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African American Children's Books



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ADDY'S SURPRISE: A Christmas Story 1864 (American Girls #3)
by Connie Porter. Color illustrations by Melodye Rosales. Condition: NEW 1993 Pleasant Company Trade PB, first edition, first printing. Content: This is another in the American Girls series about Addy Walker, a ten-year-old African-American girl living in the America of 1864. With Christmas coming up, Addy spots the perfect gift for her mother, a bright red scarf. However, when their church puts out a plea for money for those arriving from slavery with nothing but the clothes on their backs, Addy and her mother decide that their money should go to those less fortunate. In this book Addy learns a lesson on giving and receiving, and hope. The final chapter is a look at Christmas for African-American children in the America of 1864. This is another great Addy book, with a great lesson and a moving story.
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Addy's Surprise

ADDY SAVES THE DAY: A Summer Story 1865 (American Girls #5)
by Connie Porter. Color illustrations by Bradford Brown. Condition: NEW 1994 Pleasant Company Trade PB, first edition, first printing. Content: This is another in the American Girls series about Addy Walker, a ten-year-old African-American girl living in the America of 1865. With the war over, Trinity A.M.E. Church decides to hold a fair to raise money for those hurt or displaced. Addy's idea for the children to hold a puppet show and sell the puppets is warmly received, but everything looks gloomy when she and Sarah are partnered with Harriet. Everything depends on the girls working together, much more so then they realized, so the girls must come together to overcome. The final chapter is an informative look at outdoor activities in 1865. This is another, wonderful book, well written, with a captivating storyline and great lessons.
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Addy Saves Day

THE ALL JAHDU STORYBOOK
by Virginia Hamilton. Watercolor illustrations by Barry Moser. Condition: UNREAD 1991 HBJ hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first edition, first printing. Content: Four new stories and 11 retellings of the "Jahdu" stories. These stories about the trickster hero combine elements of myths, fairy tales, and modern life. In 1969, Hamilton published The Time-Ago Tales of Jahdu, four tales about a trickster boy-hero who expressed his sense of freedom by ``running along'' and whose favorite exclamation was ``Woogily!'' These mythical tales are set in a fantasti cal place and time to convey mystery, adventure, humor, and enjoyment. Moser's striking watercolors show texture and consistency of drama without ever portraying the diminutive fellow graphically. Wonderful! [1 copy available.]
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All Jahdu Storybook

BLACK HEROES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
by Burke Davis. B&W photos and drawings. Condition: NEW 1976 Harcourt Brace hardcover (pictorial boards) edition - most likely published in 1989 or early 90s. No printing given. Content: History of Black freedom fighters of the American Revolution who had been overshadowed by "white" heroes and "white" history. Larger than normal print. Grades 6 and up. Questions welcome. [1 copy available.]
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Black Heroes of the American Revolution

DANCE Y'ALL
by Bettye Stroud. Color illustrations by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu. Condition: NEW 2001 Marshall Cavendish hardcover (pictorial boards) & DJ (in mylar jacket), first edition, first printing. Tiny edgewear to DJ bottom edge. Content: Jack Henry is afraid of the coach-whip snake he finds in the barn, and he won't tell anyone about it because he doesn't want to look like a scaredy-cat. Even worse, he and his cousin have to sleep in the barn to make room in the house for all of the visiting relatives. In the end, his superstitious fears about the reptile pale in comparison to other concerns, and Jack Henry dances away from the ordeal with a good lesson about courage and common sense tucked firmly under his belt. This realistic vignette of a boy who conquers a big fear is simple and honest. The illustrators depict this loving, turn-of-the-19th-century family in soft lantern-lit watercolors. The title and much of the narrative point to the African-American family's rousing evening of waltzes and square dances on the parlor floor, but Jack Henry dances only after he has faced his fear and overpowered it. A quietly reassuring story. Questions welcome. [2 copies available]
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Dance Y'all

DANCING WITH THE INDIANS
by Angela Shelf Medearis. Color illustrations by Samuel Byra. Condition: Lightly pre-read 1992 Scholastic softcover, second printing. Name inside front cover with light edgewear. Interior clean & tight. Content: A young girl in the 1930's joins her family on an outing to a Native American pow-wow. They plan to dance with the Seminoles, whose ancestors rescued Grandpa from Slavery and accepted him as their brother. Based on the author's family history, this intercultural celebration recounts an African American family's participation in a Seminole Indian powwow in 1930s Oklahoma. Though Medearis's four-line verses are awkwardly rhymed and lack proper meter, her commendable work offers glimpses of a rarely explored chapter in the shared histories of two historically oppressed peoples. Questions welcome.
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Dancing With Indians

