United States: African Americans
Preschool
- Grade 3
- Updike, John.
A
child's calendar
A collection of twelve poems describing the activities in a child's life
and the changes in the weather as the year moves from January to December.
Educ. Res. PS 3571 .P4 C49
199
- Bryan, Ashley.
Ashley
Bryan's ABC of African-American poetry
Each letter of the alphabet is represented by a line from a poem by
different African American poets, describing an aspect of the black
experience.
Educ. Res. PS 591 .N4 A84
1997
- Myers, Walter Dean, 1937-
Brown
angels : an album of pictures and verse
A collection of poems, accompanied by photographs, about African American
children living around the turn of the century.
Educ. Res. PS 3563 .Y48 B76
19
- Pinkney, Andrea Davis.
Ella
Fitzgerald : the tale of a vocal virtuosa
A brief recounting of the career of this jazz musician in the voice of
"Scat Cat Monroe."
Hoofin' in Harlem -- Jammin' at Yale -- Stompin' at the Savoy -- Carnegie Hall Scat.
Educ. Res. ML 3930 .F5 P56
200
- Burleigh, Robert.
Hoops
Illustrations and poetic text describe the movement and feel of the game
of basketball.
Educ. Res. PS 3552 .U7255
H66
- Thomas, Joyce Carol.
I
have heard of a land
Describes the joys and hardships experienced by an African- American
pioneer woman who staked a claim for free land in the Oklahoma territory.
Educ. Res. PS 3570 .H565 I2
19
- Steptoe, Javaka, 1971- ill.
In
daddy's arms I am tall : African Americans celebrating fathers
A collection of poems celebrating African-American fathers by Angela
Johnson, E. Ethelbert Miller, Carole Boston Weatherford, and others.
Educ. Res. PS 591 .N4 B46
1997
- Wahl, Jan.
Little
Eight John
Little Eight John, as mean as mean there was, persists in disobeying his
mother until he finds his mischief backfiring on him.
Educ. Res. PS 3573 .A39 L5
199
- Rappaport, Doreen.
Martin's
big words : the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Educ. Res. E 185.97 .K5 R36
20
- Grimes, Nikki.
Talkin'
about Bessie : the story of aviator Bessie Coleman
A biography of the woman who became the first licensed Afro- American
pilot.
Educ. Res. TL 540 .C646 G75
20
- Ringgold, Faith.
Tar Beach
Educ. Res. PS 3568 .I554 T3
19
- Collier, Bryan.
Uptown
A tour of the sights of Harlem, including the Metro-North Train,
brownstones, shopping on 125th
Street, a barber shop, summer basketball, the
Boy's Choir, and sunset over the Harlem River.
Educ. Res. PS 3553 .O4741 U6
2
- Howard, Elizabeth Fitzgerald.
Virgie
goes to school with us boys
In the post-Civil War South, a young African American girl is determined
to prove that she can go to school just like her older brothers.
Educ. Res. PS 3558 .O88 V5
199
- Perdomo, Willie.
Visiting
Langston
A poem to celebrate the African American poet, Langston Hughes, born on
February 1, 1902.
Educ. Res. PS 3566 .E691216
V5
- Brenner, Barbara.
Wagon wheels
Shortly after the Civil War a black family travels to Kansas to take advantage of the free
land offered through the Homestead Act.
Educ. Res. PS 3552 .R387 W3
19
- Hamilton, Virginia.
When
birds could talk & bats could sing : the adventures of Bruh Sparrow,
Sis Wren, and their friends
A collection of stories, featuring sparrows, jays, buzzards, and bats,
based on those African American tales originally written down by Martha
Young on her father's plantation in Alabama after the Civil War.
Educ. Res. PS 3558 .A444 W5
19
- Ryan, Pam Muņoz.
When
Marian sang : the true recital of Marian Anderson : the voice of a century
An introduction to the life of Marian Anderson, extraordinary singer and
civil rights activist, who was the first African American to perform at
the Metropolitan Opera, whose life and career encouraged social change.
Award: School Library Journal Best Books 2002.
Educ. Res. ML 3930 .A5 R93
200
- Sierra, Judy.
