Award Winning and Notable Children's Books PreK - 8

He challenged the Supreme Court on his right to be called citizen--and won. When American-born Wong Kim Ark returns home to San Francisco after a visit to China, he's stopped and told he cannot enter: he isn't American.

William Still, known as Father of the Underground Railroad. Essential for black history collections. Brings deserved attention to the life of a man who dedicated himself to recording the lives of others.

Originally performed for ESPN's The Undefeated, this poem is a love letter to black life in the United States. It highlights the unspeakable trauma of slavery, the faith and fire of the civil rights movement, and the grit, passion, and perseverance of some of the world's greatest heroes. The text is also peppered with references to the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, and others, offering deeper insights into the accomplishments of the past, while bringing stark attention to the endurance and spirit of those surviving and thriving in the present.

This heartfelt picture book biography illustrated by the Caldecott Honoree Ekua Holmes, tells the story of MaVynee Betsch, an African American opera singer turned environmentalist and the legacy she preserved.

Renowned author Lesa Cline-Ransome and celebrated illustrator John Parra unite to tell the inspiring story of Ethel Payne, a groundbreaking African American journalist known as the First Lady of the Black Press. "I've had a box seat on history." Ethel Payne always had an ear for stories. Seeking truth, justice, and equality, Ethel followed stories from her school newspaper in Chicago to Japan during World War II.

The empowering true story of the 1931 Lemon Grove Incident, in which Mexican families in southern California won the first school desegregation case in United States history.

'Carter G. Woodson didn't just read history. He changed it.' As the father of Black History Month, he spent his life introducing others to the history of his people. Carter G. Woodson was born to two formerly enslaved people ten years after the end of the Civil War. Though his father could not read, he believed in being an informed citizen.

This graphic novel by JAMES OTIS SMITH celebrates the extraordinary true tales of three black heroes who took control of their destinies and stood up for their communities in the Old West.

In May of 1942, at the age of eighteen, Ashley Bryan was drafted to fight in World War II. For the next three years, he would face the horrors of war as a black soldier in a segregated army. He endured the terrible lies white officers told about the black soldiers to isolate them from anyone who showed kindness--including each other. He received worse treatment than even Nazi POWs. He was assigned the grimmest, most horrific tasks, like burying fallen soldiers...but was told to remove the black soldiers first because the media didn't want them in their newsreels. And he waited and wanted so desperately to go home, watching every white soldier get safe passage back to the United States before black soldiers were even a thought.

Philip Freelon's grandfather was an acclaimed painter of the Harlem Renaissance. His father was a successful businessman who attended the 1963 March on Washington. When Phil decided to attend architecture school, he created his own focus on African American and Islamic designers.

In 1956, one year before federal troops escorted the Little Rock 9 into Central High School, fourteen year old Jo Ann Allen was one of twelve African-American students who broke the color barrier and integrated Clinton High School in Tennessee. At first things went smoothly for the Clinton 12, but then outside agitators interfered, pitting the townspeople against one another. Uneasiness turned into anger, and even the Clinton Twelve themselves wondered if the easier thing to do would be to go back to their old school. Jo Ann--clear-eyed, practical, tolerant, and popular among both black and white students---found herself called on as the spokesperson of the group. But what about just being a regular teen? This is the heartbreaking and relatable story of her four months thrust into the national spotlight and as a trailblazer in history.

This chilling and harrowing account tells the story of the Scottsboro Boys, nine African-American teenagers who, when riding the rails during the Great Depression, found their lives destroyed after two white women falsely accused them of rape.

Nine-year-old Audrey Faye Hendricks intended to go places and do things like anybody else. So when she heard grown-ups talk about wiping out Birmingham's segregation laws, she spoke up. As she listened to the preacher's words, smooth as glass, she sat up tall. And when she heard the plan--picket those white stores! March to protest those unfair laws! Fill the jails!--she stepped right up and said, I'll do it! She was going to j-a-a-il Audrey Faye Hendricks was confident and bold and brave as can be, and hers is the remarkable and inspiring story of one child's role in the Civil Rights Movement.

The true story of a Chinese American mountain man who fed thirty people for ten days in the wilderness--and helped inspire the creation of the National Park Service.

George loved words. But George was enslaved. Forced to work long hours, George was unable to attend school or learn how to read. But he was determined, he listened to the white children's lessons and learned the alphabet. Then he taught himself to read. Soon, he began composing poetry in his head and reciting it as he sold fruits and vegetables on a nearby college campus. News of the slave poet traveled quickly among the students, and before long, George had customers for his poems.

Almost 10 years before Brown vs. Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez and her parents helped end school segregation in California. An American citizen of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage who spoke and wrote perfect English, Mendez was denied enrollment to a "Whites only" school. Her parents took action by organizing the Hispanic community and filing a lawsuit in federal district court. Their success eventually brought an end to the era of segregated education in California.