Dear America: A PICTURE OF FREEDOM, The Diary of Clotee, a Slave Girl, Belmont Plantation, Virginia, 1859 (Historical Fiction, Dear America Series)
by Patricia McKissack. B&W era photos and drawings illustrate. Condition: NEW 1997 Scholastic hardcover (pictorial boards - no DJ issued), sixth printing. Content: Twelve-year-old Clotee is an orphan living on the plantation of "Mas' Henley" and "Miz Lilly." Her owners have put her to work fanning Miz Lilly and her young son William during tutoring sessions. William may not be keen to learn, but Clotee is. She has learned to read while looking over the boy's shoulder and eventually she teaches herself how to write. She practices her newfound skills by writing in a makeshift, secret diary, which is found by William's new tutor. Luckily, he turns out to be an abolitionist. Through his work, Clotee helps some of her friends escape to the North, but she herself chooses to stay behind on the plantation as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Clotee is such a vibrant, fully rounded character that it is almost painful to think of her left on the plantation while her friends and fellow slaves go to freedom. McKissack brings Clotee alive through touching and sobering details of slave life, told in such a matter-of-fact way that their often brutal nature is made abundantly clear. However, this is in no way a depressing book. In fact, it is an inspiring look at a young girl coming of age in terrible circumstances who manages to live life to the fullest. (Ages 9-12) [1 copy available]
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Dear America, Picture of Freedom, Underground Railroad

FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY (Muhammad Ali)
by Ntozake Shange. Color illustrations by Edel Rodriguez. Condition: Gently pre-read 2002 Hyperion Books for Children hardcover (pictorial boards) and DJ (in mylar jacket), first edition, first printing. Interior clean. Content: Shange offers a streamlined, clearly affectionate account of the life of Muhammad Ali, who, she says in an introductory note, continues to inspire "hope and courage." Her portrait effectively reveals the fighter's personality, re-creating conversations between young Cassius and his parents and later quoting some of his well-known proclamations. Rodriguez begins with a close-up view of the subject as a child, poised and gazing heavenward, then shifts to a full-bleed spread that conveys the historical backdrop: the boy stands at a "colored" water fountain, on the right of the horizontal painting, looking across the gutter at a "white" fountain ("As a boy, he struggled to make his way in the segregated world of the pre-civil rights South," reads the text). The author subtly intimates that his parents are the source of Ali's confidence (his father compliments him on his way with words; his mother tells him, "So long as you are alive, I want you to remember, you are God's work"). The volume nicely characterizes this modern-day hero, with poster-like illustrations and punchy text. Ages 5 - 9. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
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Float Like a Butterfly, Muhammad Ali

FLOSSIE & THE FOX (Book & Cassette)
by Patricia McKissack. Color pictures by Rachel Isadora. Condition: NEW 1992 Scholastic soft cover edition, 15th printing. Cassette is narrated by the Author with music by Richard DeRosa. Content: McKissack recounts this story which was told to her as a child by her grandfather. Flossie is a young black girl who lives with her grandmother in the rural south. When Big Mama sends Flossie to deliver a basket of eggs to a neighbor, she cautions her to be careful of the fox who had been frightening the chickens and stealing their eggs. To Flossie's "How do a fox look?," Big Mama responds that "A fox be just a fox." Having no idea what this means, Flossie sets out on her mission through a wooded area, where she is greeted by the fox. As he tries to convince her that he is to be feared, she refutes him by insisting that he prove who he is. To readers' delight, the frustrated fox fails every attempt. Fox' final confrontation with a fierce dog saves the day for Flossie, who proves herself to be more cunning than the fox. The watercolor and ink illustrations, with realistic figures set on impressionistic backgrounds, enliven this humorous and well-structured story which is told in the black language of the rural south. The language is true, and the illustrations are marvelously complementary in their interpretation of the events. (Ages 4+) [1 set available]
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Flossie & the Fox, McKissack

FREDERICK DOUGLASS FIGHTS FOR FREEDOM
by Margaret Davidson. B&W illustrations. Condition: UNREAD 1968 Scholastic small softcover (80 pages) with tiny edgewear and a number inside front cover. Heavily tanned inside front cover edges and light tanning to interior page edges. Content: The story of a former slave who became one of the most famous freedom fighters of all times.
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Frederick Douglass

