Seeds of Change: Wangari's Gift to the World

Seeds of Change: Wangari's Gift to the World

Written by: Jen Cullerton Johnson
Illustrated by: Sonia Lynn Sadler

**2011 Coretta Scott Award Winner**

Elementary Grades

"As a young girl in Kenya, Wangari was taught to respect nature. She grew up loving the land, plants, and animals that surrounded her -from the giant mugumo trees her people, the Kikuyu, revered to the tiny tadpoles that swam in the river. Although most Kenyan girls were not educated, Wangari, curious and hardworking, was allowed to go to school. There, her mind sprouted like a seed. She excelled at science and went on to study in the United States. After returning home, Wangari blazed a trail across Kenya, using her knowledge and compassion to promote the rights of her countrywomen and to help save the land, one tree at a time. Seeds of Change: Planting a Path to Peace brings to life the empowering story of Wangari Maathai, the first African woman, and environmentalist, to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Engaging narrative and vibrant images paint a robust portrait of this inspiring champion of the land and of women's rights."

Product Description

Online Resources:
http://www.jencullertonjohnson.com/Jen_Cullerton_Johnson/Seeds_of_Change.html

Zora and Me

Zora and Me

Written by: Zora Neale Hurston

**2011 Coretta Scott King Award**

Elementary and Junior High Grades

"Told in the immediate first-person voice of 10-year-old Carrie, Zora Neale Hurston’s best childhood friend, this first novel is both thrilling and heartbreaking. Each chapter is a story that evokes the famous African American writer’s early years in turn-of-the-last-century Eatonville, Florida, and the sharp, wry vignettes build to a climax, as Carrie and Zora eavesdrop on adults and discover secrets. Family is front and center, but true to Hurston’s work, there is no reverential message: Carrie mourns for her dad, who went to Orlando for work and never came back; Zora’s father is home, but he rejects her for being educated and “acting white,” unlike her favored sister. Racism is part of the story, with occasional use of the n-word in the colloquial narrative.

Like Hurston, who celebrated her rich roots but was also a wanderer at heart, this novel of lies and revelations will reach a wide audience, and some strong readers will want to follow up with Hurston’s writings, including Their Eyes Are Watching God (1937). The novel’s back matter includes a short biography of Hurston, an annotated bibliography of her groundbreaking work, and an endorsement by the Zora Neale Hurston Trust."

Booklist Review

Online Resources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/02/books/02zora.html?_r=1
http://www.zoranealehurston.com/index.html

Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow: A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix

Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow: A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix

Written by: Gary Golio
Illustrated by: Javaka Steptoe

Upper Elementary, Junior High and High School Grades

**2011 Coretta Scott Book Award**

"Before he was famous, little Jimmy Hendrix tuned into a world colored with the sounds of the city outside the Seattle boarding house where he lived with his father. As a boy he strove to reproduce those sounds on his one-string ukulele, and eventually on a secondhand guitar. Golio's lyrical text sings with delicious description, and Steptoe's wildly colored mixed-media illustrations show the hues of the boy's imagination, with Hendrix always standing out from his surroundings. The story itself focuses on the musician's rise to fame, with a supplementary note and a bibliography providing more detailed background information. His tragic death is dealt with in a separate author's note, accompanied by a list of resources about substance abuse. A fascinating "Illustrator's Note" illuminates the process behind the intriguing artwork and underscores the book's theme of exploring the creative process. This book is likely to fascinate older children and reluctant readers who might be familiar with Hendrix's music, and could easily be tied into art and music curricula."

School Library Journal Review

Online Resources:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m2H5T7S5QOJG0L/ref=ent_fb_link
http://www.garygolio.com/

Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave

Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave

Written by: Laban Carrick Hill
Illustrated by: Bryan Collier

Elementary Grades

**2011 Coretta Scott King Award**

"To us it is just dirt, the ground we walk on... But to Dave it was clay, the plain and basic stuff upon which he formed a life as a slave nearly 200 years ago.

Dave was an extraordinary artist, poet, and potter living in South Carolina in the 1800s. He combined his superb artistry with deeply observant poetry, carved onto his pots, transcending the limitations he faced as a slave. In this inspiring and lyrical portrayal, National Book Award nominee Laban Carrick Hill's elegantly simple text and award-winning artist Bryan Collier's resplendent, earth-toned illustrations tell Dave's story, a story rich in history, hope, and long-lasting beauty."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.labanhill.com/dave_the_potter_53284.htm

Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty

Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty

Written by: G. Neri
Illustrated by: Randy DuBurke
**2011 Coretta Scott King Award**

Content should be read and previewed by teacher to determine if content is appropriate for the age of student due to mention of gangs and violence. I think the relevance of this topic will be enjoyed by teens, and the graphic novel format will appeal to struggling readers.

