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Grandpa, is everything black bad?
Holman, Sandy Lynne
Montsho struggles with the dark color of his skin. Everything around him that is black is considered bad. Thankfully, Muntsho's grandfather teaches him to appreciate his black skin by telling him stories about his African heritage.

Before John was a jazz giant: A song of John Coltrane
Weatherford, Carole Boston
Before John became a jazz giant, he loved music, singing, instruments, and the radio. The bustling of the south and the foundation of his church and family allows John to listen and create his own music.

Creativity
Steptoe, John
Charles speaks English and Hector speaks Spanish. They learn that even though they speak different languages, they both come from African ancestors. Charles helps Hector adjust to life in the U.S. through fun activities.

Bessie Smith and the night riders
Stauffacher, Sue
Emmarene always loved to listen to Blues music. When Bessie Smith comes to town, Emmarene can't wait to hear Bessie sing. Not everyone likes Bessie though. Emmarene and Bessie Smith have to stand up against people who tried to destroy their nights. And boy, could Bessie sing on stage and off!

Freedom river
Rappaort, Doreen
John Ripley shows courage and perseverence in Southern Ohio through his actions. John crosses the Ohio River into the slave state of Kentucky to help other African Americans escape to freedom. John listens to nature as he rows a slave family across the Ohio River to freedom along the Underground Railroad.

In my momma's kitchen
Nolen, Jerdine
A young girl's fondest memories happen in her momma's kitchen. Achievements, family, stories, cooking and love are all celebrated in the kitchen. Great-Aunt Caroline, corn-pudding time and nighttime serenades are a few of the special moments in this loving family.

The bus ride
Miller, William
Sara stands up for justice on her city bus. Sara gets tired of sitting in the African American section of the bus. Sara does not undertsand why she does not have the same rights as the white Americans, so she takes a stand to change that law.

Molasses man
May, Kathy L.
A young boy and his family make molasses every summer. This summer the sourghum turns into a recipe that the boy's Grandfather has perfected. The boy spends his summer days helping his family make molasses and playing outside during the cooking process. While some molasses is cooling, Mama and her sisters pour it into glass jars and set up a stand near the road for passers-by.

Say hey: A song of Willie Mays
Mandel, Peter
Willie Mays grows up in a time when black athletes were separate from white athletes in America. But due to Willie's baseball skills, the New York Giants recruit him. Willie breaks many baseball records because of his fast running and powerful hitting power.

Yesterday I had the blues
Frame, Jean Ashford
A family explores the various emotions they face each day. Through the use of colors, the main character realizes that even with all the ups and downs of emotions, one color really matters- LOVE of family.

Hush harbor: Praying in secret
Evans, Freddi Williams
Simmy is both excited and nervous for his job as Scout during the community meeting. Simmy is excited because this means the elders trust him, but he is nervous because slaves are not supposed to gather and sing together. Simmy must be very careful and listen for the master during the meeting.

Roy makes a car: Based on a story collected by Zora Neale Hurston
Lyons, Mary
Roy Tyle is known around town as the best mechanic in Florida. Roy makes it his mission to create a car that will be accident proof. No one in the town believes him, but Roy proves them wrong time and time again. Roy's creativity and perseverance leads to the making of the best cars in the area.

Bird
Elliot, Zetta
Mehkai struggles with the challenges of life: death of his grandfather and his older brother's drug addition. He soon learns how to cope and manage his stress through drawing. In fact, drawing is an outlet for Bird's emotions and imagination. Mehkai learns the benefits of perseverance, hard work, and family.

Snow pumpkin
Schaefer, Carole Lexa
Lily and Gram can't believe how much snow has fallen in October. Lily and her friend, Jesse, have a wonderful time rolling around in the snow and building a snowman. When they run out of snow for the snowman's head, Lily and Jesse go to Gram's vegetable patch and find a snow pumpkin with a face. The snowman eventually melts, but the pumpkin remains smiling on Gram and Jesse's window sill.

Robert lives with his grandparents
Hickman, Martha Whitmore
After his parents divorce, Robert goes to live with his grandparents. Robert's father moves away and his mother goes into drug rehabilitation. Even though Robert loves his grandparents, he is embarrassed to bring them to Parent's Day at school.