HARLEM
by Walter Dean Myers. Wonderful color graphics by Christopher Myers. Condition: NEW 2004 Scholastic Press large hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), tenth printing. Content: A visually striking, oversized picture book. Walter Dean Myers's songlike poem relates the story of a group of people who settled in New York City, hoping to improve their lots in life, only to discover that racism could still keep them from achieving success. Well-known Harlem landmarks, such as the Cotton Club and the Apollo Theater, are mentioned, as are famous African Americans, like Langston Hughes and Joe Louis. The pain of discrimination is made abundantly clear through Myers's forceful, often bitter words. The pride and determination of the people of Harlem are also demonstrated, as is their at times overwhelming despair. The bold collage and ink drawings complement the text well. Overall, this is an arresting and heartfelt tribute to a well-known, but little understood, community. Ages 5 - 8. [1 copy available]
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Harlem, Walter Dean Myers

IT'S KWANZAA TIME
by Linda and Clay Goss. Wonderful color illustrations by Ashley Bryan, Carole Byard, Floyd Cooper, The Dillons, Jan Gilchrist, Jonathan Green, & Jerry Pinkney. Condition: NEW 1996 Putnam's hardcover (pictorial boards - no DJ), second printing. Content: Although the Gosses present a very brief history of Kwanzaa, a song, recipes, a game, and simple patterns for African-style clothing, the real reason to buy this book is for the wonderful stories that have been selected to match the seven principles of the Kwanzaa celebration. Linda Goss' skill as a storyteller is evident in the five folktales, which read aloud beautifully and offer a mix of humor and insight. "Rabbit at the Water Hole" requires audience participation and would be great fun at a family party or in a classroom. Eloise Greenfield's story about Rosa Parks and Clay Goss' poem "Keep the Faith, Baby" complete the literary offerings. Brilliant, full-color illustrations by noted African American artists. [1 copy available]
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It's Kwanzaa Time

JEZEBEL'S SPOOKY SPOT
by Alice Ross and Kent Ross (mother/son). Wonderful soft color illustrations by Ted rand. Condition: NEW 1999 Dutton Juvenile hardcover (pictorial boards) & DJ (in mylar jacket), first edition, first printing. Content: An uplifting story about the bravery of a spirited African-American girl. Before he goes off to war, Jezebel's father tells her never to be afraid, but to do what he'll be doing: "...when you get that googery-boogery creepy-crawly catchy feeling, you look it in the eye." For the next year, Jezebel visits a spooky place in the swampy wood by her house every time she gets lonely and misses her daddy, and although she gets the feeling he described many times, she stands her ground. Jezebel's character is deftly drawn as she remains steadfastly optimistic, comforting and encouraging Little Brother, reassuring her fearful Mammy, and going about her Papa's daily tasks. Rand's superb double-paged watercolor paintings are perfect complements to the text, portraying the swamp with its wild creatures and changing seasons in loving detail from "moky" fall twilight to a cold foggy winter's morning to a hot summer's evening. Jezebel's admirable personality is wonderfully pictured as is Mammy's pessimistic timorousness. The text is artistically set in a white box bordered in dark red. An exceptional offering in every respect. [1 copy available]
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Jezebel's Spooky Spot

MINTY: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman
by Alan Schroeder. Warm & appropriate color illustrations by Jerry Pinkney. Condition: UNREAD 1996 Dial hardcover (pictorial boards - no DJ), special edition, first printing. Content: This beautifully illustrated and moving fictional story can be used to introduce Harriet Tubman and the injustice of slavery to young audiences. Minty (Harriet's "cradle" name was Araminta) is a spirited child who hides in order to shirk the commands of the temperamental Mrs. Brodas. When she spills a pitcher of cider, the mistress of the plantation throws the girl's beloved rag doll into the fire and sends her to work in the fields. There, she disobeys the overseer by freeing some muskrats from their traps and is whipped for her willfulness. After this incident, Minty's father takes her dreams of escape seriously and teaches her to survive in the wild. She is tempted to take a horse from in front of the Brodas house and to flee, but hesitates and loses the opportunity. Nevertheless, she vows that someday she will run away. An author's note tells of the realization of her dream and her work with the Underground Railroad. Pinkney's illustrations are outstanding, even when compared to his other fine work. His paintings, done in pencil, colored-pencils, and watercolor, use light and shadow to great effect, and his depictions of Minty are particularly powerful and expressive. [1 copy available]
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Minty: Story of Young Harriet Tubman

