Martin Luther King, Jr. is having some problems with his best friend, Bobby. They are going to different schools this year, and Bobby's dad is not letting his son play with Martin. When Martin learns why, he is confused and hurt--but he learns a lesson that he will never forget. Full color.

Winner of 2021 Orbis Pictus Award! The story of Elgin Baylor, basketball icon and civil rights advocate, from an all-star team Hall-of-famer Elgin Baylor was one of basketball's all-time-greatest players--an innovative athlete, team player, and quiet force for change. One of the first professional African-American players, he inspired others on and off the court. But when traveling for away games ...

Illus. in full color. Brer Fox makes a boy out of tar, so when Brer Rabbit shakes hands, he'll get stuck. "About fifty sentences, with one or two per gracefully color-cartooned page, this tale is reduced to the most basic motifs, but it does respect the ones it keeps. It will be a book to hand to kids who clamor for a version they can read for themselves."--"Bulletin, Center for Children's Books.

A beautiful reminder that we are all composites of the people who love us and the places they have known as home. Lyrical text and richly layered illustrations provide a moving reading experience. Great for bed times!

Amos Fortune was born the son of an African king. In 1725, when he was 15 years old, he was captured by slave traders, brought to America and sold at auction. For 45 years, Amos worked as a slave and dreamed of freedom. At 60, he began to see those dreams come true. A Newbery Honor Book.

As a successful former slave, Clara Brown used her money to help other freed slaves get a new start in life. In 1859 Clara bought her own freedom and headed west to Colorado to find her daughter, who was sold when she was just a little girl. Clara didn't find her daughter there, but she did get rich. The people she helped became her family, and she became known as Aunt Clara Brown.

This Coretta Scott King Honor Book about the Negro National Baseball League in the 1940s is now available in paperback. Reginald loves to play his violin, but his father needs him to be the bat boy for his baseball team, the Dukes. Who would think that Reginald's music is just the inspiration needed to lead the Dukes to victory? Full color.

Watercolors rich with color and undertones speak to the deep character of Harriet Tubman, once General Tubman, Union Spy, Moses, Araminta, and more. Concise word selection shapes historical contrasts within short lines of verse on each spread, conveying poignant truth with hope and a relentless spirit bound only by freedom.

Gazing up at the stars, Benjamin Banneker longed to understand how and why things worked as they did. In a time when most black Americans were slaves, Banneker lived a life of freedom and became known as America's first black American man of science. He helped survey Washington, D.C., and became the first black American to write an almanac. Through his accomplishments, he helped advance the cause ...

High in the sky, Bessie Coleman could soar like a bird. She was free--at least until she landed. As a black woman in the 1920s, she wasn't allowed to learn how to fly. Forced to travel to France to learn, she became the first African American woman to earn her pilot's license. Whether she was wing-walking, giving a speech, parachuting, or flying, Coleman inspired people with her bravery and resolv ...

A poetic tribute to the victims of the racially motivated church bombing that served as a seminal event in the struggle for civil rights. In 1963, the eyes of the world were on Birmingham, Alabama, a flashpoint for the civil rights movement. Birmingham was one of the most segregated cities in the United States. Civil rights demonstrators were met with police dogs and water cannons. On Sunday, Sept ...

Based on the childhood of NFL superstar twins Tiki and Ronde Barber, this inspiring story, written along with the award-winning author of "Hoops," illustrates the values of family and the importance of never giving up. Full color.

By the winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for historical fiction, this middle-grade novel is the perfect curriculum tie-in for classroom discussions about disasters and 19th century America. Eleven-year-old Hallelujah is intrigued by the fires that are starting up all over Chicago in 1877--but what she doesn't realize is that it is the Great Fire and her life will be irrevocably changed.

Who knew? Rosa Parks started the Montgomery bus boycott in 1956, right? Well, no, she was preceded by sixteen-year-old Claudette Colvin who refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus. Claudette had grown up in rural Pine Level, Alabama, and moved to inner-city Montgomery as a young teen. She was nurtured by wise parents and wise teachers who gave her courage to see right from wrong and justic ...

Presents a sparse, poetic, and beautiful retelling of an influential life, paired with luminous illustrations.

In 1957, nine teenagers were chosen to be the first black students to attend all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. A small group of people in Little Rock, including the governor of Arkansas, wanted to keep them out. But those nine students knew they had a right to a good education. And they would do anything to crack the wall that had kept black people and white people apart.

Crossover is an engaging set of free verse poems describing events in the lives of 7th grade twin boys throughout their basketball season. The poems are charming and engaging, some in a rap style. The short, pithy style and athletic allusions will appeal to middle school boys. The story is told through one brother’s eyes, and sibling rivalry between the two is a part of the plot. The parents are ...

On December 21, 1848, Ellen Craft and her husband, William, slipped out into the cold, dark night and took their first steps towards freedom. They were runaway slaves. Posing as a white man traveling with a slave, Ellen courageously boarded a train bound for Philadelphia. Could they actually make it a thousand miles without being discovered? As each tension-filled day passed and freedom got closer ...