Playing outdoors in the winter
Chlad, Dorothy
Darryl lives in a place where it snows a lot in the winter. He describes some of the activities he does with his friends and family like building a snowman, making snow angels, shoveling the sidewalk, sledding, and ice skating. In order to enjoy these activities, safety rules need to be observed, so Darryl gives five basic rules to follow.

Q.T. pie catches the rainbow
Sanders, Stephanie
Now that Q.T. Pie is finished with her chores, she can join her friends outside for play. But when it starts to rain, she must find something fun to do indoors. With help from her mom, Q.T. discovers how to catch a rainbow inside her own house!With colored beads strung in her hair, Q.T. can now wear her very own rainbow.

Calvin's christmas wish
Miles, Calvin
Calvin is worried that his parents are Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus after his two friends tell him that this is true. Calvin is relieved and excited when he receives a bike for Christmas, which confirms his belief in Santa Claus.

Lucky song
Williams, Vera B
Evie receives everything she wants from her family, including something new to wear and a kite to fly. One of the best things Evie receives is a song from her father.

Playing on the playground
Chlad, Dorothy
Jackie is going to the playground with her friends. She explains six simple rules she follows to ensure her safety and to make sure she has fun. Her six rules are never go to the playground alone, always go with friends, do not walk in front of swings, wait at the bottom of the slide, always hold on tight, and be careful and alert.

The magic moonberry jump ropes
Hru, Dakari
April and Erica love to Double Dutch, but they have no friends to Double Dutch with. When their Uncle Zambezi returns from a trip to Tanzania, he gives the girls a jump rope that will grant wishes because it is made from magic moonberries. The girls Double Dutch and wish for two new friends to arrive. Suddenly, a moving van pulls up, and a family with a boy and girl moves in across the street.

Lookin' for bird in the big city
Burleigh, Robert
Miles Davis loves music. Wherever he is, Miles can feel music. Miles dreams of playing his trumpet with the great saxophonist, Charlie Bird Parker, so he travels to New York City to find him. After many hours of searching, Miles finds Bird and the two play beautiful music together.

The music in derrick's heart
Battle-Lavert, Gwoddolyn
Derrick, a young African American boy, learns to make music on the harmonica. Uncle Booker T., a talented musician, spends each day, one hot summer, teaching Derrick the art of playing the harmonica. Finally, after much practice and determination, Derrick discovers the secret of Uncle Booker T.'s music: it comes from the heart.

The river that gave gifts: An afro american story
Humphrey, Margo
When Yanava and her friends find out that Neema, the elder woman of the town, is losing her sight they decide to make special gifts for her. While sitting next to the river pondering over what to give Neema, Yanava is called to put her hands in the river. The river helps her hands produce a rainbow, which gives Neema the light she needs to see.

Ma dear's aprons
McKissack, Patricia C.
David Earl knows what day of the week it is by the color of Ma Dear's aprons. She wears a different apron each day to reflect the day's chores. Ma Dear is a single, hard-working mother from the South that creates a loving home for her son.

Ten, nine, eight
Bang, Molly
While counting backwards from ten to one, a father and his daughter get ready for bedtime.

Pink and say
Polacco, Patricia
A wounded solider in the Civil War is nurtured back to health by an African American soldier and his mother. Together they return to the battlefield, but are destined to live different lives.

Casey jones's fireman: The story of sim webb
Farmer, Nancy
Sim Webb is finally getting his chance to work on a train for the famous Casey Jones. Casey is putting a brand new whistle on his train, but Casey knows it's a bad idea. He knows that something bad is about to happen.

Wilma unlimited
Krull, Kathleen
As a young girl, Wilma Rudolph contracted polio. Through hard work, she is able to walk without her leg brace. She plays basketball in high school, goes to college on a track scholarship, and wins three gold medals in the 100, 200, and 4x100 meter dashes.

Creativity
Steptoe, John
Hector is a new student in Charles' class from Puerto Rico. Hector has trouble adjusting to his new school at first, but Charles recognizes his differences as being creative, and helps him feel welcome.

The secret of the stones
San Souci, Robert D.
John and Clara work very hard all day, but they have no children to love. One night Clara finds two little white stones and brings them home with her. When they came home the next night all of the chores had been done, and John and Clara must find out who their helpers are and how to help them!

