"On-Lion" for Kids | Holidays and Celebrations | African American History Month

ALVIN AILEY
Pinkney, Andrea Davis
Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. Describes the life, dancing, and choreography of Alvin Ailey,who created his own modern dance company to explore the black experience. For younger readers. J B Ailey P
Reserve This Title

CHRISTMAS IN THE BIG HOUSE, CHRISTMAS IN THE QUARTERS
McKissack, Patricia C.
Illustrated by John Thompson. Describes the customs, recipes, poems, and songs used to celebrate Christmas in the big plantation houses and in the slave quarters just before the Civil War. J 975.03 M
Reserve This Title

CORNROWS
Yarbrough, Camille
Illustrated by Carole Byard. Explains how the hair style of cornrows, a symbol in Africa since ancient times, can today in this country symbolize the courage of outstanding Afro-Americans. J 646.7 Y
Reserve This Title

DEAR BENJAMIN BANNEKER
Pinkney, Andrea Davis
Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. Banneker, a free black mathematician and astronomer, takes a stand against slavery and writes Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson about his slave-owning policies. For younger readers. J B Banneker P
Reserve This Title

THE FREEDOM RIDES : JOURNEY FOR JUSTICE
Haskins, James
Presents a history of the struggle to eliminate "separate but equal" laws that had existed in the South since the end of the Civil War. J 323.11 H
Reserve This Title

FREEDOM'S CHILDREN : YOUNG CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS TELL THEIR OWN STORIES
Levine, Ellen
Illustrated with photographs. Southern blacks who were young and involved in the civil rights movement during the 1950s and 1960s describe their experiences. J 973.04 L
Reserve This Title

THE GREAT MIGRATION : AN AMERICAN STORY
Lawrence, Jacob
Paintings by Jacob Lawrence ; with a poem in appreciation by Walter Dean Myers. A series of paintings chronicles the journey of AfricanAmericans who, like the artist's family, left the rural South in the early twentieth century to find a better life in t J 759.13 L
Reserve This Title

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARTIN LUTHER KING
Marzollo, Jean
Illustrated by J. Brian Pinkney. A picture book introduction to the great civil rights leader. J B King M
Reserve This Title

JACKIE ROBINSON AND THE STORY OF ALL-BLACK BASEBALL
O'Connor, Jim
Traces the history of all-black baseball teams. Also presents a brief biography of Jackie Robinson, the first black baseball player to play in the major leagues when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers. Illustrated by Jim Butcher. J 796.35 O
Reserve This Title

MANY THOUSAND GONE : AFRICAN-AMERICANS FROM SLAVERY TO FREEDOM
Hamilton, Virginia
Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. Recounts the journey of Black slaves to freedom via the underground railroad, an extended group of people who helped fugitive slaves in many ways. J 973.71 H
Reserve This Title

THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON
Haskins, James
Illustrated with photographs ; introduction by James Farmer. Discusses the people and events connected with the 1963 March on Washington, as well as the consequences of this well-known civil rights demonstration. J 323.11 H
Reserve This Title

NOW IS YOUR TIME! : THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM
Myers, Walter Dean
A history of the African-American struggle for freedom and equality, beginning with the capture of Africans in 1619, continuing through the American Revolution, the Civil War, and into contemporary times. J 973.04 M
Reserve This Title

UNDYING GLORY : THE STORY OF THE MASSACHUSETTS 54TH REGIMENT
Cox, Clinton
Describes the formation of the all-black 54th Massachusetts Regiment and its valiant battle history from 1863 to 1865. J 973.74
Reserve This Title

WILMA UNLIMITED : HOW WILMA RUDOLPH BECAME THE WORLD'S FASTEST WOMAN
Krull, Kathleen
Illustrated by David Diaz. A biography of the African-American woman who overcame crippling polio as a child to become the first woman to win three gold medals in track in a single Olympics. J B Rudolph K
Reserve This Title

Folk and Fairy Tales

THE DARK-THIRTY : SOUTHERN TALES OF THE SUPERNATURAL
McKissack, Patricia C.
Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. A collection of ghost stories with African-American themes, designed to be told during the Dark Thirty--the half hour before sunset--when ghosts seem all too believable. J FIC M
Reserve This Title