In 1891, Reverend Daniel Joseph Jenkins opened his orphanage in Charleston, South Carolina. He soon had hundreds of children and needed a way to support them. Jenkins asked townspeople to donate old band instruments--some of which had last played in the hands of Confederate soldiers in the Civil War. He found teachers to show the kids how to play. Soon the orphanage had a band. And what a band it was. The Jenkins Orphanage Band caused a sensation on the streets of Charleston. People called the band's style of music "rag"--a rhythm inspired by the African American people who lived on the South Carolina and Georgia coast. The children performed as far away as Paris and London, and they earned enough money to support the orphanage that still exists today. They also helped launch the music we now know as jazz.

Booker dreamed of making friends with words, setting free the secrets that lived in books. Born into slavery, young Booker T. Washington could only dream of learning to read and write. After emancipation, Booker began a five-hundred-mile journey, mostly on foot, to Hampton Institute, taking his first of many steps towards a college degree. When he arrived, he had just fifty cents in his pocket and a dream about to come true. The young slave who once waited outside of the schoolhouse would one day become a legendary educator of freedmen.

"I remember the day I lost my spirit." So begins the story of Gertrude Simmons, also known as Zitkala-Sa, which means Red Bird. Born in 1876 on the Yankton Sioux reservation in South Dakota, Zitkala-Sa willingly left her home at age eight to go to a boarding school in Indiana. But she soon found herself caught between two worlds--white and Native American. At school she missed her mother and her traditional life, but Zitkala-Sa found joy in music classes. "My wounded spirit soared like a bird as I practiced the piano and violin," she wrote. Her talent grew, and when she graduated, she became a music teacher, composer, and performer. Zitkala-Sa found she could also "sing" to help her people by writing stories and giving speeches. As an adult, she worked as an activist for Native American rights, seeking to build a bridge between cultures.

It was February 1, 1960. They didn't need menus. Their order was simple. A doughnut and coffee, with cream on the side. This picture book is a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the momentous Woolworth's lunch counter sit-in, when four college students staged a peaceful protest that became a defining moment in the struggle for racial equality and the growing civil rights movement.

Born in 1905, Anna May Wong spent her childhood working in her family's laundry in Los Angeles's Chinatown. Whenever she could afford it, Anna May slipped off to the movies, escaping to a world of adventure, glamour, and excitement. After seeing a movie being filmed in her neighborhood, young Anna May was hooked. She decided she would become a movie star! Anna May struggled to pursue an acting career in Hollywood in the 1930s. There were very few roles for Asian Americans, and many were demeaning and stereotypical. Anna May made the most of each limited part. She worked hard and always gave her best performance. Finally, after years of unfulfilling roles, Anna May began crusading for more meaningful roles for herself and other Asian American actors.

Bestselling author and journalist Kitty Kelley combines her elegant storytelling with Stanley Tretick's iconic photographs to transport readers to the 1963 March on Washington, bringing that historic day vividly to life for a new generation. Martin Luther King Jr. was nervous. Standing at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial, he was about to address 250,000 people with what would become known as his "I Have a Dream Speech"--the most famous speech of his life. This day--August 28, 1963--was a momentous day in the Civil Rights Movement. It was the culmination of years spent leading marches, sit-ins, and boycotts across the South to bring attention to the plight of African Americans. Years spent demanding equality for all. Years spent dreaming of the day that black people would have the same rights as white people, and would be treated with the same dignity and respect. It was time for Martin to share his dream.

In 1847, a young African American girl named Sarah Roberts tried to attend a white school in Boston. After being forced out of the school because of her race, Sarah and her family fought for her right to have an equal education. It was the first case asking our legal system to outlaw separate schools. It was the first time an African-American lawyer worked in a supreme court. It was also the first time an African-American lawyer and a white lawyer teamed up to fight for justice. Three important steps forward. Although her court case was not victorious, Sarah's first steps paved the way for the changes that ultimately led to triumph in the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education case more than a century later, and in countless other steps toward equality under the law.

A biography of William "Doc" Key, a formerly enslaved man and self--trained veterinarian who taught his horse, Jim, to read, write, and do math, and who together with Jim became a famous traveling performance act and proponent for the humane treatment of animals around the turn of the twentieth century.

Explore a little-known story of the civil rights movement, in which black and white citizens in one Alabama city worked together nonviolently to end segregation. Mention the civil rights era in Alabama, and most people recall images of terrible violence. But something different was happening in Huntsville. For the citizens of that city, creativity, courage, and cooperation were the keys to working together to integrate their city and schools in peace.