Wiley
and the Hairy Man
With his mother's help, Wiley outwits the conjuring Hairy Man that lives
in the swamp near their home.
Educ. Res. PS 3569 .I32 W5
199
- Krull, Kathleen.
Wilma
unlimited : how Wilma Rudolph became the world's fastest woman
A biography of the African-American woman who overcame crippling polio as
a child to become the first woman to win three gold medals in track in a
single Olympics.
Educ. Res. GV 1061.15 .R83
K78
- Williams, Sherley Anne, 1944-
Working
cotton
A young black girl relates the daily events of her family's migrant life
in the cotton fields of central California.
Educ. Res. PS 3573 .I45546
W6
Grade
4-6
- Bunting, Eve, 1928-
Smoky night
When the Los Angeles riots break out in the streets of their neighborhood,
a young boy and his mother learn the values of getting along with others
no matter what their background or nationality.
Educ. Res. PS 3552 .U6 S5
1994
- Taylor, Mildred D.
Song of
the trees
During the Depression, a rural black family deeply attached to the forest
on their land tries to save it from being cut down by an unscrupulous
white man.
Educ. Res. PS 3570 .A94 S6
197
- Feelings, Tom, ill.
Soul
looks back in wonder
Artwork and poems by such writers as Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, and
Askia Toure portray the creativity, strength, and beauty of their African
American heritage.
Educ. Res. PS 591 .N4 S58
1994
- Curtis, Gavin.
The
bat boy & his violin
Reginald is more interested in practicing his violin than in his father's
job managing the worst team in the Negro Leagues, but when Papa makes him the
bat boy and his music begins to lead the team to victory, Papa realizes
the value of his son's passion.
Educ. Res. PS 3553 .U7 B3
1998
- Moore, Cathy.
The
daring escape of Ellen Craft
Educ. Res. E 450 .C79 M66
2002
- Bridges, Ruby.
Through my
eyes
Ruby Bridges recounts the story of her involvement, as a six -year-old, in
the integration of her school in New
Orleans in 1960.
Educ. Res. F 379 .N59 N435
199
- Howard, Elizabeth Fitzgerald.
Virgie
goes to school with us boys
In the post-Civil War South, a young African American girl is determined
to prove that she can go to school just like her older brothers.
Educ. Res. PS 3558 .O88 V5
199
- Hamilton, Virginia.
When
birds could talk & bats could sing : the adventures of Bruh Sparrow,
Sis Wren, and their friends
A collection of stories, featuring sparrows, jays, buzzards, and bats,
based on those African American tales originally written down by Martha
Young on her father's plantation in Alabama after the Civil War.
Educ. Res. PS 3558 .A444 W5
19
- Hopkinson, Deborah.
A
band of angels : a story inspired by the Jubilee Singers
The daughter of a slave forms a gospel singing group and goes on tour to
raise money to save Fisk
University.
Educ. Res. PS 3558 .O65 B3
199
- Ringgold, Faith.
Aunt
Harriet's Underground Railroad in the sky
With Harriet Tubman as her guide, Cassie retraces the steps escaping
slaves took on the Underground Railroad in order to reunite with her
younger brother.
Educ. Res. PS 3568 .I554 A8
19
- Patterson, Lillie.
Benjamin
Banneker, genius of early America
A biography of the distinguished eighteenth-century black astronomer,
farmer, mathematician, and surveyor whose accomplishments include having
published a popular almanac and constructed the first completely
American-made clock.
Educ. Res. QB 36 .B22 P38
- Pinkney, Andrea Davis.
Bill
Pickett, rodeo ridin' cowboy
Describes the life and accomplishments of the son of a former slave whose
unusual bulldogging style made him a rodeo star.
Educ. Res. GV 1833.6 .P5 P56
1
- Myers, Walter Dean, 1937-
Brown
angels : an album of pictures and verse
A collection of poems, accompanied by photographs, about African American
children living around the turn of the century.
Educ. Res. PS 3563 .Y48 B76
19
- Haskins, James, 1941-
Champion
: the story of Muhammad Ali
A biography of Muhammad Ali, from his childhood in Louisville, Kentucky,
his legendary boxing career, and his conversion to Islam and opposition to
the war in Vietnam, to his appearance at the 1996 summer Olympics in
Atlanta.