Bigmama's
Crews, Donald
Each summer, young Donald Crews takes a train ride and car ride to Bigmama's farm. He plays with the his cousins on the big porch, then explores the shed, outhouse, toolshed, stable, barn, and pond for fishing. His family gathers around a big table to eat and celebrate being together.

Mississippi bridge
Taylor, Mildred D.
Jeremy Simms, a young white boy, lives in a small town in Mississippi that is segregated. One foggy, rainy day, a bus full of people (mostly whites since some black people had been thrown off to make room for the whites), heads across the bridge and, because of the weather, crashes through the railing and into the water below. Blacks and whites, together, come to the rescue.

Mel's diner
Moss, Marissa
Mabel's parents own a diner where she helps every morning before school. Mabel introduces all the patrons of the diner, then explains what she and her friend do after school.

Teammates
Golenbock, Peter
Jackie Robinson becomes the first black player in the major leagues. He has to endure humiliation and prejudice from his own teammates, other players, and fans. Pee Wee Reese, a white player, comes to Jackie's support in a game at Crosley Field in Cincinnati which shocks the fans.

The other side
Woodson, Jacqueline
A fence not only divides two properties -- it segregates two families because of their different cultures. Initial fears from the parents cause them to set rules that will forbid the friendship of their young daughters. Little did they know that their daughters would break the barrier as they climbed the fence together to see the world as it should be, not as it is.

Happy to be nappy
Hooks, Bell
A whimsical rhythm of sweet jive jumps from watercolored illustrations on different pages to portray portraits of little girls who celebrate their African American culture. Hooray for the frizzy, fuzzy, nappy, twisty hair!Hooray for the sizzling semblance and fantastic flare that shines in every hair on every head. Beauty lies everywhere.

Don't you remember?
Clifton, Lucille
A four-year old girl asks if she can go to work with her dad, buy a cake from the bakery, see where her mom works, and drink coffee with her brothers. One day on her birthday, she gets everything she's been asking for.

The ingredients of a q.t. pie
Sanders, Stephanie
What does it take to make a Q.T. Pie? Meet Quintessence T. Pie, or Q.T. Pie for short. Discover with Q.T. what ingredients make up her charming personality. Grace, twinkling eyes and self-respect are just a few of the things that make her so sweet. Every girl is a Q.T. Pie, no matter what her name is. What makes you a Q.T. Pie?

Irene jennie and the christmas masquerade: The johnkankus
Smalls, Irene
Irene Jennie, a young girl living on a plantation, is sad when she can't spend Christmas with her parents. She prays for things to change and a Christmas parade cheers her up. As she watches the parade with her godmother, she receives a nice surprise.

The great encounter: A special meeting before columbus
Piercy, Patricia A
An African American tells the story of the discovery of America from a different point of view. He brings new knowledge to an excited and interested elementary classroom while telling the historical story.

I have heard of a land
Thomas, Joyce Carol
Moving across country must have been very hard. Pioneers often picked up their belongings and moved on toward a common goal: starting a new life!

Splash!
Jonas, Ann
A young girl owns a cat and a dog which are constantly falling in the pond with the fish and frogs. Each time a different animal falls in, the question, How many are in my pond? is asked again.

Flower garden
Bunting, Eve
A young girl and her father buy flowers at the grocery and prepare a flower box for her mother's birthday.

What's in aunt mary's room
Howard, Elizabeth Fitzgerald
Susan and Sarah love to play what's in Aunt Mary's room? All great Aunt Flossie will say is: It's full of things to save, things to keep. One day the girls get to find out what's in Aunt Mary's room, and they get to learn about their ancestors in the process.

Two tickets to freedom
Freedman, Florance
A true story of Ellen and William Craft, two slaves, who run away and try to find freedom.

The best time of day
Flournoy, Valerie
William is a bright and active child who enjoys a variety of activities throughout his day.

Afro-bets: Book of shapes
Brown, Margery
Langston makes cookies by rolling dough in the shape of a circle. Once he is finished making cookies, he stacks them in a rectangular box. Next, he makes diamond cookies.

Handtalk zoo
Ancona, George//Miller, Mary Beth
At Handtalk Zoo, children use sign language to communicate what animals they see. Children can learn sign language easily from this book.

Afro-bets: Book of colors
Brown, Margery
Colors tell us many things. Red means danger and says stop. Yellow is the color of a banana. Purple is the color of grapes. When you mix certain colors, they make new colors.