Zora and Langston. Billie and Bessie. Eubie and Duke. If the Harlem Renaissance had a court, they were its kings and queens. But there were other, lesser known individuals whose contributions were just as impactful, such as Florence Mills. Born to parents who were former-slaves Florence knew early on that she loved to sing. And that people really responded to her sweet, bird-like voice. Her dancing and singing catapulted her all the way to the stages of 1920s Broadway where she inspired songs and even entire plays! Yet with all this success, she knew firsthand how bigotry shaped her world. And when she was offered the role of a lifetime from Ziegfeld himself, she chose to support all-black musicals instead.

On the eve of World War II, African-American boxer Joe Louis fought German Max Schmeling in a bout that had more at stake than just the world heavyweight title. For much of America, their fight came to represent America's war with Germany. This elegant and powerful picture book biography centers on this historic fight in which the American people came together to celebrate our nation's founding ideals.

Dave was an extraordinary artist, poet, and potter living in South Carolina in the 1800s. He combined his superb artistry with deeply observant poetry, carved onto his pots, transcending the limitations he faced as a slave. In this inspiring and lyrical portrayal, National Book Award nominee Laban Carrick Hill's elegantly simple text and award-winning artist Bryan Collier's resplendent, earth-toned illustrations tell Dave's story, a story rich in history, hope, and long-lasting beauty.

Born into slavery in 1838, Bass had a hard and violent life, but he also had a strong sense of right and wrong that others admired. When Judge Isaac Parker tried to bring law and order to the lawless Indian Territories, he chose Bass to be a Deputy US Marshal. Bass would quickly prove a smart choice. For three decades, Bass was the most feared and respected lawman in the territories. He made more than 3,000 arrests, and though he was a crack shot and a quick draw, he only killed fourteen men in the line of duty. The story of Bass Reeves is the story of a remarkable African American and a remarkable hero of the Old West.

Fred Korematsu liked listening to music on the radio, playing tennis, and hanging around with his friends--just like lots of other Americans. But everything changed when the United States went to war with Japan in 1941 and the government forced all people of Japanese ancestry to leave their homes on the West Coast and move to distant prison camps. This included Fred, whose parents had immigrated to the United States from Japan many years before. But Fred refused to go. He knew that what the government was doing was unfair. And when he got put in jail for resisting, he knew he couldn't give up.

Before the Little Rock Nine, before Rosa Parks, before Martin Luther King Jr. and his March on Washington, there was Barbara Rose Johns, a teenager who used nonviolent civil disobedience to draw attention to her cause. In 1951, witnessing the unfair conditions in her racially segregated high school, Barbara Johns led a walkout-the first public protest of its kind demanding racial equality in the U.S.-jumpstarting the American civil rights movement. Ridiculed by the white superintendent and school board, local newspapers, and others, and even after a cross was burned on the school grounds, Barbara and her classmates held firm and did not give up. Her school's case went all the way to the Supreme Court and helped end segregation as part of Brown v. Board of Education. Barbara Johns grew up to become a librarian in the Philadelphia school system.

Filled with little-known facts and fascinating details, it includes excerpts from historical sources, archival images, and new research that debunks myths about the Emancipation Proclamation and its causes.

In early 1968 the grisly on-the-job deaths of two African-American sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee, prompted an extended strike by that city's segregated force of trash collectors. Workers sought union protection, higher wages, improved safety, and the integration of their work force. Their work stoppage became a part of the larger civil rights movement and drew an impressive array of national movement leaders to Memphis, including, on more than one occasion, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. King added his voice to the struggle in what became the final speech of his life. His assassination in Memphis on April 4 not only sparked protests and violence throughout America; it helped force the acceptance of worker demands in Memphis. The sanitation strike ended eight days after King's death. The connection between the Memphis sanitation strike and King's death has not received the emphasis it deserves, especially for younger readers.

Beginning with Lenny's childhood in Boston and ending with his triumphant conducting debut at Carnegie Hall with the New York Philharmonic when he was just twenty-five, Music Was IT draws readers into the energetic, passionate, challenging, music-filled life of young Leonard Bernstein.

"When it comes to justice, there is no easy way to get it. You can't sugarcoat it. You have to take a stand and say, 'This is not right.'" - Claudette Colvin On March 2, 1955, an impassioned teenager, fed up with the daily injustices of Jim Crow segregation, refused to give her seat to a white woman on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Instead of being celebrated as Rosa Parks would be just nine months later, fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin found herself shunned by her classmates and dismissed by community leaders. Undaunted, a year later she dared to challenge segregation again as a key plaintiff in Browder v. Gayle, the landmark case that struck down the segregation laws of Montgomery and swept away the legal underpinnings of the Jim Crow South.