Educ. Res. GV 1132 .A44 H36
20
- Cooper, Floyd.
Coming
home : from the life of Langston Hughes
Educ. Res. PS 3515 .U274
Z6178
- McKissack, Pat, 1944-
The
dark-thirty : Southern tales of the supernatural
A collection of ghost stories with African American themes, designed to be
told during the Dark Thirty--the half hour before sunset--when ghosts seem
all too believable.
Educ. Res. PS 3563 .A3176 D3
1
- Pinkney, Andrea Davis.
Duke
Ellington : the piano prince and his orchestra
A brief recounting of the career of this jazz musician and composer who,
along with his orchestra, created music that was beyond category.
Educ. Res. ML 3930 .E44 P56
19
- Pinkney, Andrea Davis.
Ella
Fitzgerald : the tale of a vocal virtuosa
A brief recounting of the career of this jazz musician in the voice of
"Scat Cat Monroe."
Hoofin' in Harlem -- Jammin' at Yale -- Stompin' at the Savoy -- Carnegie Hall Scat.
Educ. Res. ML 3930 .F5 P56
200
- Rappaport, Doreen.
Freedom river
Describes an incident in the life of John Parker, an ex-slave who became a
successful businessman in Ripley,
Ohio, and who repeatedly
risked his life to help other slaves escape to freedom.
Educ. Res. E 450 .R23 2000
- Lester, Julius.
Further
tales of Uncle Remus : the misadventures of Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, Brer
Wolf, the Doodang, and other creatures
A retelling of the classic Afro-American tales relating the adventures and
misadventures of Brer Rabbit and his friends and enemies.
Educ. Res. PS 3562 .E853 F8
19
- McKissack, Pat, 1944-
Goin'
someplace special
In segregated 1950s Nashville,
a young African American girl braves a series of indignities and obstacles
to get to one of the few integrated places in town: the public library.
Educ. Res. PS 3563 .A3176 G6
2
- Lawrence, Jacob, 1917-
The
great migration : an American story
A series of paintings chronicles the journey of African Americans who,
like the artist's family, left the rural South in the early twentieth
century to find a better life in the industrial North.
Educ. Res. ND 237 .L29 A4
1993
- Myers, Walter Dean, 1937-
Harlem : a
poem
A poem celebrating the people, sights, and sounds of Harlem.
Educ. Res. PS 3563 .Y48 H37
19
- Lawrence, Jacob, 1917-
Harriet
and the Promised Land
Brief biography in verse about Harriet Tubman and her dedicated efforts to
lead her fellow slaves to freedom.
Educ. Res. PS 3523 .A93 H3
- San Souci, Robert D.
The
hired hand : an African-American folktale
Old Sam hires a man to help out at his saw mill, and the hired hand also
teaches Sam's lazy son a lesson about how to treat people.
Educ. Res. PS 3569 .A57 H5
199
- Stanley, Jerry, 1941-
Hurry
freedom : African Americans in Gold Rush California
Recounts the history of African Americans in California during the Gold Rush while
focusing on the life and work of Mifflin Gibbs.
Educ. Res. F 865 .S813 2000
- Thomas, Joyce Carol.
I
have heard of a land
Describes the joys and hardships experienced by an African- American
pioneer woman who staked a claim for free land in the Oklahoma territory.
Educ. Res. PS 3570 .H565 I2
19
- Igus, Toyomi.
I
see the rhythm : a story of African American music
Chronicles and captures poetically the history, mood, and movement of
African American music.
Educ. Res. ML 3556 .I48 1998
- Siegelson, Kim L.
In
the time of the drums
Mentu, an American-born slave boy, watches his beloved grandmother, Twi,
lead the insurrection at Teakettle Creek of Ibo people arriving from Africa on a slave ship.
Educ. Res. PS 3569 .I34 I5
199
- Weik, Mary Hays, 1898-
The jazz man
Educ. Res. PS 3573 .E3837 J3
- Lester, Julius.
John Henry
Retells the life of the legendary African American hero who raced against
a steam drill to cut through a mountain.