Junior High and High School Grades

"Eleven-year old Roger is trying to make sense of his classmate Robert "Yummy" Sandifer's death, but first he has to make sense of Yummy's life. Yummy could be as tough as a pit bull sometimes. Other times he was as sweet as the sugary treats he loved to eat. Was Yummy some sort of monster, or just another kid? As Roger searches for the truth, he finds more and more questions. How did Yummy end up in so much trouble? Did he really kill someone? And why do all the answers seem to lead back to a gang-the same gang to which Roger's older brother belongs? Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty is a compelling graphic dramatization based on events that occurred in Chicago in 1994. This gritty exploration of youth gang life will force readers to question their own understandings of good and bad, right and wrong."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://gregneri.com/yummy.html
http://www.leeandlow.com/p/yummy_dq.mhtml
Above link includes a teachers guide

Lockdown

Lockdown

Written by: Walter Dean Myers

Junior High and High School Grades

**2011 Coretta Scott King Award**

"Myers takes readers inside the walls of a juvenile corrections facility in this gritty novel. Fourteen-year-old Reese is in the second year of his sentence for stealing prescription pads and selling them to a neighborhood dealer. He fears that his life is headed in a direction that will inevitably lead him “upstate,” to the kind of prison you don’t leave. His determination to claw his way out of the downward spiral is tested when he stands up to defend a weaker boy, and the resulting recriminations only seem to reinforce the impossibility of escaping a hopeless future. Reese’s first-person narration rings with authenticity as he confronts the limits of his ability to describe his feelings, struggling to maintain faith in himself; Myers’ storytelling skills ensure that the messages he offers are never heavy-handed. The question of how to escape the cycle of violence and crime plaguing inner-city youth is treated with a resolution that suggests hope, but doesn’t guarantee it. A thoughtful book that could resonate with teens on a dangerous path."

Booklist Review

Online Resources:
http://www.harperteen.com/books/Lockdown-Walter-Dean-Myers/?isbn=9780061214806
*scroll down the page to the PDF teachers guide for this book!

One Crazy Summer

One Crazy Summer

Written by: Rita Williams-Garcia

Upper Elementary and Junior High Grades

*2011 Coretta Scott King Award Winner, Newberry Honor Book, National Book Award Finalist*

"Eleven-year-old Delphine has it together. Even though her mother, Cecile, abandoned her and her younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, seven years ago. Even though her father and Big Ma will send them from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to stay with Cecile for the summer. And even though Delphine will have to take care of her sisters, as usual, and learn the truth about the missing pieces of the past.

When the girls arrive in Oakland in the summer of 1968, Cecile wants nothing to do with them. She makes them eat Chinese takeout dinners, forbids them to enter her kitchen, and never explains the strange visitors with Afros and black berets who knock on her door. Rather than spend time with them, Cecile sends Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern to a summer camp sponsored by a revolutionary group, the Black Panthers, where the girls get a radical new education.

Set during one of the most tumultuous years in recent American history, one crazy summer is the heartbreaking, funny tale of three girls in search of the mother who abandoned them—an unforgettable story told by a distinguished author of books for children and teens, Rita Williams-Garcia."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.ritawg.com/

Ninth Ward

Ninth Ward

Written by: Jewell Parker Rhodes

Upper Elementary and Junior High Grades

"New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina is the setting for this tense novel that blends the drama of the catastrophic storm with magic realism. Twelve-year-old Lanesha’s teenage mother died while giving birth to her, and, because her mother’s wealthy uptown family won’t have anything to do with her, she is raised in the Ninth Ward by loving Mama Ya-Ya, 82, who feels like her “mother and grandmother both.” Born with a caul over her eyes, Lanesha is teased at school, but she is strengthened by her fierce caretaker’s devotion and by a teacher who inspires Lanesha to become an engineer and build bridges. Lanesha also has “second sight,” which includes an ability to see her mother’s ghost. As the storm nears and the call comes for mandatory evacuation, Mama Ya-Ya envisions that she will not survive, but Lanesha escapes the rising water in a small rowboat and even rescues others along the way. The dynamics of the diverse community enrich the survival story, and the contemporary struggle of one brave child humanizes the historic tragedy."

Booklist Review

Online Resources:
http://jewellparkerrhodes.com/children/books/ninth-ward/

Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshall

Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshall

Written by: Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
Illustrated by: R. Gregory Christie

"Sitting tall in the saddle, with a wide-brimmed black hat and twin Colt pistols on his belt, Bass Reeves seemed bigger than life. Outlaws feared him. Law-abiding citizens respected him. As a peace officer, he 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.