Amid the scholars, poets, authors, and artists of the Harlem Renaissance stood an Afro-Puerto Rican named Arturo Schomburg. This law clerk's life's passion was to collect books, letters, music, and art from Africa and the African diaspora and to bring to light the achievements of people of African descent throughout the ages. When Schomburg's collection became so big that it began to overflow his house (and his wife threatened to mutiny), he turned to the New York Public Library, where he created and curated a collection that was the cornerstone of a new Negro Division. A century later, his groundbreaking collection, known as the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, has become a beacon to scholars all over the world.

Sarah Rector was once famously hailed as "the richest black girl in America." Set against the backdrop of American history, her tale encompasses the creation of Indian Territory, the making of Oklahoma, and the establishment of black towns and oil-rich boomtowns.Rector acquired her fortune at the age of eleven. This is both her story and that of children just like her: one filled with ups and downs amid bizarre goings-on and crimes perpetrated by greedy and corrupt adults.

Focusing on the Sioux nation as representative of the entire Native American story, this meticulously researched account allows the great chiefs and warriors to speak for themselves about what happened to the Sioux from 1860 to the Massacre of Wounded Knee in 1891. This dramatic story is essential reading for every student of U.S. history.

Chief Joseph's band of Nez Perce Indians lived in Oregon’s green and beautiful Wallowa Valley. His people loved their ancient home; they were grateful for their land and everything that lived on it. As one Nez Perce warrior said, “I belong to the land out of which I came. The earth is my mother.” But when whites began to settle in Nez Perce country, Joseph knew that his homeland and the ways of his tribe were in danger. He vowed to his dying father that he would guard his “beautiful valley of winding waters” with his life. Learn how Chief Joseph led his people in their heroic fight for freedom. And find out if he kept the sacred promise he had made to his father and to the Nez Perce families he’d sworn to protect.

On May 4, 1961, a group of thirteen black and white civil rights activists launched the Freedom Ride, aiming to challenge the practice of segregation on buses and at bus terminal facilities in the South. The Ride would last twelve days. Despite the fact that segregation on buses crossing state lines was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1946, and segregation in interstate transportation facilities was ruled unconstitutional in 1960, these rulings were routinely ignored in the South. The thirteen Freedom Riders intended to test the laws and draw attention to the lack of enforcement with their peaceful protest. As the Riders traveled deeper into the South, they encountered increasing violence and opposition.

This graphic novel is Congressman John Lewis' first-hand account of his lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis' personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement. Book One spans Lewis' youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., the birth of the Nashville Student Movement, and their battle to tear down segregation through nonviolent lunch counter sit-ins, building to a climax on the steps of City Hall.

In 1848, thirteen-year-old Emily Edmonson, five of her siblings, and seventy other enslaved people boarded the Pearl under cover of night in Washington, D.C., hoping to sail north to freedom. Within a day, the schooner was captured, and the Edmonsons were sent to New Orleans to be sold into even crueler conditions. Through Emily Edmonson's journey from enslaved person to teacher at a school for African American young women, Conkling illuminates the daily lives of enslaved people, the often changing laws affecting them, and the high cost of a failed escape.

On July 17, 1944, a massive explosion rocked the segregated Navy base at Port Chicago, California, killing more than 300 sailors who were at the docks, critically injuring off-duty men in their bunks, and shattering windows up to a mile away. On August 9th, 244 men refused to go back to work until unsafe and unfair conditions at the docks were addressed. When the dust settled, fifty were charged with mutiny, facing decades in jail and even execution. This is a fascinating story of the prejudice that faced black men and women in America's armed forces during World War II, and a nuanced look at those who gave their lives in service of a country where they lacked the most basic rights.

Solomon Northup awoke in the middle of the night with his body trembling. Slowly, he realized that he was handcuffed in a dark room and his feet were chained to the floor. He managed to slip his hand into his pocket to look for his free papers that proved he was one of 400,000 free blacks in a nation where 2.5 million other African Americans were slaves. They were gone. This remarkable story follows Northup through his 12 years of bondage as a man kidnapped into slavery, enduring the hardships of slave life in Louisiana. But the tale also has a remarkable ending. Northup is rescued from his master's cotton plantation in the deep South by friends in New York.

In the nineteen fifties and early sixties, Birmingham, Alabama, became known as Bombingham. At the center of this violent time in the fight for civil rights, and standing at opposite ends, were Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Eugene "Bull" Connor. From his pulpit, Shuttlesworth agitated for racial equality, while Commissioner Connor fought for the status quo.

Was an innocent man wrongly accused of murder? On April 26, 1913, thirteen-year-old Mary Phagan planned to meet friends at a parade in Atlanta, Georgia. But first she stopped at the pencil factory where she worked to pick up her paycheck. Mary never left the building alive. A black watchman found Mary's body brutally beaten and raped. Police arrested the watchman, but they weren't satisfied that he was the killer. Then they paid a visit to Leo Frank, the factory's superintendent, who was both a northerner and a Jew. Spurred on by the media frenzy and prejudices of the time, the detectives made Frank their prime suspect, one whose conviction would soothe the city's anger over the death of a young white girl. The prosecution of Leo Frank was front-page news for two years, and Frank's lynching is still one of the most controversial incidents of the twentieth century. It marks a turning point in the history of racial and religious hatred in America, leading directly to the founding of the Anti-Defamation League and to the rebirth of the modern Ku Klux Klan.

