July 5, 2010
Black Jack: The Ballad of Jack Johnson
Charles R. Smith Jr. (Author), Shane W. Evans (Illustrator)
Roaring Brook Press
Available 06/22/10 in Hardcover
Born as Arthur John Johnson in the southern state of Texas, Jack Johnson was one of the most renowned boxers of the 20th century. Through hard work and persistence he climbed the ranks, taking a swing and a jab and eventually busting the color barrier. As the first black man to win the Heavyweight Championship, there was more than a title on the line. Published to commemorate the 100th anniversary of this history-making bout (July 4, 1910), this is an extraordinary marriage of poetry, fabulous collage artwork, and a splendid achievement in its own right.
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June 12, 2010
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The close relationship of a pair of biracial twins is tested when their grandmother enters them in a pageant for African American girls in this new story from Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award winner Sundee T. Frazier.
When Minerva and Keira King were born, they made headlines: Keira is black like Mama, but Minni is white like Daddy. Together the family might look like part of a chessboard row, but they are first and foremost the close-knit Kings. Then Grandmother Johnson calls, to invite the twins down South to compete for the title of Miss Black Pearl Preteen of America.
Minni dreads the spotlight, but Keira assures her that together they’ll get through their stay with Grandmother Johnson. But when grandmother’s bias against Keira reveals itself, Keira pulls away from her twin. Minni has always believed that no matter how different she and Keira are, they share a deep bond of the heart. Now she’ll find out the truth.
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Available June 8, 2010 in Hardcover
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June 12, 2010
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Twelve-year-old Lanesha lives in a tight-knit community in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward. She doesn’t have a fancy house like her uptown family or lots of friends like the other kids on her street. But what she does have is Mama Ya-Ya, her fiercely loving caretaker, wise in the ways of the world and able to predict the future. So when Mama Ya-Ya’s visions show a powerful hurricane–Katrina–fast approaching, it’s up to Lanesha to call upon the hope and strength Mama Ya-Ya has given her to help them both survive the storm.
Ninth Ward is a deeply emotional story about transformation and a celebration of resilience, friendship, and family–as only love can define it.
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Available August 16, 2010 in Hardcover
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March 21, 2010
Oprah: The Little Speaker
by Carole Boston Weatherford (Author), London Ladd (Illustrator)
Marshall Cavendish Children’s Books
Available March 2010 in Hardcover
The first six years in the life of the world’s most popular talk show host.
February 23, 2010
Back of the Bus
by Aaron Reynolds
Illustrated by Floyd Cooper
Philomel
Available 01/07/10 in Hardcover
It seems like any other winter day in Montgomery, Alabama. Mama and child are riding where they’re supposed to — way in the back of the bus. The boy passes the time by watching his marble roll up and down the aisle with the motion of the bus, until from way up front a big commotion breaks out. He can’t see what’s going on, but he can see the policeman arrive outside and he can see Mama’s chin grow strong. “There you go, Rosa Parks,” she says, “stirrin’ up a nest of hornets. Tomorrow all this’ll be forgot.” But they both know differently. With childlike words and powerful illustrations, Aaron Reynolds and Coretta Scott King medalist Floyd Cooper recount Rosa Parks’ act of defiance through the eyes of a child — who will never forget.
February 21, 2010
Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down
by Andrea Pinkney
Illustrated by Brian Pinkney
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Available 02/03/10 in Hardcover
It was February 1, 1960. They didn’t need menus. Their order was simple.A doughnut and coffee, with cream on the side.This picture book is a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the momentous Woolworth’s lunch counter sit-in, when four college students staged a peaceful protest that became a defining moment in the struggle for racial equality and the growing civil rights movement. Andrea Davis Pinkney uses poetic, powerful prose to tell the story of these four young men, who followed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words of peaceful protest and dared to sit at the “whites only” Woolworth’s lunch counter. Brian Pinkney embraces a new artistic style, creating expressive paintings filled with emotion that mirror the hope, strength, and determination that fueled the dreams of not only these four young men, but also countless others.
December 30, 2009
Lee & Low Books
Available 10/01/09 in Hardcover
A recreation of events from the childhood and early career of Augusta Savage, a pioneering female sculptor and major figure of the Harlem Renaissance.
November 16, 2009
Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U. S. Marshal
by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
Carolrhoda Books
Available 11/01/09
Sitting tall in the saddle, with a wide-brimmed black hat and twin Colt pistols on his belt, Bass Reeves seemed bigger than life. As a U.S. Marshal – and former slave who escaped to freedom in the Indian Territories – Bass was cunning and fearless. When a lawbreaker heard Bass Reeves had his warrant, he knew it was the end of the trail, because Bass always got his man, dead or alive. He achieved all this in spite of whites who didn’t like the notion of a black lawman. For three decades, Bass was the most feared and respected lawman in the territories. He made more than 3,000 arrests, and though he was a crack shot and a quick draw, he only killed fourteen men in the line of duty. Bad News for Outlaws reveals the story of a remarkable African American hero of the Old West.
September 27, 2009
Riot
by Walter Dean Myers
EgmontUSA
Available 09/22/09
As the Civil War rages, another battle breaks out behind the lines. During a long hot July in 1863, the worst race riots the United States has ever seen erupt in New York City. Earlier that year, desperate for more Union soldiers, President Abraham Lincoln instituted a draft — a draft that would allow the wealthy to escape serving in the army by paying a $300 waiver, more than a year’s income for the recent immigrant Irish. And on July 11, as the first drawing takes place in Lower Manhattan, the city of New York explodes in rage and fire. Stores are looted; buildings, including the Colored Foundling Home, are burned down; and black Americans are attacked, beaten, and murdered. The police cannot hold out against the rioters, and finally, battle-hardened soldiers are ordered back from the fields of Gettysburg to put down the insurrection, which they do — brutally. Fifteen-year-old Claire, the beloved daughter of a black father and Irish mother, finds herself torn between the two warring sides. Faced with the breakdown of the city — “the home” she has loved, Claire must discover the strength and resilience to address the new world in which she finds herself, and to begin the hard journey of remaking herself and her identity. Addressing such issues as race, bigotry, and class head-on, Walter Dean Myers has written another stirring and exciting novel that will shake up assumptions, and lift the spirit.
July 26, 2009
The Birthday Storm (Sassy)
by Sharon Draper
Scholastic Press
Available 10/01/09
The time is summer vacation. Sassy and her family head to Florida by airplane to visit Grammy. It’s Grammy’s birthday and a huge celebration is planned at her beach house. Weather reports have indicated that a possible hurricane is swirling in the Atlantic, but it is not supposed to be a threat. The family lands during beautiful, sunny weather and the summer vacation begins with no problem. But the weather soon takes a turn, and the hurricane changes course, heading right toward Grammy’s town. Houses are boarded up and local people stock up on food, water, and ice. The day of the party dawns seemingly terrible–and the local sea turtles’ lives are threatened. No electricity. No cake. No caterers. No ice cream. No stores are open. But the party goes on without any of that, and Sassy learns that family is more important than decorations, and love is the best gift of all.
