Rock
Author: Kristin Levine
In 1958 Little Rock, Arkansas, painfully shy twelve-year-old Marlee sees her city and family divided over school integration, but her friendship with Liz, a new student, helps her find her voice and fight against racism. Ages 9-12
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M.C. Higgins, the Great
Author: Virginia Hamilton
Strip mining has created a slag heap that could shift and destroy Mayo Cornelius Higgins’ home any day, creating a dilemma for his family; should they go immediately to safety or stay and fight for their home? Ages 9-12
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Many Thousand Gone: African Americans from Slavery to Freedom
Author: Virginia Hamilton
This beautifully illustrated book recounts the journey of African-American slaves to freedom via the Underground Railroad. Ages 9-12
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Marching for Freedom; Walk Together Children, and Don’t You Grow Weary
Author: Elizabeth Partridge
Recounts the three months of protest that took place before Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s landmark march from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery to promote equal rights and help African-Americans earn the right to vote. Ages 9-12
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Maritcha: A Remarkable Nineteenth-Century Girl
Author: Tonya Bolden
Based on Maritcha Remond Lyons’ memoir, this poignant story tells what it was like to be a black child born free during the days of slavery. Everyday events are included as well as Maitcha’s successful battle to attend a whites-only high school in Providence, Rhode Island, making her the school’s first African-American graduate. Ages 9-12
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Martin's Big Words : The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Author: Doreen Rappaport
This picture book biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., brings his life and the profound nature of his message to young children through his own words. Ages 6-9
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Matthew Henson and the North Pole expedition
Author: Ann Gaines
Describes the life and accomplishments of African-American explorer Matthew Henson, who went on an expedition to the North Pole in the early twentieth century. Ages 10-15
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Meet Addy: an American girl
Author: Connie Porter
Addy and her mother make a terrifying journey north from slavery, holding fast to their dream that their family will one day be together again in freedom. Ages 6-9
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Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom
Author: Carole Boston Weatherford
Describes Tubman's spiritual journey as she hears the voice of God guiding her north to freedom on that very first trip to escape slavery. Ages 6-9
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Most Loved in All the World
Author: Tonya Cherie Hegamin
A little girl whose mother is a secret agent on the Underground Railroad learns how a handmade quilt can help her leave home for free. Ages 6-9
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Mr. Chickee's Funny Money
Author: Christopher Paul Curtis
Flint Future Detective Club members Steven Carter, his friend Russell and Russell’s huge dog, Zoopy, solve the mystery of a quadrillion-dollar bill with the image of James Brown on it. Ages 9-12
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Muhammad Ali: the People’s Champion
Author: Walter Dean Myers
Examines the life and career of Muhammad Ali and how he advocated for equal rights for African-Americans. Ages 6-8.
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My People
Author: Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes’ poem captures the glory, beauty, and soul of being a black American. Vivid sepia photographs accompany the text. All Ages
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Nightjohn
Author: Gary Paulsen
Twelve-year-old Sarny's brutal life as a slave becomes even more dangerous when a newly arrived slave offers to teach her how to read. Ages 9-12
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One Crazy Summer
Author: Rita Williams-Garcia
The summer of 1968, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters travel to Oakland to visit their mother. When they arrive, they discover that their mother does not want to spend them with them but instead, wants the three girls to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp. Ages 8-12
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Porch Lies: Tales of Slicksters, Tricksters, and Other Wily Characters
Author: Patricia C. McKissack
This is a collection of 10 original slickster/trickster stories from the African-American tradition. Some are hilariously funny while others are spooky or wildly exaggerated. Perfect for sharing anywhere with family and friends. All Ages
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Price of Freedom: How One Town Stood Up to Slavery
Author: Judith Bloom Fradin
Retells the story of how the residents of Oberlin, Ohio worked together to help runaway slave, John Price, escape to freedom. Ages 9-12
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Priscilla and the Hollyhocks
Author: Anne Broyles
A young African American girl is sold away from her mother as a slave but eventually is bought by a white man. This man not only sets her free but also adopts her into his family of fifteen children. Ages 6-9
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Road to Paris
Author: Nikki Grimes
Inconsolable at being separated from her older brother, eight-year-old Paris is apprehensive about her new foster family but just as she learns to trust them, she faces a life-changing decision. Ages 9-12
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Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Author: Mildred D. Taylor
Nine-year-old Cassie and her family experience racism and social injustice when their community is terrorized by angry night riders. Ages 9-12
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Ruby Bridges Goes to School: My True Story
Author: Ruby Bridges
Ruby Bridges tells the story of how she helped end racial segregation in the New Orleans public school system when she was in the first grade. Ages 4-8
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Ruth and the Green Book
Author: Calvin Alexander Ramsey
When Ruth and her parents take a motor trip from Chicago to Alabama to visit her grandma, they rely on a pamphlet called "The Negro Motorist Green Book" to find places that will serve them. Ages 7-10
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Sounder
Author: William H. Armstrong
Angry and humiliated when his sharecropper father is jailed for stealing food for his family, a young black boy grows in courage and understanding by learning to read and through his relationship with his devoted dog Sounder. Ages 9-12
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Stories Julian Tells
Author: Ann Cameron
7 year old Julian tells you his best stories including the time he got into trouble with his little brother, Huey, and what happened when he lost his tooth. Ages 6-9
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Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
Author: Deborah Hopkinson
A young slave stitches a quilt with a map pattern which guides her to freedom in the North. Ages 6-10
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Walking Home to Rosie Lee
Author: A LaFaye
At the end of the Civil War, young Gabe meets many other former slaves getting a feel for freedom whose kindness helps him in his quest to find his mother, who was sold away. Ages 7 – 11
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Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963
Author: Christopher Paul Curtis
The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963. Ages 9-12
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We March
Author: Shane W. Evans
Brief text and illustrations portray the events of the 1963 march in Washington, D.C., where the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a historic speech. Ages 4-8
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