Award-winning author Ann Bausum makes the history of immigration in America come alive for young people. The story of America has always been shaped by people from all corners of the Earth who came in search of a better life. Immigration remains one of the critical topics in 21st century America, and how our children learn the lessons of the past will shape all our futures.

Here is the riveting dual biography of two little-known but extraordinary African-American Union soldiers in Civil War history--George E. Stephens and James Henry Gooding. Stephens and Gooding not only served in the Massachusetts 54th Infantry, the well-known black regiment, but were also war correspondents who published eyewitness reports of the battlefields. Their dispatches told the truth of their lives at camp, their intense training, and the dangers and tragedies on the battlefield.

American attitudes toward immigrants are paradoxical. On the one hand, we see our country as a haven for the poor and oppressed; anyone, no matter his or her background, can find freedom here and achieve the "American Dream." On the other hand, depending on prevailing economic conditions, fluctuating feelings about race and ethnicity, and fear of foreign political and labor agitation, we set boundaries and restrictions on who may come to this country and whether they may stay as citizens. This book explores the way government policy and popular responses to immigrant groups evolved throughout U.S. history, particularly between 1800 and 1965.

Uncover the lives of thirteen African-Americans who fought during the Revolutionary War. Even as American Patriots fought for independence from British rule during the Revolutionary War, oppressive conditions remained in place for the thousands of enslaved and free African Americans living in this country. But African Americans took up their own fight for freedom by joining the British and American armies; preaching, speaking out, and writing about the evils of slavery; and establishing settlements in Nova Scotia and Africa.

At the turn of the 20th century, photographer Edward S. Curtis devoted his life to learning all he could about American Indians and sharing it with the world. He took his first photo of an American Indian in 1895, and for the next 30 years he traveled the West and north to Alaska to chronicle traditional native culture.

This biographical account of Sitting Bull, the legendary Lakota/Sioux chief, follows him from childhood to adulthood. He killed his first buffalo at age 10; at age 14, he earned his first eagle feather after counting coup (winning prestige through acts of bravery) on an enemy. In honor of his accomplishment, his father gave him the name Sitting Bull, a name that represents his resolve and ability to stand his ground. Sitting Bull grew as a leader and warrior, finally coming to be named war chief, leader of the entire Sioux nation (a title never bestowed on anyone before). He led his people in many battles against the Wasichus (or white man) including the Battles of Killdeer Mountain and the Little Bighorn and became one of the most important figures in Lakota and American history.

In 1964, Mississippi civil rights groups banded together to fight Jim Crow laws in a state where only 6.4 percent of eligible black voters were registered. Testing a bold new strategy, they recruited students from across the United States. That summer these young volunteers defied segregation by living with local black hosts, opening Freedom Schools to educate disenfranchised adults and their children, and canvassing door-to-door to register voters. Everyone involved knew there would be risks but were nonetheless shocked when three civil rights workers disappeared and were soon presumed murdered. The organizers' worst fears were realized as volunteers, local activists, and hosts faced terror on a daily basis. Yet by the middle of August, incredible strides had been made in spite of the vicious intimidation. The summer unleashed an unstoppable wave of determination from black Mississippians to demand their rights and helped bring about a new political order in the American South.

No modern tragedy has had a greater impact on race relations in America than the kidnapping and murder of Emmett Till. A 14-year-old black boy from Chicago visiting relatives in Mississippi in 1955, Till was taken from his uncle's home by two white men; several days later, his body was found in the Tallahatchie River. This grotesque crime became the catalyst for the civil rights movement. At age 12, author Simeon Wright saw and heard his cousin Emmett whistle at a white woman at a grocery store; he was sleeping in the same bed with him when Emmett was taken; and he was at the sensational trial. This is his gripping coming-of-age memoir.

Oscar-winning director Ang Lee has a remarkable life story. His creative genius bloomed late: he came to America from Taiwan at age 23, but was not able to make his first film until he was 37 because of language and cultural barriers that were slow and painful to overcome. Two of his movies, ""Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"" and ""Brokeback Mountain"", are among the most influential films ever made. Lee's work captures cultural, racial, sexual, and generation clashes from 18th-century England to modern suburban America, and from China to Wyoming. Lee has made movies in English, Taiwanese, and Mandarin Chinese, making him a true global artist. Read about Ang Lee's rise to fame in this absorbing new title.

