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The drinking gourd
Monjo, F.N.
Tom misbehaves in church and is sent home early. He goes to play in the barn and discovers runaway slaves. He and his father help them escape and Tom learns all about freedom through the Underground Railroad.

Bat boy and his violin
Curtis, Gavin
Reginald loves playing the violin. His father only has time to worry about the Duke's losing streak. Reginald passionately plays the violin to improve the baseball team's losing streak. Find out what else Reginald's love for the violin improves.

Satchmo's blues
Schroeder, Alan
Louis Armstrong loves to watch the musicians play jazz music. He dreams of playing the cornet someday just like Bunk Johnson who plays in the Eagle Band. One day, Louis spots a cornet in a pawn shop and discovers that it costs five dollars. Louis works very hard for two weeks earning money any way that he can. Once the cornet is his, Louie begins living out his dream of becoming a musician.

Jennie's hat
Keats, Ezra Jack
Jennie gets a hat from her aunt but it is very plain. Jennie is upset because it isn't as pretty as other hats. She tries to find a prettier hat. Finally, as Jennie is leaving church, the birds come and decorate it.

The night of las posadas
dePaola, Tomie
Lupe and Roberto are going to play the roles of Mary and Joseph in a reenactment of the night that Jesus Christ was born. Lupe's aunt, Sister Angie, is in charge of the production. However, Sister Angie becomes sick and Lupe and Roberto must proceed to the village. There is a bad snowstorm and the couple gets stranded in the snow. Friends of Sister Angie come to the rescue and play the role of Mary and Joseph, then disappear. Lupe and Roberto finally arrive and close the production. Later, Sister Angie wanders the church and finds the cloaks of the carving of Mary and Joseph covered in fresh snow.

Pierino and the bell
Cassedy, Sylvia
Pierino, the son of a church warden in a small village in Tuscany, claims the bell is what brings all the pigeons. On San Colombino Day, Pierino finds a silver egg. The silver egg hatches into a beautiful silver pigeon. Pierino says the bird is his and does not share it with the village. One day, Pierino sets the bird free. Some time later, the village is full of silver eggs for everyone.

La boda: A mexican wedding celebration
Van Laan, Nancy
Little Maria learns all about La Boda, a mexican wedding, from her grandmother, in a bilingual manner. She becomes part of the celebration and is happy to learn about and be part of her first wedding.

The birthday swap
Lopez, Loretta
Lori wants to find her older sister the perfect gift for her birthday. At the market, Lori learns that it's not easy to find the right gift. Little does Lori know that the best gifts can come to us when we least expect them. Why is this the year of the best birthday party ever?

The ghost of skinny jack
Lindgren, Astrid
Grandma tells two children the story of skinny Jack, a farmhand that becomes a ghost. The children then journey home but it gets dark and the little girl thinks she is grabbed by skinny Jack. When her father comes and rescues her from the ghost, a hazlenut branch strikes her in her back.

Papa small
Lenski, Lois
The small family work together to get the housework completed. They also eat together, go to the supermarket together, and go to church together.

A boy named giotto
Guarnieri, Paolo
Dreams really do come true for Giotto, a young shepard boy, who is mindless of his chores and duties because of his strong passion and talent for painting. Although he loses a sheep, Giotto's curiosity and persistence lead him to find someone who can unlock the door to his artistic future.

Uptown
Collier, Bryan
Join this boy's pride as he shares his town's sights and sounds the way he sees and hears them. You'll see Harlem along the river, street, and neighborhood.

Knoxville, Tennessee
Giovanni, Nikki
A young girl likes summer best because of the fresh corn from her daddy's garden, the okra, barbecue, and homemade ice cream from the church picnic, and the gospel music from the church homecoming. She also likes to go to the mountains with her grandmother where she feels safe and warm.

The honest-to-goodness truth
McKissack, Patricia C.
Libby lies to Mama about feeding the cow. When she is caught and punished, Libby vows to tell the truth from then on. She ends up hurting her friends when she tells it like it is. Can Libby tell the truth and get her friends back?

