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Search: African American books

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Talking

Xaba-Mashiri, Zadwa

A man digs out a talking yam from his garden. The man is confused and asks his dog if he is talking, but the dog says it is the yam talking. The man runs to the village to tell people about the talking yam and dog. People do not believe the man until things starts talking to them.

Amelia to zora

Chin-Lee, Cynthia

Explore in an alphabet formula, biographies that examine different successes and triumphs of famous women in history from Amelia Earhart to Zora Neale.

Wally the wordworm

Fadiman, Clifton

Wally the worm is intrigued by different words. He looks up new, complex words in the dictionary instead of the words he already knows.

Tags

books, insects, learning, rhyme, self esteem, spelling, verbal communication, worm

Cocoa ice

Appelbaum, Diana

A young girl from Maine and a young girl from Santa Domingo learn about each other's home through Jacob the Sailor. The girl from Santa Domingo describes how to make chocolate, and the girl from Maine tells about making ice.

Tags

accomplishment, activities, adventures, american, animals, anticipation, author's note, beverage, boat, bodies of water, careers, climbing, clothing, cold, comparisons, culture, curiosity, differences, environment, food, horse, ice, multicultural, plants, snow, water, weather

Old home day

Hall, Donald

From the time when only plants and animals lived there, to the modern bicentennial celebration, the people who called the fictional village of Blackwater home remember its history.

Tags

aggression, aging, american, animals, author's note, autumn, baby, barn, baseball, birds, birth, bodies of water, bones, careers, celebration, change, community, conflict, conflict resolution, cow, death, decision making, deer, family, farm, farmer, forest, future, generations, goal setting, grandparents, hard work, history, hunting, lake, love, marriage, memories, nature, neighbors, nonverbal communication, parade, parents, peer resistance, plants, pond, reunion, seasons, settlers, snow, sports, spring, summer, war, water, weather, wilderness, winter, work

Sleds on boston common: A story from the american revolution

Borden, Louise

It's 1774 and British troops are occupying Boston. King George closes Boston Harbor to punish people who speak out against his laws. Henry, a young boy from Boston, hopes to try out his new sled on his birthday. But when he and his brothers and sister get to the hill they find that the troops have set up camp there. After building up enough courage, Henry asks General Gage to move his troops because Boston Common is for everyone. Being a kind man of his word, General Gage agrees and the children can once again sled.

Tags

american, assertiveness, author's note, beliefs, birthday, boat, british, courage, england, exercise, family, giving, history, play, presents, royalty, school, sharing, skating, sledding, snow, transportation, verbal communication, war

Let's dance

Ancona, George

Children from all backgrounds move and dance to different rhythms of their culture. Dances range from tap to folk dances and from Native American dance to Tibetan dance. There are many forms, types, and styles of dance a person can do to express their emotions. There are different dances for men, women, animals, and puppets too!

Tags

acrobat, afghani, african american, american, appalachian, body parts, celebration, child care, chinese, clothing, congo, creativity, culture, dancing, england, feelings, greek, india, indian, instruments, jumping, korean, mexican, moving, multicultural, native american, nature, puppets, relationship, rhythm, sadness, scottish, singing, spain, storytelling, turkish, yak

Freedom school, yes!

Littlesugar, Amy

Jolie shows courage in her community by protecting the school that will educate her and others. Jolie is afraid others will burn down the school. Jolie never gives up hope, and learns about famous African Americans who were brave and made a difference in their community, just like Jolie.

Tags

african american, anger, art, body parts, books, bravery, buildings, careers, change, church, community, courage, education, family, fire, freedom, god, hard work, history, music, neighbors, poetry, quilt, relationship, religion, running, school, slavery, song, spiritual, stars, teaching

In the time of the drums

Siegelson, Kim L.

Mentu and Twi tell the story of an African family newly arrived in the Americas. Twi never gives up on returning to her native Africa. Twi tells stories of cooking, planting, music and dancing from her native land.

Tags

african, african american, bodies of water, community, creek, culture, escape, farm, feelings, five senses, folktale, freedom, generations, grandparents, history, home, instruments, island, language, magic, music, mythical, relationship, repetition, rhythm, sadness, secrets, ship, slavery, song, sounds, storytelling, transportation

Grandpa's face

Greenfield, Eloise

Tamika loves spending time with her Grandfather. They enjoy walking, talking, and going to theatre together. One day, Tamika gets afraid while watching her Grandfather rehearse for a play. Tamika learns about different emotions, and especially that her Grandfather will always love her.