MY FIRST KWANZAA BOOK
by Deborah M. Newton Chocolate, illustrated by Cal Massey (vivid colors, warm & appropriate). Condition: Very Good. 1993 Scholastic 1st edition, 3rd printing hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket). Short, repaired tear bottom front DJ into the first page only problem. Content: Introduces Kwanzaa, the holiday in which Afro-Americans celebrate their cultural heritage. During the last week of December, Kwanzaa is a time to dress up in African clothes and gather together with relatives from all over the country. Grandma brings special things to eat, Grandpa lights the candles, and everyone in the family celebrates. Recommended for ages 4-8.
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My First Kwanza Book

PATROL: AN AMERICAN SOLDIER IN VIETNAM (Winner: Jane Addams Book Award)
by Walter Dean Myers. Color collages by Ann Grifalconi. Condition: NEW 2002 HarperCollins soft cover [10.3 x 8.6 x 0.5 (40 pages)], no printing given. Content: Myers's verse powerfully evokes the experiences of a young soldier in this picture book. Searching the unfamiliar landscape, his squad tries to sense the presence of the enemy in the jungle. But who is the enemy? The old man in the village? The babies? Planes pass overhead, dropping bombs "at a distance that is never distant enough." The author captures the young man's fear, uncertainty, and weariness. "We move again. We are always moving." The layers of Grifalconi's full-page collage art conceal and reveal the flickering images of the text. Figures blend into the forest. Shadow and shape converge. The repetition of words and a landscape scene at the beginning and near the end of the book are particularly effective because they are the same except for the addition of fire and plumes of smoke in the "wide valleys" and "thick green forests" after the patrol has finished its mission. These pictures are difficult to erase from one's memory. When the soldier does encounter an enemy as young as himself, neither fires. Close enough to see one another, they cannot kill. "In a heartbeat, we have learned too much about each other." Myers and Grifalconi's presentation is one that is hard to forget. Recommended for grades 4 - up. [1 copy available.]
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Patrol: An American Soldier in Vietnam

NEGROES IN THE EARLY WEST
by Olive W. Burt. B&W drawings by Lorence F. Bjorklund. Condition: Good only, 1970 Julian Messner hardcover (pictorial boards) & DJ (in mylar jacket), second printing. This is an EX-LIBRARY book (and most likely library binding edition) with all markings, but was only checked out once - so the interior is remarkably clean & tight. Content: Portraits of the early Negro/African American presence in the American West, including explorers, mountain men, founders of cities, businessmen, cowboys, soldiers, and women in the west. Recommended for grades 4 - up. [1 copy available.]
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Negroes in the Early West

A PICTURE BOOK OF JESSE OWENS (Picture Book Biography)
by David A. Adler. Color illustrations by Robert Casilla. Condition: Very good+ 1993 Scholastic softcover, first printing. If this book has been pre-read, it was very gently. Tiny edgewear bottom front cover at spine. Wonderful watercolor illustrations. Content: Chronicling the life of a famous person such as Owens in approximately 25 pages, some with no text and the others with only a short paragraph or two, is a formidable task. Adler does as well as can be expected with these limitations. The portrait presented, although brief, is accurate and touches on the major events of the track- and-field champion's life. An interesting author note attempts to discern the facts from the fictional stories that exist concerning Owens's experiences during the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Casilla contributes full-page watercolor paintings that nicely complement and expand the writing. Recommended for grades 2 - 4, but adults will love the illustrations, as well.
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Jesse Owens

THE RICHES OF OSEOLA McCARTU
by Evelyn Coleman. Great B&W block prints by Daniel Minter. Condition: NEW 1998 Albert Whitman hardcover (pictorial boards - no DJ issued), 4th printing. Content: Oseola McCarty, an 87-year-old African-American laundress who left school in sixth grade, stunned the nation when she donated much of her life's savings (over $150,000) to the University of Southern Mississippi to endow scholarships. This inspiring account of her life unfolds in this clear, colorful narrative. Coleman details the backbreaking work that this woman and her female family members performed each day as they made their own lye soap, washed heavy loads by hand, and pressed them with a flat iron. Never marrying, living a frugal life, and always saving, McCarty wanted to use her money to help others get what she had missed-a good education. When her generosity became known, she was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal at the White House. The author tells this story with great respect, incorporating information gathered from interviews with McCarty and people in Hattiesburg who know her. The black-and-white block prints enclosed by clothespin borders convey a feeling of strength and dignity. Grades 2 - 5. [1 copy available]
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Riches of Oseola McCarty