Born into slavery in 1838, Bass had a hard and violent life, but he also had a strong sense of right and wrong that others admired. When Judge Isaac Parker tried to bring law and order to the lawless Indian Territories, he chose Bass to be a deputy U.S. Marshall. Bass would quickly prove a smart choice. 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. The story of Bass Reeves is the story of a remarkable African American and a remarkable hero of the Old West."

Publishers Synopsis

Online Resources:
http://www.lernerbooks.com/badnews/

Mare's War

Mare's War

Written by: Tanita S. Davis

Junior High and High School Grades

"Meet Mare, a grandmother with flair and a fascinating past. Octavia and Tali are dreading the road trip their parents are forcing them to take with their grandmother over the summer. After all, Mare isn’t your typical grandmother. She drives a red sports car, wears stiletto shoes, flippy wigs, and push-up bras, and insists that she’s too young to be called Grandma. But somewhere on the road, Octavia and Tali discover there’s more to Mare than what you see. She was once a willful teenager who escaped her less-than-perfect life in the deep South and lied about her age to join the African American battalion of the Women’s Army Corps during World War II.

Told in alternating chapters, half of which follow Mare through her experiences as a WAC member and half of which follow Mare and her granddaughters on the road in the present day, this novel introduces a larger-than-life character who will stay with readers long after they finish reading."

Publisher's Synopsis

Online Resources:
http://tanitasdavis.com/

My People

My People

Written by: Langston Hughes
Photographs by: Charles R. Smith Jr.

Elementary Grades

"Some 86 years after its original publication, Langston Hughes’ poem “My People” finds celebratory interpretation in Charles R. Smith Jr.’s elegant sepia photography. Echoing the graceful simplicity of Hughes’ verses, Smith’s pictures capture African American faces of every size, shape, age, and hue, their countenances shining out from fields of glossy black.

The expressions are as varied and captivating as the subjects, from crying babies to radiant children and adults. The pages outnumber the words, 40 to 33, allowing the text, printed in gold, to sweep across the darkness with the titular refrain. In an endnote, Smith shares the questions he asked himself as he began his photographic interpretation, noting Hughes’ intent “to celebrate the pride he had for his black brothers and sisters.” In the aspects that he has captured, and their artful arrangement across the page, he does just that."

Booklist Review

Online Resources:
http://www.charlesrsmithjr.com/

The Negro Speaks of Rivers

The Negro Speaks of Rivers

Written by: Langston Hughes
Illustrated by: E.B. Lewis

Upper Elementary, Junior High, and High School Grades

"Like the steady and determined flow of a river, this poem carries readers along as Hughes draws a metaphorical connection between the waterways of the world and African-American culture. Moving from ancient times ("I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young" or "I looked upon the Nile and raised pyramids above") to the Mississippi River and its connection to slavery, the poem offers both a time line of the African-American experience and a comment on the perseverance of the African-American soul."

School Library Journal Review

Online Resources:
http://www.poetryoutloud.org/poems/poem.html?id=173693

The Rock and the River

The Rock and the River

Written by: Kekla Magoon

Junior High and High School Grades

Set in Chicago during the year 1968.

"For thirteen-year-old Sam it's not easy being the son of known civil rights activist Roland Childs. Especially when his older (and best friend), Stick, begins to drift away from him for no apparent reason. And then it happens: Sam finds something that changes everything forever.

Sam has always had faith in his father, but when he finds literature about the Black Panthers under Stick's bed, he's not sure who to believe: his father or his best friend. Suddenly, nothing feels certain anymore.

Sam wants to believe that his father is right: You can effect chnage without using violence. But as time goes on, Sam grows weary of standing by and watching as his friends and family suffer at the hands of racism in their own community. Sam beings to explore the Panthers with Stick, but soon he's involved in something far more serious -- and more dangerous -- than he could have ever predicted. Sam is faced with a difficult decision. Will he follow his father or his brother? His mind or his heart? The rock or the river?"

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.whatsakekla.com/

Rosa

Rosa

Written by: Nikki Giovanni
Illustrated by: Bryan Collier

Upper Elementary and Junior High Grades

"Fifty years after her refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus, Mrs. Rosa Parks is still one of the most important figures in the American civil rights movement. This tribute to Mrs. Parks is a celebration of her courageous action and the events that followed.

Award-winning poet, writer, and activist Nikki Giovanni’s evocative text combines with Bryan Collier’s striking cut-paper images to retell the story of this historic event from a wholly unique and original perspective."