THE FAITHFUL FRIEND
San Souci, Robert D.
Illustrated by Brian Pinkney.A retelling of the traditional tale from the French West Indies in which two friends, Clement and Hippolyte, encounter love, zombies, and danger on the island of Martinique. J 398.21 S
Reserve This Title

JOHN HENRY
Lester, Julius
Pictures by Jerry Pinkney. Retells the life of the legendary African American hero who raced against a steam drill to cut through a mountain. J 398.2 L
Reserve This Title

THE LAST TALES OF UNCLE REMUS
Lester, Julius
Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney.Retells the final adventures and misadventures of Brer Rabbit and his friends and enemies. J 398.2 L
Reserve This Title

WHEN BIRDS COULD TALK & BATS COULD SING : THE ADVENTURES OF BRUH SPARROW, SIS WREN, AND THEIR FRIENDS
Hamilton, Virginia
Illustrated by Barry Moser. A collection of stories, featuring sparrows, jays, buzzards, and bats, based on those African-American tales originally written down by Martha Young on her father's plantation in Alabama after the Civil War. J 398.24 H
Reserve This Title

Poetry and Song

BROWN ANGELS : AN ALBUM OF PICTURES AND VERSE
Myers, Walter Dean
A collection of poems, accompanied by photographs, about African American children living around the turn of the century. J 811 M
Reserve This Title

BROWN HONEY IN BROOMWHEAT TEA : POEMS
Thomas, Joyce Carol
Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. A collection of poems exploring the theme of African-American identity. J 811 Thomas
Reserve This Title

CLIMBING JACOB'S LADDER : HEROES OF THE BIBLE IN AFRICAN-AMERICAN SPIRITUALS
Langstaff, John, selected and edited by
An illustrated collection of black spirituals about Old Testament heroes. J Mu 784.7 C
Reserve This Title

THE CREATION
Johnson, James Weldon
Illustrated by James Ransome. A poem based on the story of creation from the first book of the Bible. J 811 Johnson
Reserve This Title

THE DREAM KEEPER AND OTHER POEMS : INCLUDING SEVEN ADDITIONAL POEMS
Hughes, Langston
Illustrations by Brian Pinkney. A collection of sixty-six poems, selected for young readers, including lyrical poems, songs, and blues, many exploring the black experience. J 811 Hughes
Reserve This Title

EVERETT ANDERSON'S YEAR
Clifton, Lucille
A poem for each month of the year reflects the major and minor events in the life of a young Black boy. Illustrations by Carole Byard. J 811 Clifton
Reserve This Title

HARLEM: A POEM
Myers, Walter Dean
Illustrations by Christopher Myers A poem celebrating the people, sights, and sounds of Harlem. J 811 Myers
Reserve This Title

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE
Giovanni, Nikki
Illustrations by Larry Johnson. Describes the joys of summer spent with family in Knoxville: eating vegetables right from the garden, going to church picnics, and walking in the mountains. J 811 Giovanni
Reserve This Title

LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING
Johnson, James Weldon
Illustrations by Elizabeth Catlett ; introduction by Jim Haskins. An illustrated version of the song that has come to be considered the African American national anthem. J 784.7 J
Reserve This Title

MEET DANITRA BROWN
Grimes, Nikki
Illustrated by Floyd Cooper In 13 poems, a young gril shares the joys of her wonderful friendship with "the greatest, most splendiferous girl in town," Danitra Brown. J 811 Grimes
Reserve This Title

PASS IT ON : AFRICAN-AMERICAN POETRY FOR CHILDREN
Hudson, Wade
Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. An illustrated collection of poetry by such Afro-American poets as Langston Hughes, Nikki Giovanni, Eloise Greenfield and Lucille Clifton. J 811.08 H
Reserve This Title

SOUL LOOKS BACK IN WONDER
Feelings, Tom, Illustrator
Poems by Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, and Askia Toure portray the creativity, strength, and beauty of their African American heritage. J 811.08 S
Reserve This Title

Recordings and Videos

HONEY, I LOVE
Greenfield, Eloise
Eloise Greenfield and [performing] friends, with Byron Morris. Poems from the book Honey, I Love, describing the many things a young black girl loves; accompanied by jazz. [sound recording] P J 811 Greenfield
Reserve This Title

