Children's Picture Book Database at Miami University

In a journey of progress, love and, possibilities, this prose shows the music, art, speakers, and food that have celebrated African Americans and their impact in society. With the big hands and small hands that built the Black legacy, there are countless steps of heroes who have made a contribution to the world.

An African American story is an American story of slavery, brutal conditions, struggle, and oppression. Remember the American story of hard work, pride, and strength in the fight for liberty as Black people stand up and speak out while "holding history in one hand and clenching hope in the other".

Lorena Ramirez is an athlete who loves to run. Her swift footsteps echo through the copper canyons of Mexico as she runs in an ultramarathon for sixty miles. She wears a skirt sewn by her mother and rubber sandals made from tires when she runs so she can honor the Raramuri people of Chihuahua, Mexico. She wins the race against hundreds of people from other countries.

Jun moves from Hong Kong to America and has to learn new words to start school. Her mother helps her write a few words on her hand each day so she can transition into a new life. The best moment of the day is when Jun eats her favorite meal from her lunch box, which her mother has prepared. By the end of the first week of school, Jun has lived through the terrifying moments of being alone, laughed at, and lost in school activities. The breakthrough moment is when Jun shares her food with girls at school then her Mom has Jun's new classmates come over to eat at their house.

Every morning, deliverymen carry tall bowls of noodles made from buckwheat flour to customers who love to eat them. The delivery from the sobaya chef to the customers is possible by talented bike riders who balance large towers of bowls on their shoulders while their other arms steady the bikes down crowded busy streets with potholes and city pedestrians and cars. Hungry customers wait because they know they will be so happy to eat the delicious noodles. The deliverymen are exhausted by the end of the long day of cycling for a living, but they too get to join their families in the feast. In a few short hours after a hot bath and sleep, the deliverymen start their routine again and again.