Educ. Res. PS 3562 .E853 J6
19
- Dunbar, Paul Laurence, 1872-1906.
Poems.
Selections
An illustrated collection of poems by Paul Laurence Dunbar, including
"A Boy's Summer Song," "The Sparrow," and "Little
Brown Baby."
Educ. Res. PS 1556 .A4 1999
- Walter, Mildred Pitts.
Justin
and the best biscuits in the world
Suffering in a family full of females, ten-year-old Justin feels that
cleaning and keeping house are women's work until he spends time on his
beloved grandfather's ranch.
Educ. Res. PS 3573 .A438 J8
19
- Walker, Alice, 1944-
Langston
Hughes : American poet
An illustrated biography of the Harlem poet whose works gave voice to the
joy and pain of the Black experience in America.
Educ. Res. PS 3515 .U274 Z9
20
Grade
6-12
- Myers, Walter
Dean, 1937-
145th
Street : short stories
Ten stories portray life on a block in Harlem.
Educ. Res. PS 3563 .Y48
O54 20
- McKissack, Pat, 1944-
A
long hard journey : the story of the pullman porter
A chronicle of the first black-controlled union, made up of Pullman
porters, who after years of unfair labor practices staged a battle against
a corporate giant resulting in a "David and Goliath" ending.
Educ. Res. HD 8039 .R37 U46
19
- Yates, Elizabeth, 1905-
Amos
Fortune : free man
Amos Fortune, born a prince in Africa, is enslaved and brought to
Massachusetts where after many years he finally becomes a free man and
helps other slaves to obtain their freedom.
Educ. Res. E 185.97 .F73 Y3
- McKissack, Pat, 1944-
Black
diamond : the story of the Negro baseball leagues
Play ball -- Out of the ballpark -- Batter up! -- Bases loaded -- The
lineup -- You're out! -- Black diamonds -- Foul ball -- Away games --
Bottom of the ninth -- A winning season -- The close of the Negro Leagues.
Traces the history of baseball in the Negro Leagues and its great heroes,
including Monte Irwin, Buck Leonard, and Cool Papa Bell.
Educ. Res. GV 875 .A1 M35
1994
- McKissack, Pat, 1944-
Black
hands, white sails : the story of African-American whalers
A history of African-American whalers between 1730 and 1880, describing
their contributions to the whaling industry and their role in the
abolitionist movement.
Educ. Res. SH 381.5 .M38
1999
- Greenfield, Eloise.
Childtimes
: a three-generation memoir
Childhood memoirs of three black women--grandmother, mother, and
daughter-who grew up between the 1880's and the 1950's.
Educ. Res. F 264 .P37 G73
1993
- McKissack, Pat, 1944-
Christmas
in the big house, Christmas in the quarters
Christmas is coming... -- In the big house... -- And in the Quarters... --
Getting ready for the big times -- Deck the halls -- Christmas eve-a very
busy day -- Gloria in Execlsis Deo -- Pattin' the Juba -- Christmas gif'
-- All day it's Christmas -- Rise up, shepherd, an' foller -- We wear the mask
on New Year's eve -- First day -- Looking back.
Describes the customs, recipes, poems, and songs used to celebrate
Christmas in the big plantation houses and in the slave quarters just
before the Civil War.
Educ. Res. F 213 .M36 1994
- Fogelin, Adrian.
Crossing
Jordan
Twelve-year-old Cass meets her new African-American neighbor, Jemmie, and
despite their families' prejudices, they build a strong friendship around
their mutual talent for running and a pact to read Jane Eyre.
Educ. Res. Bushner PS 3606
.O4
- Taylor, Mildred D.
The
friendship
Four children witness a confrontation between an elderly black man and a
white storekeeper in rural Mississippi
in the 1930s.
Educ. Res. PS 3570 .A94 F7
198
- Lester, Julius.
From
slave ship to freedom road
Educ. Res. ND 237 .B8744 A4
19
- Clinton, Catherine, 1952-
I,
too, sing America : three centuries of African American poetry
A collection of poems by African-American writers, including Lucy Terry,
Gwendolyn Bennett, and Alice Walker.