A biography of Louis Sockalexis, Penobscot Indian and the first Native American to play professional baseball, focusing on his formative years and culminating in an historic game at New York's Polo Grounds in 1897.

A biography of John Lewis, one of the "Big Six" civil rights leaders of the 1960s, focusing on his involvement in Freedom Rides, the March on Washington, and the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

Segregated Charleston, SC, 1955: There are 62 official Little League programs in South Carolina -- all but one of the leagues is composed entirely of white players. The Cannon Street YMCA All-Stars, an all-black team, is formed in the hopes of playing in the state's annual Little League Tournament. What should have been a time of enjoyment, however, turns sour when all of the other leagues refuse to play against them and even pull out of the program. As the only remaining Little League team in the state, Cannon Street was named state winner by default, giving the boys a legitimate spot in the Little League Baseball World Series held in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. While the Cannon Street team is invited to the game as guests, they are not allowed to participate since they have not officially "played" and won their state's tournament. Let Them Play takes its name from the chant shouted by the spectators who attended the World Series final.

A biography of the legendary Native American Jim Thorpe (1888-1953), voted the Greatest Football Player and Greatest Athlete of the Half-Century by two AP polls, focusing on his early childhood and how school and sports shaped his future.

Taking a rare look beyond the myths and legends surrounding Sacagawea's life, this extraordinary illustrated history recounts the known facts about a remarkable woman and her contribution to one of America's greatest journeys of exploration. Combining beautifully wrought oil paintings, a moving true story, and a unique larger format, Sacagawea will captivate readers of all ages. Kidnapped from her Shoshone tribe when she was just eleven or twelve, Sacagawea lived with her captors for four years before being given in marriage to a French Canadian fur trapper, Toussaint Charbonneau. With him, she served as interpreter, peacemaker, and guide for the Lewis and Clark Expedition to the Northwest in 1805-1806. Braving hunger and fierce blizzards, Sacagawea traveled thousands of miles with a baby on her back. By the end of the legendary journey, Sacagawea's steadfast courage and capable guidance had ensured her place in history.

Through bold colors and true-to-life illustrations, César Chávez's life story becomes available to a younger generation in this bilingual picture book for children. History professor Griswold del Castillo's text follows the pioneering organizer from his childhood on a small farm in Arizona through his family's experience as migrant workers during the Great Depression. The text goes on to trace these experiences through Chávez's later life.

He hit more home runs than Mark McGwire, Babe Ruth, or Hank Aaron. He was the best in the game, yet he was never allowed to play in the Major Leagues. And he died just four months before Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier. His name was Josh Gibson, and Coming Home is his incredible story. This beautifully illustrated tribute to baseball's greatest home run hitter is the first picture book ever published about Josh Gibson.

Two acclaimed picture book talents combine in this award-winning journey through the history and legacy of jazz. Carole Boston Weatherford's poetic text is perfectly matched with Eric Velasquez's powerful oil paintings.

The true story of Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku, six-time Olympic swimming champion and legendary surfer who popularized surfing around the world.

A biography of the famous African-American photographer. Gordon Parks grew up in poverty in Kansas, but his mother always told him, "Don't come home with any excuses." His perseverance resulted in his becoming a photographer for Life magazine as well as a successful novelist, director, producer, screenwriter, and music composer.

This is the story of Roberto Clemente, who rose through the ranks of baseball to become one of the most admired players of all time.

As a young boy born into slavery in Virginia, Alec Turner was forbidden to learn to read. Naturally he was frightened when Zephie, his owner's granddaughter, first offered to teach him, but she told him that if he learned to read, he could become a free man. As Alec mastered the alphabet from a small primer, Zephie lit in him a spark of hope, which became a flame.

Cesar Chavez is known as one of America's greatest civil rights leaders. When he led a 340-mile peaceful protest march through California, he ignited a cause and improved the lives of thousands of migrant farmworkers. But Cesar wasn't always a leader. As a boy, he was shy and teased at school. His family slaved in the fields for barely enough money to survive. Cesar knew things had to change, and he thought that--maybe--he could help change them. So he took charge. He spoke up. And an entire country listened.

On December 21, 1848, Ellen Craft and her husband, William, slipped out into the cold, dark night and took their first steps towards freedom. They were runaway slaves. Posing as a white man traveling with a slave, Ellen courageously boarded a train bound for Philadelphia. Could they actually make it a thousand miles without being discovered? As each tension-filled day passed and freedom got closer, Ellen and William risked everything - even death - to be free.

Picture the American Past uses short, simple text linked to large historical photographs to bring to life the unique ways in which children lived and worked in an earlier era. Supports the national curriculum standards Culture; Time, Continuity, and Change; Individual Development and Identity; and Individuals, Groups, and Institutions as outlined by the National Council for the Social Studies.