Tags

actor, african american, aging, anger, body parts, books, communication, creativity, exercise, family, fear, feelings, food, friendship, generations, glasses, grandparents, imagination, love, nonverbal communication, nutrition, parents, relationship, storytelling, theatre, tree, walking, worry

Oh, brother!

Grimes, Nikki

Xavier feels sad, angry, and jealous towards his new step brother, Chris. Xavier soon realizes that Chris is coping with loneliness and resentment too. The pain over losing a parent to divorce forms a special band between Xavier and Chris so they promise each other, that no one will ever leave. Through short vignettes, the story ends with Our family is a song we sing, and we can add new notes anytime we like.

Tags

african american, aggression, anger, apology, baby, baseball, bedtime, behavior, books, celebration, change, chores, climbing, comparisons, conflict, conflict resolution, divorce, emotions, family, fear, feelings, friendship, fun, games, hispanic, jealousy, mountains, multicultural, parents, photograph, playing, pregnancy, relationship, rhythm, school, self esteem, siblings, sports, stepfather, stepmother, sympathy, technology, telephone, verbal communication, wedding

Papa's mark

Battle-Lavert, Gwendolyn

Simms teaches his father how to write. For many years, Simm's father struggled when writing his own name. However, Papa learns just in time so he can vote in the first election which gave Blacks the right to vote.

Tags

accomplishment, african american, american, animals, bedtime, buildings, change, church, community, cow, crowd, discrimination, education, election, equality, family, food, freedom, hard work, helping, horse, learning, letters, multicultural, night, parents, prejudice, quilt, relationship, school, shopping, signs, teaching, writing

The secret Olivia told me

Joy, N.

Olivia develops interpersonal skills by realizing how her words affect her friends. Olivia and her best friend realize the importance of honesty and trust in their friendship.

Tags

african american, balloon, basketball, body parts, books, buildings, colors, excitement, feelings, friendship, italian, jumping, multicultural, playing, relationship, secrets, siblings, soccer, sports, telephone, truth, worry

Mr. George Baker

Hest, Amy

Harry enjoys spending time with his older next door neighbor, Mr. Baker. Harry likes to wait for the bus with Mr. George Baker. Harry learns about Mr. Baker's life as a musician and learns that a person is never too old to learn to read.

Tags

african american, aging, autumn, body parts, books, bus, clothing, dancing, education, embarrassment, friendship, fun, generations, happiness, hard work, instruments, learning, love, marriage, multicultural, music, school, seasons, shoes, tobacco, transportation, walking

Ella takes the cake

D'Amico, Carmela & D'Amico, Steven

There's nothing more that Ella wants than to be a good helper. Ella can't help but feel inadequate when her mother won't let her help with a lot of the bakery chores because they're dangerous. When Mr. Banjo forgets an important delivery ,though, Ella proves herself by saving the day...and the cake.

Tags

animals, bicycle, birthday, books, business, celebration, escape, family, flood, helping, library, luck, maps, persistence, responsibilities, safety, vacation, village

Leo in the library

Mkatshaw, Dumazile

Leo was in the class watching ants crawl on the wall when his teacher asked on what animal he would be doing his project. He could only think of ants, about which he knew nothing. Leo goes to the library looking for a book and causes a terrible mess. Leo must find his book about ants, but he doesnﾒt know what it would look like.

The red book

Lehman, Barbara

A friendship forms when two boys from different parts of the world find a magical red book. The boy from the urban city decides to use balloons to fly to the island where his new friend lives, but he accidentally drops the red book along the way. The boy on the island is disappointed when he can no longer view his city companion in the pages of the book, but is relieved when he lands on the beach instead! Back in the city, the red book is discovered by a man riding his bike on the street (A wordless book).

Tags

adventures, balloon, beach, bicycle, bodies of water, books, cold, correspondence, decision making, disappointment, discovery, emotions, excitement, feelings, fly, friendship, goal setting, happiness, island, maps, nonverbal communication, photograph, relationship, sadness, sand, school, sight, sky, snow, sun, surprises, transportation, travel, walking, weather

A country far away

Gray, Nigel

This is a story comparing two young boys who live in Africa and the United States. Their lives are identical even though they live in different countries.

Tags

african, america, bicycle, birth, celebration, comparisons, critical thinking, differences, friendship, geography, goal setting, growing up, maps, multicultural, school, soccer, sports, swimming, village

Louanne pig in the talent show

Carlson, Nancy

Louanne's school is putting on a talent show. There's only one problem though: Louanne doesn't have a talent. When an unexpected turn of events causes Louanne to step up to the plate, she discovers her hidden talent: saving the day!

