In 1936, the New York Yankees wanted to test a hot prospect named Joe DiMaggio to see if he was ready for the big leagues. They knew just the ballplayer to call, Satchel Paige, the best pitcher anywhere, black or white. For the game, Paige joined a group of amateur African- American players, and they faced off against a team of white major leaguers plus young DiMaggio
A young girl journeys by train from Oklahoma to California in 1948 to begin a new life with her family, and finds there people of all ages and races, new tastes and sounds, and a joyous welcome
Tells the story of Alice Coachman, an athlete from rural Georgia who made history in 1948 as the first African- American woman to win an Olympic gold medal.
An African American man tells his grandson about a time when, despite all the wonderful things his hands could do, they could not touch bread at the Wonder Bread factory. Based on stories of bakery union workers; includes historical note
When his father tells him not to leave the lion he is drawing on the beach, a little boy starts making a very, very long tail--and a trail to follow back.
Young Benjamin Holmes, a slave in Charleston who has taught himself to read, reads Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation to his fellow slaves in prison
Amidst the economic depression and the racial tension of the 1930s, a boy discovers a horrible secret of his father's involvement in the Ku Klux Klan. It was 1933 and life was good for James William. Piece by piece, however, his comfortable life begins to unravel. First he learns that the burning of a black man's house was not accidental. Then his fishing buddy LeRoy tells him about the hanging tree and the Klan. Though he accepts that blacks and whites can't drink from the same fountains because "that's the way it is," James William can't believe that racial hatred exists in his own community until he comes face to face with a Klan member. A thought- provoking story of one boy's loss of naivete in the face of harsh historical realities, Mississippi Morning will challenge young readers to question their own assumptions and confront personal decisions
"A 2019 ILA Teacher's Choices Reading List Selection! An inspiring picture book sports biography about two of the greatest female tennis players of all-time! Venus and Serena Williams: Best friends. Sisters. Champions. Everyone knows the names Venus & Serena Williams. They've become synonymous with championships, hard work, and with shaking up the tennis world. This inspirational true story, written by award-winning sports journalist, Howard Bryant, and brought to beautiful life by Coretta Scott Kind Award and Honor winner, Floyd Cooper, details the sisters' journey from a barely-there tennis court in Compton, CA, to Olympic gold medals and becoming the #1 ranked women in the sport of tennis. Here is a worthy ode to Venus and Serena Williams, the incredible sister duo who will go down in history as two of the greatest" -- publisher
