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/

Coretta Scott

Coretta Scott

Written by: Ntozake Shange
Illustrated by: Kadir Nelson

Upper Elementary and Junior High Grades

"Unflinching verse and elegant imagery combine in a powerful, evocative, picture-book portrait of Coretta Scott King. As stated on the cover, Shange uses poetry to recount Coretta Scott’s life, from her childhood to her marriage with Martin Luther King, Jr. On the final page, the author offers a linear, prose biography, adding context to her more abstract references in the poetry."

Booklist Review

Web Resources:
http://www.thekingcenter.org/Default.aspx