Tags

acrobat, acting, animals, bear, books, dancing, feelings, happiness, helping, instruments, performance, pig, practice, rabbit, reading, sadness, success, telephone

I saw your face

Dawes, Kwame

A poem and child portraits illustrate the shared beauty and heritage of African people living throughout the world.

Tags

africa, african, animals, birds, body parts, games, geography, ghana, history, identity, maps, market, multicultural, park, play, travel, tree

Two friends: A story from Zambia

Mashiri, Pascal

Two friends need sleep. Unfortunately, snoring becomes a problem for one of them. The friend that solves the problem doesnﾒt get the sleep.

A slimy story

Knudsen, Michelle

Dan runs into a problem when he has no money and no time to buy his mom a birthday present. He canﾒt think of anything and feels hopeless. One day, a bully puts a slimy, gross worm in Danﾒs pocket on the walk to school. His teacher, Mrs. Stewart, places the worm in a jar, and all the children become interested. Dan even starts to like the worm and decides to give it to his mom to help her garden. She thinks the worm is a great gift.

Tags

birthday, books, bully, celebration, challenges, conflict resolution, confusion, critical thinking, excitement, family, feelings, friendship, insects, library, parents, presents, resolution, school, science, siblings, teaching, worm, worry

The monster behind the wall

Herbert, Barbara N.

Danny moves to a new house and discovers a monster on the other side of their garden wall. The monster throws Dannyﾒs soccer ball back to him, talks, plays, and eats candy with Danny. At school the next day, Danny plays soccer and gets tripped. Both boys yell nasty names at each other. Then, Danny goes home to talk to the monster, Fred, but he wasnﾒt there. Later, a huge thunderstorm tears down the wall, and Danny sees that ﾓFredﾔ is the child that tripped him during soccer. They become fast friends, tear the wall down, and play soccer together

The patchwork path: A quilt map to freedom

Stroud, Bettye

Hannah and her father are slaves who decide to escape to freedom. They use the patterns in the quilt made by her mother, who passed away, to follow the Underground Railroad.

Zoom

Banyai, Istvan

These artistic scenes aren't what you might think. Each is really a picture within a picture. Images zoom in and out from different perspectives and scenes from land, sea, and air in this wordless book.

Tags

airplane, animals, art, boat, books, colors, desert, farm, island, perspective, photograph, planet, sky, swimming, transportation, travel

Literature links for nutrition and health

Ubbes, Valerie A.//Spillman, Diana M.

Provides elementary teachers and teacher preparation faculty with an integrated curriculum model for teaching nutrition and health concepts to children in grades 1, 2, & 3. Twelve focused themes in five units use 227 picture books to teach about variety, moderation, energy, time, patterns, age, culture, behavior, and prevention. The National Health Education Standards are aligned to the literature-based units and a tri-assessment model is promoted. Twenty eight feature books are highlighted and supported by lessons which include questions using Bloom's Taxonomy, additional teaching connections called Across the Curriculum, and Solo Work, Small Group Work, and Whole Class Work for each lesson.

Tags

books, food, nutrition

Bashi, elephant baby

Radcliffe, Theresa

As the sun rises over the African plain, the mother elephant and her newborn calf, Bashi, follow the herd down to the watering hole. But they are not alone, for the water has drawn some lionesses to the edge to drink and they are looking hungrily at Bashi.

Tags

africa, african, animals, baby, bodies of water, caring, elephant, family, helping, hunting, lion, nature, protection, sun

My great-grandmother's gourd

Kessler, Cristina

Residents of a Sudanese village rejoice when a traditional water storage method is replaced by modern technology, but Fatima's grandmother knows there is no substitute for the reliability of the baobab tree.

Tags

africa, african, celebration, community, dancing, family, feelings, grandparents, hard work, helping, language, progress, rain, sadness, teamwork, technology, traditions, tree, village, water, wisdom

The first bear in africa

Ichikawa, Satomi

The animals of the African savanna help Meto as he tries to return the toy bear left behind by a young tourist.

Tags

africa, african, animals, bear, discovery, elephant, exploration, family, giraffe, goat, helping, hippopotamus, language, lion, love, multicultural, parents, photography, thanksgiving, travel, verbal communication, village

The heart of the lion

Watson, Pete

An American boy comes to understand and admire the rich culture and traditions of West Africa.

Tags

africa, african, animals, art, baboon, butterfly, chicken, cooking, courage, culture, customs, dog, elephant, family, food, friendship, hunting, lion, magic, multicultural, parade, parents, scorpion, sharing, teasing, traditions, tree, uniqueness, verbal communication, village

Drumbeat in our feet

Keeler, Patricia//Leitao, Julio T.