The haunted churchbell
Byfield, Barbara Ninde
A small town has a mystery to solve. The town's churchbell is haunted. With teamwork, the town solves the mystery and make a sad, lost hermit very happy.

Lucy dove
Del Negro, Janice
Lucy Dove is up for a challenge. In the town she lives in, there is a rich laird. He was told by a fortune teller that a pair of trousers sewn by the light of the full moon in the graveyard of old St. Andrew's Church would bring him good luck. The rich laird proclaims that a sackful of gold will be awarded to whoever sews the trousers. St. Andrew's churchyard is believed to be haunted by some fearsome thing and anyone who enters the churchyard is said to never be seen again. Despite these factors, Lucy takes on the laird's challenge. As Lucy sits and sews in the graveyard, she is greeted by the fearsome thing that everyone had talked about. The monster runs after Lucy as she carries the finished trousers in her hands. Finally, Lucy gets the trousers to the laird and receives her well deserved bag of gold.

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!

Chanukah in chelm
Adler, David A.
Mendal, the caretaker of the Chelm synagogue must find a table to set the menorah on. He searches the synagogue and cannot find one. Rabbi Nachman sends him to a carpenter to get one. Preparation for Hanukkah in this town of Chelm is remarkably eventful and fun.

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.

Together in pinecone patch
Yezerski, Thomas
Keara and Stefan are from Ireland and Poland, respectively, and each tell the stories of their families. They meet in the United States in Pinecone Patch, PA. They overcome deep stereotypes and prejudices to be married and bring two families together.

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.

A cow's alfalfa-bet
Jackson, Woody
This alphabet journey takes you from a to z on a dairy farm. Using the grain, alfalfa, you can experience the alfalfa-bet in farm colors, scenery, and cows.

Just like new
Manson, Ainslie
It is a time of war and children in England won't have Christmas presents. A little girl's class decides to give gifts they love that are like new. The little girl unselfishly gives up her most cherished doll and inserts a note, and a girl from England becomes her pen pal after receiving the gift.

The stars will still shine
Ryland, Cynthia
The promises of a new year are given through rhyme and soft illustrations.

I took the moon for a walk
Curtis, Carolyn
A little boy takes the moon on an adventurous walk. At first the moon is timid but then opens up to the little boy. They do things together such as swing, hold hands, and dance until the boy goes home to go to the sleep.

The balloon sailors
Swanson, Diana
When bickering princes take the throne, the kingdom is split in two by a wall so that each brother rules half. The kingdom is divided and it is illegal for people to cross the wall. Since Tamala and Abalon are forbidden to see their grandmother and cousin on the other side of the wall, they decide to float over it in a hot air balloon. They work with their parents to collect materials, build the balloon, and wait for the perfect weather conditions. The family departs during the night, escapes military fire from soldiers, and surprises their relatives in the morning. This adventure is loosely based on the true story of two East German families sailing over the Berlin Wall in their own hot air balloon in 1979.

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.

Up home
Grant, Shauntay
A young woman of African decent recalls her childhood in her native homeland of Preston, Canada. She remembers long hot days of summer playing with cousins, singing on Sunday mornings, climbing trees and picking blueberries. Gatherings with her family are special celebrations.

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.

Pictures for Miss Josie
Belton, Sandra
A young boy is introduced by his father to Miss Josie, who as first freightens him. As he grows up, he learns to admire her and the two develop a special friendship. Soon the grown boy passes on his memories to his own son and introduces Miss Josie to him.

Hill of fire
Lewis, P. Thomas
Bored of his day-to-day lifestyle, a farmer complains to his wife and son how nothing ever hannpens. One day while plowing, the farmer comes across an explosion coming from his field. It turns out to be a volcano erupting and the farmer's field becomes a place in history.

Hip, hug, hooray!
Tangvald, Christine
Do you know how many types of hugs there are? Look and learn how hugs are imporatant everywhere and everyday.

Kaddish for grandpa in Jesus' name amen
Howe, James
A young girl finds her own spirituality while observing the differing social customs of her Jewish and Christian relatives following her grandfather's sudden death. She interacts with her family to remember her grandfather in special ways at home, at church, and before bed.