Explores the experiences of Japanese American children who were moved with their families to relocation centers during World War II, looking at school, meals, sports, and other aspects of camp life.

Here is the true history of a friendship that almost wasn't. John Leahr and Herb Heilbrun grew up in the same neighborhood and were in the same third grade class together. They were classmates--not friends--because Herb was white and John was black. John and Herb were twenty-one when the United States entered WWII. Herb became an Army Air Forces B-17 bomber pilot. John flew P-51 fighters. Both were thrown into the brutal high-altitude bomber war against Nazi Germany, though they never met because the army was rigidly segregated--only in the air were black and white American fliers allowed to mix. Both came safely home but it took Herb and John another fifty years to meet again and discover that their lives had run almost side by side through war and peace. Old friends at last, Herb and John launched a mission to tell young people why race once made all the difference and why it shouldn't anymore.

Freedman's book tells the dramatic stories of the heroes who stood up against segregation and Jim Crow laws in 1950s Alabama.  A master of succinct historical narratives, Freeman explains the contributions of and sacrifices made by Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin, who refused give up their seats, to Jo Ann Robinson, who began the boycott, to Martin Luther King, Jr., whose leadership was instrumental is carrying it through, and others.

As a boy, Cesar Chavez picked peas, grapes, and other crops in the hot sun. It was a life of exhaustion, poverty, and despair. His experiences as a migrant farm worker had a profound effect on Chavez. With a strong belief in nonviolence, Chavez staged boycotts, strikes, and other protests to bring national attention to the terrible working and living conditions of the farm workers. He organized a labor union, which became the United Farm Workers Union, to demand higher pay and better treatment. Cesar Chavez never earned much money. He never owned a car or a house. He was simply an ordinary man with extraordinary vision and commitment.

"A voice like yours," celebrated conductor Arturo Toscanini told contralto Marian Anderson, "is heard once in a hundred years." This insightful account of the great African American vocalist considers her life and musical career in the context of the history of civil rights in this country. Drawing on Anderson's own writings and other contemporary accounts, Russell Freedman shows readers a singer pursuing her art despite the social constraints that limited the careers of black performers in the 1920s and 1930s. Though not a crusader or a spokesperson by nature, Marian Anderson came to stand for all black artists -- and for all Americans of color -- when, with the help of such prominent figures as Eleanor Roosevelt, she gave her landmark 1939 performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, which signaled the end of segregation in the arts.

This critically acclaimed and widely used educational resource chronicles the history and experiences of Japanese Americans from immigration to the World War II internment camps. Told through the eyes of a young girl and her grandfather, it shows how those in the camps preserved their dignity, sense of family, and American identity. Included is a collection of historic photographs that detail the Japanese American experience.

In this close look at the first relocation camp built for Japanese evacuees living on the West Coast after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, social historian Michael Cooper makes extensive use of the actual words--from diaries, journals, memoirs, and news accounts--of the people who were held behind barbed wire in the high California desert. Many were American citizens who felt betrayed by their country. They had to leave their jobs, their homes, and their friends and go live in crowded barracks, eat in noisy mess halls, and do without supplies or books for work or schooling. They showed remarkable bravery and resilience as they tried to lead normal lives, starting their own schools, playing baseball, attending Saturday night dances, and publishing their own newspaper. Archival photographs, some by Ansel Adams and Dorothea Lange, augment the informative text. Manzanar is now a National Historic Site and hosts an annual pilgrimage that is attended by former internees, their families, and friends. Endnotes, Internet resources, index.

True story of a slave named Prince Estabrook who fought for his freedom (and ours) on the first day of the American Revolution.

Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus and sparked a boycott that changed America. Harriet Tubman helped more than three hundred slaves escape the South on the Underground Railroad. Shirley Chisholm became the first black woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. The lives these women led are part of an incredible story about courage in the face of oppression; about the challenges and triumphs of the battle for civil rights; and about speaking out for what you believe in--even when it feels like no one is listening.

This handsome volume contains the stories of fourteen fabulous women, blues and jazz singers all. Their art reflected their backgrounds--often small, poverty-ridden towns in the South--and the influence of musicians who preceded them. Each singer adapted the culture of jazz and wove it into her own personal style. Jazz historian Leslie Gourse's biographies of Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters, Mildred Bailey, Mabel Mercer, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Anita O'Day, Peggy Lee, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan, Betty Carter, Rosemary Clooney, Cassandra Wilson, and Diana Krall offer a fascinating glimpse into American history and a continually evolving musical genre.