Informative passages and lyrical verse explore the history and rhythmic qualities of traditional African dance as performed long ago and today.

Tags

africa, african, african american, america, animals, celebration, ceremony, colors, congo, dancing, elephant, ethnic, exercise, generations, geography, history, instruments, learning, maps, monkey, multicultural, music, nonfiction, nonverbal communication, performance, rhythm, storytelling, traditions, village

Ashanti to zulu: African traditions

Musgrove, Margaret

Explains some traditions and customs of twenty-six African tribes beginning with the letters from A to Z.

Tags

africa, african, alphabet, animals, boat, bodies of water, cattle, celebration, clothing, community, crocodile, dancing, family, farmer, fishing, geography, instruments, language, maps, multicultural, music, nonfiction, nonverbal communication, parrot, play, prayer, river, symbols, traditions, transportation

The old Africa

Lester, Julius

An elderly slave uses the power of his mind to ease the suffering of his fellow slaves and eventually lead them back to Africa

Tags

africa, african, boat, bodies of water, escape, farm, fear, feelings, freedom, history, hope, nonverbal communication, ocean, sadness, slavery, stress management, transportation, travel

Supersister

Cadena, Beth

Supersister is always thinking of ways she can help her pregnant mother. In the morning on the way to school, she forgets two things: to tie her mother's shoes and to give her mother a kiss. Throughout the day, she does all her chores and thinks of new ways to help her mother. At the end of the day she forgets the same two things, but when she remembers her mother says, Like I always say, you're going to be a super sister.

Tags

assertiveness, baby, bedtime, books, critical thinking, exercise, family, five senses, goal setting, helping, nonverbal communication, numbers, pets, playground, pregnancy, reading, school, self esteem, siblings, sounds, teacher

Afro-bets: First book about africa

Ellis, Veronica

Mr. Amegashie explores the cultural diversity, rich history, and the beautiful and exciting land of Africa.

Tags

africa, african, animals, art, bodies of water, business, camel, celebration, ceremony, culture, customs, dancing, desert, discrimination, diversity, egypt, family, forest, geography, ghana, history, horse, hyena, independence, instruments, islam, learning, leopard, library, maps, mountains, multicultural, music, muslim, nigerian, nonfiction, nonverbal communication, photograph, religion, river, school, ship, slavery, storytelling, traditions, transportation, verbal communication, village, water, zimbabwe

Bintou's braids

Diouf, Sylviane

When Bintou, a little girl living in West Africa, finally gets her wish for braids, she discovers that what she dreamed for has been hers all along.

Tags

africa, african, america, animals, beach, birds, bodies of water, celebration, chicken, clothing, critical thinking, dreams, envy, family, feelings, fish, food, fruit, grandparents, moon, multicultural, parents, prayer, pride, sadness, sea, selfishness, siblings, sleep, sounds, stars, storytelling, stress management, sun, traditions, tree, village

Emeka's gift: An african counting story

Onyefulu, Ifeoma

As Emeka sets off to visit his grandmother in the next village, he wonders what he can take her for a present. He passes through the market and sees lots of things Granny would like - there were four brooms, five big hats to keep the sun off, six necklaces, eight water pots. But with no money, Emeka can not buy anything. Will Granny understand?

Tags

africa, african, decision making, dreams, family, food, friendship, games, geography, giving, grandparents, jewelry, jungle, market, money, multicultural, music, numbers, photograph, photography, play, traditions, travel, work

Ogbo: Sharing life in an african village

Onyefulu, Ifeoma

Ogbo are a special part of village life in Nigeria, uniting children of the same age in a lifelong fellowship - a group with whom they celebrate festivals, share day-to-day chores, and face the challenges of growing up. A young girl named Obioma helps us understand what belonging to an ogbo means. Growing, working, and relaxing together, the ogbo weave the fabric of village life.

Tags

africa, african, celebration, chores, cleanliness, community, customs, death, family, friendship, grandparents, instruments, language, multicultural, music, nigerian, parents, photograph, respect, responsibilities, singing, song, storytelling, traditions, village, work

A child story in a south african city

Wulfsohn, Gisele

Presents a day in the life of a child living in Johannesburg, discussing the social life, customs, religion, history, and language of South Africa.

Tags

africa, african, animals, art, bath, cooking, dancing, dog, exercise, family, food, friendship, games, history, instruments, language, learning, market, multicultural, music, photograph, play, rabbit, routine, school, soccer, sports, technology, work

The blind hunter

Rodanas, Kristina

A blind African hunter teaches a young man how to see by using his other senses.