I GOT SHOES
Sweet Honey in the Rock
Traditional African and Afro-American spirituals, folk and protest songs. [Sound Recording] J K-S9735i
Reserve This Title

JOHN HENRY
Tells the story of the legendary John Henry, a railroad man who single-handedly defeats the steam drill in a steel-driving competition. J VC 398.2 J
Reserve This Title

THE PEOPLE COULD FLY [SOUND RECORDING] : AMERICAN BLACK FOLKTALES
Hamilton, Virginia
1 sound cassette (ca. 78 min.) : analog + 1 book. Twelve Afro-American folktales of animals, fantasy, the supernatural, and desire for freedom, born of the sorrow of the slaves, but passed on in hope. J 398.2 H
Reserve This Title

SHAKE IT TO THE ONE THAT YOU LOVE THE BEST : PLAY SONGS AND LULLABIES FROM BLACK MUSICAL TRADITIONS [SOUND RECORDING]
Mattox, Cheryl Warren
CONTENTS 1) Little Sally Walker -- Jump shamador -- My mama's calling me - Miss Lucy -- Mary Mack -- Here comes Sally -- Hambone -- Loop de loo -- There's a brown girl in the ring -- Down, down baby -- Old lady Sally wants to jump -- Bluebird, bluebird J F-M4446s
Reserve This Title

TRYIN' TO GET HOME : A HISTORY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN SONG
Black, Kerrigan
A musical one man show presenting the contributions of Afro-American music from slavery's spirituals to today's rap music. Includes social commentary, still photos, and documentary film footage. [Videorecording] J VC 784.7 B
Reserve This Title

Stories for Older Readers

BABCOCK
Cottonwood, Joe
Babcock, a seventh-grader who likes dragonflies, poetry, and music, falls in love with Kirsten, a blonde, at the same time that Uncle Earl moves in with his family. J FIC C
Reserve This Title

THE FRIENDS.
Guy, Rosa
A young West Indian girl in Harlem, New York recognizes that her own selfish pride rather than her mother's death and herfather's tyrannical behavior created the gulf between her and her best friend. J FIC G
Reserve This Title

I HADN'T MEANT TO TELL YOU THIS
Woodson, Jacqueline
Marie, the only black girl in the eighth grade willing to befriend her white classmate Lena, discovers that Lena's father is doing horrible things to her in private. J FIC W
Reserve This Title

JUSTIN AND THE BEST BISCUITS IN THE WORLD
Walter, Mildred Pitts
Suffering in a family full of females, ten-year-old Justin feels that cleaning and keeping house are women's work until he spends time on his beloved grandfather's ranch. J FIC W
Reserve This Title

LETTERS FROM A SLAVE GIRL
Lyons, Mary E.
A fictionalized version of the life of Harriet Jacobs, told in the form of letters that she might have written during her slavery in North Carolina and as she prepared for escape to the North in 1842. J FIC L
Reserve This Title

OREN BELL
Burgess, Barbara Hood
Twelve-year-old Oren and his twin sister Latonya come to terms with the condemned house next door which they believe is haunted and responsible for many of the tragedies in their lives. J FIC B
Reserve This Title

THE SLAVE DANCER
Fox, Paula
Kidnapped by the crew of an Africa-bound ship, a thirteen-year-old boy discovers to his horror that he is on a slaver and his job is to play music for the exercise periods of the human cargo. J FIC F
Reserve This Title

THE STORIES JULIAN TELLS
Cameron, Ann
Illustrated by Ann Strugnell. Relates episodes in seven-year-old Julian's life which include getting into trouble with his younger brother Huey, planting a garden what he did to try to grow taller,losing a tooth, and finding a new friend. J FIC C
Reserve This Title

TONING THE SWEEP
Johnson, Angela
On a visit to her grandmother Ola, who is dying of cancer in her house in the desert, fourteen-year-old Emmie hears many stories about the past and her family history and comes to a better understanding of relatives both dead and living. J FIC J
Reserve This Title

THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM--1963
Curtis, Christopher Pau
The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons,an African-American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963. J FIC C
Reserve This Title

THE WELL
Taylor, Mildred D.
In Mississippi in the early 1900s ten-year-old David Logan's family generously shares their well water with both white and black neighbors in an atmosphere of potential racial violence. J FIC T
Reserve This Title