My big brother
Cohen, Miriam
A little boy idolizes his big brother and wants to be exactly like him. They do everything together. When his family cannot pay for college, the older child joins the army. His little brother then takes his place being big brother to their youngest sibling.

Angelo
Macauley, David
A man is repairing when he comes upon an injured pigeon. He nurses the pigeon back to health and a friendship fast emerges. The pigeon helps the man fulfill his lifelong dream and is surprised to find an addition to the building.

Brothers of the knight
Allen, Debbie
Twelve brothers magically disappear every night even though their door is locked. Their father hires a housekeeper to figure out the mystery of his boys. She learns to listen, which turns out to be more powerful than simply solving a mystery.

Who will I be, Lord?
Nelson, Vaunda Michaeaux
A young girls outlines the careers and callings of her family members. She questions the Lord on what she will become. As she realizes that her family dreams of being more than anything they are now, she then understands that she can be anything she wants to be, because it is up to her.

Sunday week
Johnson, Dinah
A community describes each day of their weekly routine. The community is constantly looking forward to their Sunday traditions. Sunday is rich with family time, the Lord, and storytelling.

You and me and home sweet home
Lyon, George Ella
A young girl helps her family build a new home. The family celebrates the new milestone by sharing a meal together. The family then adjusts to the new house together.

Quinnie blue
Johnson, Dinah
Hattie wonders about the activities of her grandmother Quinnie Blue when she was little. Trips to Carolina, singing, eating, reciting poems, and braiding hair with her family come to mind.

Sweet justice: Georgia Gilmore and the Montgomery bus boycott
Rockliff, Mara
Georgia Gilmore heard about Mrs. Rosa Parks who had been arrested when she wouldn't give up her seat to a black man on a city bus in 1955. But something was also cooking in Montgomery, Alabama about the same time -- a woman who cooked to feed and fund the people willing to participate in the Montgomery fun boycott. Georgia knew there was no justice under segregation so she boycotted the arrest of Mrs. Parks by staying off the city buses for one day. In order to get others to stay off the buses for one day, Georgia cooked and sold her crispy chicken, sandwiches, cakes, and pies to pay off the fines that people got when participating in the boycott. After testifying in court, Dr. Martin Luther King encouraged Georgia to keep cooking. On December 20, 1956, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that segregated buses were unconstitutional.

Voice of freedom Fannie Lou Hamer: Spirit of the civil rights movement
Weatherford, Carole Boston
No woman could be braver and have more courage than Fannie Lou Hamer. For the fearless fight that Fannie demonstrated as the "the country's number one freedom-fighting woman", we learn how her story written in themed prose serves as a chronicle of her life of civil rights. From being the last born of a large Mississippi family to being a speaker at the 1964 Democratic National Convention, Fannie went on to cofound the National Women's Political Caucus. By learning that she had a right to vote, Fannie used her voice to advocate for voting rights for others.

A small miracle
Collington, Peter
This Christmas narrative is a moving visual narrative without words. A hungry, old woman leaves her home to find food in the snow but is sad to give up her treasured accordion for sale when no one gives her money for playing music in the village street. She experiences a theft in the streets and then observes vandalism in the church by a man on a motorcycle. The woman reassembles the nativity scene in the church for Christmas and later earns the mercy and support from the participants when she collapses in the snow. This story of Christmas has a surprise ending (A wordless book).

The youngest marcher: The story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a young civil rights activist
Levinson, Cynthia
Audrey is a very confident and brave nine-year-old girl who knows all about segregation. She sees how others treat black people, and she wants to speak up and go to places like anybody else. After a church service, Audrey volunteers to go to jail to make a statement about freedom. Jail was quite hard, and the food was awful. After five days, Audrey is released to go home. Two months later, the City of Birmingham Alabama wipes segregation laws off the books. From then on, Audrey Faye Hendricks is known as the "Civil Rights Queen" and the youngest known marcher in the Children's March in May 1963. Audrey can now enjoy her ice cream at the parlor counter like everybody else.