Publishers Synopsis

Online Resources:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonplans/bookfairs/currconnection/rosa.htm
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/video.jsp?pID=1640149541&bcpid=1640149541&bclid=1557820329&bctid=1688353958

Bird

Bird

Written by: Zetta Elliott
Illustrated by: Shadra Strickland

Upper Elementary and Junior High Grades

"Young Mekhai, better known as Bird, loves to draw. With drawings, he can erase the things that don't turn out right. In real life, problems aren't so easily fixed. As Bird struggles to understand the death of his beloved grandfather and his older brother's drug addiction, he escapes into his art. Drawing is an outlet for Bird's emotions and imagination, and provides a path to making sense of his world. In time, with the help of his grandfather's friend, Bird finds his own special somethin' and wings to fly. Told with spare grace, Bird is a touching look at a young boy coping with real-life troubles. Readers will be heartened by Bird s quiet resilience, and moved by the healing power of putting pencil to paper."

Publishers Synopsis

Web Resources:
http://www.leeandlow.com/p/zetta.mhtml

The Moon Over Star

The Moon Over Star

Written by: Dianna Hutts Aston
Illustrated by: Jerry Pinkney

Elementary Grades

"In July 1969, the world witnessed an awe-inspiring historical achievement when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the moon. For the young protagonist of this lyrical and hopeful picture book, that landing is something that inspires her to make one giant step toward all of the possibilities that life has to offer.

Caldecott Honor–winning painter Jerry Pinkney and the poetic Dianna Hutts Aston create a moving tribute to the historic Apollo 11 Mission, just in time to commemorate its upcoming fortieth anniversary."

Publishers Synopsis

Web Resources:
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_11/

Before John Was a Giant: A Song of John Coltrane

Before John Was a Giant: A Song of John Coltrane

Written by: Carole Weatherford
Illustrated by: Sean Qualls

Elementary Grades

"Young John Coltrane was all ears. And there was a lot to hear growing up in the South in the 1930s: preachers praying, music on the radio, the bustling of the household. These vivid noises shaped John’s own sound as a musician. Carole Boston Weatherford and Sean Qualls have composed an amazingly rich hymn to the childhood of jazz legend John Coltrane."

Publishers Synopsis

Web Resources:
http://www.johncoltrane.com/

Becoming Billie Holiday

Becoming Billie Holiday

Written by: Carole Weatherford
Illustrated by: Floyd Cooper

Junior High and High School Grades

"Before the legend of Billie Holliday, there was a girl named Eleanora. The world, however, would know her as Billie Holliday, possibly one of the greatest jazz singers of all time. Eleanora's journey into legend took her through pain, poverty and run-ins with the law. By the time she was fifteen, she knew she possessed something that could change her life - a voice. Eleanora could sing! Her remarkable voice led her to a place in the spotlight with some of the era's hottest big bands. Billie Holliday sang as if she lived each lyric and in many ways she had.Through a sequence of raw and poignant poems, award-winning poet, Carole Boston Weatherford chronicles Eleanora Fagan's metamorphosis into Billie Holliday and the dream she pursued with passion."

Publishers Synopsis

Web Resources
:
http://www.becomingbillieholiday.com/
http://www.cmgww.com/music/holiday/

Keeping the Night Watch

Keeping the Night Watch

Written by: Hope Anita Smith
Illustrated by: E.B. Lewis

Upper Elementary and Junior High Grades

"So many unanswered questions weigh down thirteen-year-old C.J. as he struggles to understand why his father walked out. His father is back now, though C.J. is not as quick to forgive as the other members of his family. He still feels the weight of responsibility that fell on his shoulders when Daddy was gone, and he’s not prepared to give that up. But C.J.’s anger is making him a stranger in his own home, and instead of life seeming better now that Daddy has returned, it feels worse. Through powerful poems, Hope Anita Smith chronicles the nuanced emotions of a family that is slowly learning to heal and put the pieces back together."

Publishers Synopsis

Web Resources:
http://us.macmillan.com/BookCustomPage.aspx?isbn=9780805072020&m_type=2&m_contentid=941246#video

The Blacker the Berry

The Blacker the Berry

Written by: Joyce Carol Thomas
Illustrated by: Floyd Cooper

Elementary Grades

"Black comes in all shades from dark to light, and each is rich and beautiful in this collection of simple, joyful poems and glowing portraits that show African American diversity and connections. In the title poem, a smiling girl says, “Because I am dark, the moon and stars shine brighter.” Other pages have fun with terms, such as skin deep and night shade. A grandma turns “Coffee will make you black” from a warning into something great. A boy is proud to be raspberry black as he reads his great-great-grandmother’s journal about her love for her Seminole Indian husband. A girl says she is “cranberry red” from her father’s Irish ancestry. In the final, joyful double-page spread, the kids celebrate their individual identities and laugh together. Many families will want to talk about this and their own family roots: “We count who we are and add to all who came before us.”

Booklist Review

Web Resources:
http://www.joycecarolthomas.com/