Educ. Res. PS 591 .N4 I35
1998
- Hansen, Joyce.
I
thought my soul would rise and fly : the diary of Patsy, a freed girl
Twelve-year-old Patsy keeps a diary of the ripe but confusing time
following the end of the Civil War and the granting of freedom to former
slaves.
Educ. Res. PS 3558 .A514 I2
19
- Monceaux, Morgan.
Jazz
: my music, my people
Buddy Bolden -- W.C. Handy -- Leadbelly -- Jelly Roll Morton -- Danny
Barker -- Louis Barbarin -- Sidney Bechet -- Ma Rainey -- Bessie Smith --
Josephine Baker -- Mamie Smith -- Ethel Waters -- Olivia Charlot -- Louis
Armstrong -- Duke Ellington -- Count Basie -- Cab Calloway -- Jimmy
Rushing -- Lester Young -- Art Tatum -- Mary Lou Williams -- Billie
Holiday.
Ella Fitzgerald -- Ivie Anderson -- Dorothy Dandridge -- Nina Mae McKinney
-- International Sweethearts of Rhythm -- Sister Rosetta Thorpe -- Charlie
Parker -- Dizzy Gillespie -- Thelonious Monk -- Nat King Cole -- Sarah
Vaughan -- Nina Simone -- Miles Davis -- Charles Mingus -- John Coltrane
-- The Modern Jazz Quartet -- Lena Horne -- Pearl Bailey -- Johnetta.
Educ. Res. ML 385 .M62 1994
- Paterson, Katherine.
Jip : his
story
While living on a Vermont
poor farm during 1855 and 1856, Jip learns his identity and that of his
mother and comes to understand how he arrived at this place.
Educ. Res. PS 3566 .A779 J5
19
- Hill, Christine M.
John
Lewis : from freedom rider to Congressman
Chronicles the life of the man whose politics took him from civil rights
worker in the South to serving as a United States Congressman.
Educ. Res. E 840.8 .L43 H55
20
- Tillage, Leon,
1936-
Leon's story
The son of a North Carolina
sharecropper recalls the hard times faced by his family and other African
Americans in the first half of the twentieth century and the changes that
the civil rights movement helped bring about.
Educ. Res. F 264 .F86 T55
1997
- Pinkney, Andrea Davis.
Let
it shine : stories of Black women freedom fighters
Sojourner Truth -- Biddy Mason -- Harriet Tubman -- Ida B. Wells- Barnett
-- Mary McLeod Bethune -- Ella Josephine Baker -- Dorothy Irene Height --
Rosa Parks -- Fannie Lou Hamer -- Shirley Chisholm.
Tells the stories of ten African-American women freedom fighters.
Educ. Res. E 185.96 .P5 2000
- Hamilton, Virginia.
Many
thousand gone : African Americans from slavery to freedom
Recounts the journey of Black slaves to freedom via the underground
railroad, an extended group of people who helped fugitive slaves in many
ways.
Educ. Res. E 450 .H23 1993
- Myers, Walter Dean, 1937-
Me,
Mop, and the Moondance Kid
Although adoption has taken them out of the New Jersey institution where
they grew up, eleven-year-old T.J. and his younger brother, Moondance,
remain involved with their friend Mop's relentless attempts to become
adopted herself and that leads to further complications.
Educ. Res. PS 3563 .Y75 M4
199
- Myers, Walter Dean, 1937-
Now
is your time! : the African-American struggle for freedom
A history of the African-American struggle for freedom and equality,
beginning with the capture of Africans in 1619, continuing through the
American Revolution, the Civil War, and into contemporary times.
Educ. Res. E 185 .M96 1991
- Myers, Walter Dean, 1937-
One
more river to cross : an African American photograph album
Educ. Res. E 185 .M97 1995
- Mays, Osceola, 1909-
Osceola
: memories of a sharecropper's daughter
A sharecropper's daughter describes her childhood in Texas in the early years of the
twentieth century.
Educ. Res. F 392 .H39 M35
2000
- Hamilton, Virginia.