SOUR LAND
by William H. Armstrong, author of Sounder. Jerry Pinkney cover art. Condition: NEW 1991 HarperCollins hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), reissue. Remainder. Content: Life is hard for the three Stone children. The death of their mother has left them bereft and grieving. Their father tries hard to make things better, but he is busy trying to keep their farm going. Even the land around them seems to have betrayed them: It is so barren that it is known as sour land. Then Moses Waters comes to teach at the black school at Cedar Corners. Moses can hear things no one else can, like the sound of the grass and the earth humming together. More than anyone else, he seems to have a special understanding of the Stone family. Only Moses can help them out of their grief. But a sour land grows sour people. There are some folks in town who don't approve of the friendship between the white Stone family and the new black teacher. And it looks like they will go to dangerous lengths to stop it.
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Sourland

THE STORY OF RUBY BRIDGES
by Robert Coles. Warm & appropriate color illustrations by George Ford. Condition: NEW 1996 Scholastic soft cover, 23rd printing. Content: Sustained by family and faith, one brave six-year-old child found the strength to walk alone through howling protesters and enter a whites-only school in New Orleans in 1960. Ruby Bridges did it every day for weeks that turned into months. The white parents withdrew their kids, and Ruby sat alone with her teacher in an empty classroom in an empty building and learned her lessons. Harvard professor Cole has written powerful adult books about children in crisis and about children's moral and political lives. Here he tells one girl's heroic story, part of the history of ordinary people who have changed the world. He tells it quietly, as an adult, and the simplicity is moving, though kids might want some indication of Ruby's personal experience, what it was like to be her. Ford's moving watercolor paintings mixed with acrylic ink are predominantly in sepia shades of brown and red. They capture the physical warmth of Ruby's family and community, the immense powers against her, and her shining inner strength. Ages 5 - 9. [1 copy available]
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Story of Ruby Bridges

STRONG TO THE HOOP (SIGNED COPY)
by John Coy. Color illustrations by African American artist Leslie Jean-Bart. Condition: Gently pre-read, I believe, 1999 Lee & Lowe Books hardcover (pictorial boards) & DJ (in mylar jacket, second printing. SIGNED on title page and dated by author. Content: In this uniquely designed picture book, 10-year-old James finally gets to play basketball with his older brother's friends and proves he can hold his own. Basketball terminology abounds ("glides down the lane," "flips a finger roll") and should delight children who also yearn for the day when they will have the self-confidence to play with an older crowd. Jean-Bart uses photography and scratchboard drawings to create the collage illustrations; Polaroid transfers made from the collages create the final images of James on the court. The text, set in "Blur Light," gives the appearance of a typewriter font with blue as the main color and red or purple to emphasize certain words and phrases.Grades 3 - 6. [1 copy available]
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Strong to the Hoop, Signed Copy

TO BE A SLAVE (A Newbery Honor Book)
by Julius Lester. B&W Tom Feelings paintings illustrate. Condition: UNREAD 1969 Scholastic Point paperback, first printing. Tiny edgewear with pale tanning to interior page edges. Content: To be a slave. To be owned by another person, as a car, house, or a table is owned. To live as a piece of property that could be sold. This book is about how it felt. The words of black men and women who had themselves been slaves are here, accompanied by Julius Lester's historical commentary and Tom Feelings's powerful and muted paintings, To Be a Slave has been a touchstone in children's literature for over thirty years. "It is rare to find a book that enables children to identify as compellingly with slaves as this one does." Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
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To Be A Slave

THURGOOD MARSHALL FIGHTER FOR JUSTICE
by Lewis Fenderson. Condition: Good condition only. 1969 McGraw-Hill hardcover (pictorial boards). Ex-library book (school) with small edgewear and light rubbings front cover, and an unfortunate note of "Discard" upper front cover. Interior is clean & tight with B&W illustrations by Dave Hodges. Content: A good children's book on civil rights and the man who fought for equality.
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Thurgood Marshall