YOLONDA'S GENIUS
Fenner, Carol
After moving from Chicago to Grand River, Michigan, fifth grader Yolonda, big and strong for her age, is determined to prove that her younger brother is not a slow learner but a true musical genius. J FIC F
Reserve This Title

Stories for Younger Readers

THE ADVENTURES OF SPARROW BOY
Pinkney, J. Brian
After an encounter with a sparrow, Henry finds he is able to fly just like his favorite comic book hero HawkMan. J PIC P
Reserve This Title

AFRICA DREAM
Greenfield, Eloise
A black child's dreams are filled with the images of the people and places of Africa of long ago. Illustrations by Carole Byard. J PIC G
Reserve This Title

ALWAYS MY DAD
Wyeth, Sharon Dennis
Although she does not get to see her father very often, a girl enjoys the time she and her brothers spend with him one summer while they are visiting their grandparents' farm. Illustrated by Raul Colon. J PIC W
Reserve This Title

JUST US WOMEN
Caines, Jeannette Franklin
Illustrated by Pat Cummings. A young girl and her favorite aunt share the excitement of planning a very special car trip for just the two of them. J PIC C
Reserve This Title

MAX FOUND TWO STICKS
Pinkney, J. Brian
Although he doesn't feel like talking, a young boy responds to questions by drumming on various objects, including a bucket, hat boxes, and garbage cans, echoing the city sounds around him. J PIC P
Reserve This Title

MINTY : A STORY OF YOUNG HARRIET TUBMAN
Schroeder, Alan
Pictures by Jerry Pinkney. In this fictionalized account, young Harriet Tubman, whose childhood name was Minty, dreams of escaping slavery on the Brodas plantation in the late 1820's. J FIC S
Reserve This Title

MIRANDY AND BROTHER WIND
McKissack, Patricia C.
Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. To win first prize in the Junior Cakewalk, Mirandy tries to capture the wind for her partner. J PIC M
Reserve This Title

THE PATCHWORK QUILT
Flournoy, Valerie
Pictures by Jerry Pinkney. Using scraps cut from the family's old clothing, Tanya helps her grandmother and mother make a beautiful quilt that tells the story of her family's life. J FIC F
Reserve This Title

RUNNING THE ROAD TO ABC
Lotu, Denize
Illustrated by Reynold Ruffins. Long before the sun even thinks of rising, the Haitian children run to school where they learn the letters, sounds, and words of their beautiful books. J PIC L
Reserve This Title

THE SUNDAY OUTING
Pinkney, Gloria Jean
Pictures by Jerry Pinkney. Ernestine, who loves going to the railroad station and watching the trains come and go, finally realizes her dream of going on a train trip. J PIC P
Reserve This Title

TAR BEACH
Ringgold, Faith
A young girl dreams of flying above her Harlem home, claiming all she sees for herself and her family. J PIC R
Reserve This Title

UNCLE JED'S BARBERSHOP
Mitchell, Margaree King
Illustrated by James Ransome. Despite serious obstacles and setbacks Sarah Jean's Uncle Jed, the only black barber in the county, pursues his dream of saving enough money to open his own barbershop. J PIC M
Reserve This Title

WHEN JO LOUIS WON THE TITLE
Rochelle, Belinda
Jo's grandfather helps her feel better about herself when he tells her the story about why she is named for the heavyweight boxing champion, Joe Louis. Illustrated by Larry Johnson. J PIC R
Reserve This Title

Web Sites

African-American History & Culture
Covering more than 500 years of African-American history, features biographies, primary sources, images, timelines, and maps and charts.

Africans in America
This web site is a companion to Africans in America, a six-hour public television series. It chronicles the history of racial slavery in the United States -- from the start of the Atlantic slave trade in the 16th century to the end of the American Civil War in 1865.

Culture & Change Black History in America
Meet famous African Americans, listen to jazz music, publish your own writing, and explore history with our interactive timeline. Presented by Scholastic.

The African American Odyssey
This Special Presentation of the Library of Congress exhibition, The African-American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship, showcases the Library's incomparable African-American collections.

The Top Ten African American Inventors
Throughout history, African Americans have invented some important and fun devices. Read about ten examples of men and women and see what they invented. Presented by Scholastic.