The
people could fly : American Black folktales
Cassette features: He Lion, Bruh Bear, and Bruh Rabbit -- The peculiar
such thing -- How Nehemiah got free -- The talking cooter -- John and the
devil's daughter -- Tappin, the land turtle -- Papa John's tall tale -- A
wolf and little daughter -- Better wait till Martin comes -- Little eight
John -- Doc Rabbit, Bruh Fox, and Tar Baby -- The people could fly.
Retold Afro-American folktales of animals, fantasy, the supernatural, and
desire for freedom, born of the sorrow of the slaves, but passed on in
hope.
Educ. Res. GR 103 .H3 1985
- Greene, Bette, 1934-
Philip
Hall likes me. I reckon maybe
Eleven-year-old Beth thinks that Philip Hall likes her, but their
on-again, off-again relationship sometimes makes her wonder.
Educ. Res. PS 3557 .R3793 P5
- McKissack, Pat, 1944-
Rebels
against slavery : American slave revolts
Day-to-day resistance and early revolts -- The Maroons -- Toussaint
Louverture -- Gabriel Prosser -- Denmark Vesey -- Rebel abolitionists --
Nat Turner -- Cinque and the Amistad -- Harriet Tubman and the underground
rebellion -- John Brown's raid at Harpers Ferry
-- Epilogue.
Educ. Res. E 447 .M39 1996
- Mckissack, Pat, 1944-
Red-tail
angels : the story of the Tuskegee airmen of World War II
A history of African American pilots with a focus on World War II.
Educ. Res. D 790 .M333 1995
- Weatherford, Carole Boston, 1956-
Remember
the bridge : poems of a people
Archival engravings and photographs accompany these 29 original poems that
take the reader along with African Americans on a 400 year journey to
freedom.
Educ. Res. PS 3573 .E135 R46
2
- Parks, Rosa, 1913-
Rosa
Parks : my story
Educ. Res. F 334 .M753 P37
- Hamilton, Virginia.
The
bells of Christmas
Twelve-year-old Jason describes the wonderful Christmas of 1890 that he
and his family celebrate in their home in Springfield, Ohio.
Educ. Res. PS 3558 .A444 B4
19
- Mathis, Sharon Bell.
The
hundred penny box
Newbery Award book.
Educ. Res. PS 3563 .A837 H8
19
- Woods, Brenda (Brenda A.)
The red
rose box
In 1953, Leah Hopper dreams of leaving the poverty and segregation of her
home in Sulphur, Louisiana,
and when Aunt Olivia sends train tickets to Los Angeles as part of her tenth
birthday present, Leah gets a first taste of freedom.
Educ. Res. PS 3623 .O64 R4
200
- Taylor, Mildred D.
The
well : David's story
In Mississippi in the early 1900s ten-year-old David Logan's family
generously shares their well water with both white and black neighbors in
an atmosphere of potential racial violence.
Educ. Res. PS 3570 .A94 W4
199
- Pearsall, Shelley.
Trouble
don't last
Includes bibliographical references (p. 236).
Samuel, an eleven-year-old Kentucky
slave, and Harrison, the elderly slave who helped raise him, attempt to
escape to Canada
via the Underground Railroad.
Educ. Res. PS 3616 .E36 T7
200
- Hansen, Joyce.
Which
way freedom?
Obi escapes from slavery during the Civil War, joins a black Union
regiment, and soon becomes involved in the bloody fighting at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.
Educ. Res. PS 3558 .A514 W5
19
- Meyer, Carolyn.
White lilacs
In 1921 in Dillon, Texas, twelve-year-old Rose Lee sees
trouble threatening her black community when the whites decide to take the
land there for a park and forcibly relocate the black families to an ugly
stretch of territory outside the town.
Educ. Res. PS 3563 .E83 W5
199
- Sebestyen, Ouida.
Words by
heart
A young black girl struggles to fulfill her papa's dream of a better
future for their family in the southwestern town where, in 1910, they are
the only blacks.
Educ. Res. PS 3569 .E31 W6
199
- Fenner, Carol.
Yolonda's
genius
After moving from Chicago to Grand River, Michigan,
fifth grader Yolonda, big and strong for her age, determines to prove that
her younger brother is not a slow learner but a true musical genius.
Educ. Res. PS 3556 .E55 Y6
199