VISITING LANGSTON
by Willie Perdomo. Warm & colorful illustrations by Bryan Collier. Condition: NEW 2002 Henry Holt hardcover (pictorial boards) & DJ (in mylar jacket), first edition, first printing. Content: A rhythmic poem in praise of Langston Hughes and the writer's craft. The poem is presented by a young girl who is off to visit Hughes's Harlem home with her father. It begins, "Today I'm going to wear/My favorite pink blouse/I'm going with my daddy/To visit Langston's house." Readers quickly learn that, like Hughes, the girl is a writer and resident of Harlem. Powerful in its simplicity, the text explores the child's special connection to the famous man. Text and illustrations complement one another perfectly as the pages of the book come to life with energetic purpose and delight. Done with a mixture of collage and watercolor with dramatic results, Collier's artwork uses muted shades of green, purple, and brown and yet shines with brilliant bits of patterns and textures. While this is obviously an urban landscape, the girl's enthusiasm and talent have universal appeal. It is also a wonderful way to introduce youngsters to a great American poet. Grades 2 - 4. [1 copy available.]
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Visiting Langston
Visiting Langston

"WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE": The True Story of Harriet Tubman
(AKA Runaway Slave)

by Ann McGovern, illustrated by R. M. Powers. Condition: 1968, 3rd printing Scholastic softcover. Unread but has rubbings along front hinge, interior has light tanning. Content: The story of Harriet Tubman and how she led hundreds of slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad. Ages 7+  
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Wanted Dead or Alive

WEE WINNIE WITCH'S SKINNY: An Original African American Scare Tale
by Virginia Hamilton. Color engravings by Barry Moser. Condition: NEW 2004 Blue Sky Press hardcover (pictorial boards) & DJ (in mylar jacket), first edition, first printing. DJ shows light shelf wear top spine. Interior perfect. Content: Hamilton, who died in 2002, brought us many unforgettable stories from her research in African American folklore. She has transformed her knowledge of witch beliefs in black folklore into an original tale. Wee Winnie changes from a black cat into her witch shape and hounds Uncle Big Anthony so relentlessly that she reduces him from a big, strapping man into one who is "lean and bent-over tired," an "about-gone, Uncle Shrunken Anthony." And as if that weren't enough, while his horrified nephew James Lee looks on from his bedroom window next door, Wee Winnie Witch takes off her skin and hangs it on a hook. She then grabs hold of Uncle Big Anthony, puts a bridle in his mouth, and rides him through the air, pulling James Lee right out of the window and onto his uncle's back as she flies by. Only Mama Granny's quick thinking saves the day. Hamilton's language is redolent with expressions that suggest African storytelling. Moser's large, colored-wood engravings, bordered in black and white, are strong and textured with horizontal and vertical lines. Illustrations show the hag, her black pointed hat in sharp contrast to an enormous moon, with bulging eyes glowing out of a lumpy body shed of the skin she is holding in her clawlike hand. This tale is admirably suited to Halloween telling, or for any time that shivers are in order. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
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Wee Winnie Witch's Skinny

WHO'S GOT GAME?: The Ant or the Grasshopper
by Toni Morrison and Slade Morrison. Adorable color illustrations by Pascal Lemaitre. Condition: NEW 2003 Scribner hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first printing. Content: An ant named Kid A works hard to prepare for winter while his friend, a grasshopper named Foxy G, makes his tasks easier by performing inspiring music for him. When winter comes, will Kid A remember Foxy G's kindness? This updated version of Aesop's "The Ant and the Grasshopper," presents the fable in a colorful comic book-style format.
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Who's Got Game

WORDS BY HEART
by Ouida Sebestyen. Condition: Very Good 1981 Bantam Starfire small hardcover (permabound) with pictorial boards. Interior clean & tight with light tanning. Content: Lena can recite the Scriptures by heart. Hoping to make her adored Papa proud of her and to make her white classmates notice her "Magic Mind," not her black skin, Lena vows to win the Bible-quoting contest. But winning does not bring Lena what she expected. Instead of honor, violence and death erupts and strikes the one she loves most drearly. Lena, who has believed in vengeance, must now learn how to forgive. Set in the cotton country of the West at the turn of the century, this story of Lena's anguish and hope, of reaching out, shows that discovery and strength come from within.
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Words By Heart

YOUNG MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. (First-Start Biographies)
by Joanne Mattern. Color illustrations by Allan Eitzen. Condition: UNREAD, but not perfect, 1998 Troll soft cover, 8th printing. Name inside cover only "flaw." Content: Designed especially for beginning readers, First-Start Biographies trace the childhood years of famous men and women who overcame obstacles and achieved greatness. A simple biography of a great black leader emphasizing his dream of equal treatment for all Americans. Illustrated in full color. Ages 4 - 8.
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Young Martin Luther King



African American Children