Tags

africa, african, animals, birds, blindness, bodies of water, feelings, five senses, flowers, forgiveness, friendship, garden, happiness, humor, hunting, leopard, multicultural, nonverbal communication, pond, pride, respect, rhinoceros, song, storytelling, teaching, tree, village, wart hog

Wild animals of Africa, abc

Ryden, Hope

African animals are photographed in alphabetical order ranging from aardvark to zebra.

Tags

african, alphabet, animals, multicultural, sequence

A triangle for Adaora: An African book of shapes

Onyefulu, Ifeoma

When Adaora's cousin promises to find a triangle for her, he does'nt realize just how difficult the task might be. As they search through their village, the cousins encounter a variety of other shapes - heart-shaped leaves, circular elephant drums, crescent-shaped plantains - everything but the shape they seek. Just when the children are too tired to look anymore, they find a perfect triangle...and a great surprise to go along with it!

Tags

africa, african, community, family, food, fruit, jewelry, multicultural, music, plants, problem solving, shapes, siblings, traditions, verbal communication, village

Vacation in the village: A story from west africa

Njeng, Pierre Yves

A boy discovers and takes pride in the customs of his people when he visits his family's village in West Africa.

Tags

affection, africa, books, boredom, buildings, construction, customs, discovery, dreams, family, fear, feelings, fish, fishing, forest, friendship, games, grandparents, happiness, history, hunting, multicultural, parents, reptiles, school, siblings, storytelling, traditions, train, transportation, travel, turtle, vacation, village, work, worry

Africa brothers and sisters

Kroll, Virginia

At lunchtime Daddy and Jesse play their favorite game: a question and answer game about people who live in Africa and the ways in which they are connected to Jesse.

Tags

africa, african, animals, art, clothing, community, critical thinking, dancing, family, farm, fishing, games, geography, giraffe, jewelry, maps, multicultural, parents, recreation, siblings, storytelling, traditions, verbal communication, village

Jamari's drum

Bynum, Eboni//Jackson, Roland

Jamari grows up drawn to the beating of the djembe, the keeper of the peace, the great drum of his Mali village. Jamari grows older and becomes the drummer of the djembe. He eventually gets caught up in other aspects of village life. When the village is once again threatened by the nearby angry mountain, Jamari returns to his post as drummer for village peace.

Tags

africa, african, clothing, community, dedication, fable, family, five senses, harmony, instruments, language, marriage, mountains, multicultural, music, peace, rhythm, storytelling, traditions, village

Boundless grace

Hoffman, Mary

According to the stories Grace read, her family is not normal. Grace's father lives in Africa while she and her mother live in America. Grace visits her father to learn about his new family and the African culture in Gambia. Grace's visit to Africa helps her to understand that her family is normal.

Tags

african, african american, change, comparisons, crocodile, divorce, family, grandparents, letters, love, multicultural, parents, reptiles, shopping, siblings, storytelling, travel, vacation, verbal communication

African beginnings

Haskins, James//Benson, Kathleen

Come explore and celebrate the powerful impact people of African descent have made on world history and on the American experience.

Tags

africa, african, animals, architecture, art, bodies of water, business, clothing, culture, dancing, death, desert, discrimination, donkey, egypt, europe, flood, food, geography, ghana, hard work, history, instruments, islam, leadership, lizard, maps, multicultural, music, muslim, nigerian, nonfiction, nonverbal communication, ocean, religion, river, ship, slavery, time, traditions, transportation, verbal communication, village, work, zimbabwe

Song of the boat

Graham, Lorenz

An African father and a son from West Africa build a boat from a special tree. They work together to find the perfect tree to use.

Tags

african, assertiveness, conflict resolution, decision making, determination, family, goal setting, hard work, language, multicultural, parents, refusal skills, self esteem, teamwork, traditions, transportation

Can you hear the sea?

Cumberbatch, Judy

Sarah's grandpa gives her a special shell and says if she listens carefully she can hear the sea, but all she hears are every day village noises.

Tags

africa, african, animals, beliefs, bodies of water, cooking, family, food, fruit, grandparents, instruments, listening, monkey, multicultural, music, nonverbal communication, persistence, river, sea, shells, sounds, trust, village

This is the way we eat our lunch

Baer, Edith

Time for lunch! What will it be? Come along - let's taste and see! Journey across the world as children eat lunch. Discover many new foods and recipes you can make and eat.

Tags

african, american, australian, british, canadian, chinese, columbian, differences, egyptian, feelings, food, friendship, hunger, indian, israelian, italian, japanese, maps, moroccan, nutrition, puerto rican, recipe, rhyme

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