In this stunning nonfiction volume, award-winning author Deborah Hopkinson weaves the stories of slaves, sharecroppers, and mill workers into a tapestry illuminating the history of cotton in America. In UP BEFORE DAYBREAK, acclaimed author Deborah Hopkinson captures the voices of the forgotten men, women, and children who worked in the cotton industry in America over the centuries. The voices of the slaves who toiled in the fields in the South, the poor sharecroppers who barely got by, and the girls who gave their lives to the New England mills spring to life through oral histories, archival photos, and Hopkinson's engaging narrative prose style. These stories are amazing and often heartbreaking, and they are imbedded deep in our nation's history.

During the 1960s, Roberto Clemente, called The Great One by the people of Pittsburgh, made history as the greatest baseball player to come out of Puerto Rico. He faced discrimination and hardship, yet through his amazing talent and commitment to helping others became a national hero. This account follows his career from his Puerto Rican roots to his tragic death while attempting to take clothing and supplies to Nicaragua.

The life of civil rights leader Daisy Bates is vividly detailed in this stirring new biography by an acclaimed husband-wife team. Throughout her life, Daisy Bates worked tirelessly for civil rights as an activist, journalist, and organizer. She first captured national attention as the mentor of the nine black students who integrated Central High School in Little Rock in 1957. During this crisis President Dwight Eisenhower was forced to use federal troops to insure the admission of the students, who became known as the Little Rock Nine. In 1999, just hours after her funeral, President Bill Clinton bestowed the Congressional Gold Medal on the Little Rock Nine, and two years later Daisy Bates was honored by a state holiday in Arkansas.

Rising from the shackles of slavery, Sojourner Truth would become one of the most charismatic evangelical preachers of her time and would lead America to institute reforms in race relations and women's rights. A prophetic force. Truth would anticipate many of the social changes to come and would lead the way for the modern civil rights movement.

Mamie Johnson looks the batter in the eye. Sizes him up for a curve- or a fastball. Stretches her 5'2" frame. And pops a surefire, windup, coming-right-at-ya pitch smack dab over the plate. One that lets the batter know that this "peanut of a girl" means business. Fueled by her passion for the game and buoyed by the inspiration of Jackie Robinson, Mamie Johnson is determined to be a professional baseball pitcher. From the time she insists on trying out for the all-male all-white Police Athletic League team until she becomes one of only three women to play in the Negro Leagues, this biography of Mamie Johnson's life shows that courage-and a fierce curveball-can make a childhood dream come true.

After years of struggle, Matthew Henson placed the American flag at the North Pole, but because of racial prejudice, the African-American explorer received no glory for this historic moment. All around the world, Henson's employer, Admiral Robert E. Peary, was celebrated as the first person to reach the top of the world. It was not until decades later that Henson's contribution was acknowledged.

A graduate of Harvard and the son of former slaves, Carter G. Woodson's contribution to American culture is tremendous. He devoted his life to bringing the achievements of black people to the world's attention.

Vincent Beach seems an ordinary man from ordinary beginnings. Look deeper, however, and you'll discover a special human being. Vincent left his native Jamaica in 1944 and enlisted in the Royal Air Force. Yearning to be a jazz musician, he bought an old clarinet and practiced. Through his perseverance, he found his way to America and a career for 22 years as a bandsman in the U.S. Air Force. Becoming an educator, he served the children on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona, and later enjoyed teaching in community college. Share the joys and woes of an ordinary man in his storied autobiography.

A chronicle of the incredible correspondence between California librarian Clara Breed and young Japanese American internees during World War II. In the early 1940's, Clara Breed was the children's librarian at the San Diego Public Library. But she was also friend to dozens of Japanese American children and teens when war broke out in December of 1941. The story of what happened to these American citizens is movingly told through letters that her young friends wrote to Miss Breed during their internment. This remarkable librarian and humanitarian served as a lifeline to these imprisoned young people, and was brave enough to speak out against a shameful chapter in American history.

Bayard Rustin was born in Pennsylvania in the early part of the twentieth century, the grandson of a former slave. A talented singer and musician and a good student, Rustin moved to New York City, where he attended college, became enmeshed in the exciting Harlem Renaissance, and began working as an actvist and organizer for the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement. Today, Rustin is remembered as a tireless force, a man who lived his life working for the cause he so fervently believed in, and who struggled to bear two crosses--being black and being homosexual--at a time when one was more than enough. No Easy Answers: Bayard Rustin and the Civil Rights Movement explores the life and remarkable times of this brave man.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 changed American society in profound ways. For instance, the bill ended much racial segregation, which had existed for decades in the daily lives of Americans. This collection captures a spectrum of views, from then and now, concerning the act's historical journey and contemporary legacy.

The term civil rights movement calls to mind the nation-wide effort, spearheaded by Martin Luther King Jr., during the 1950s and 1960s toend racial segregation and racial injustice in the United States. But the struggle for citizenship rights for African Americans predates King's movement by almost two hundred years. This anthology comprises the firsthand experiences of black civil rights advocates before King.

Author Harvey Fireside takes the reader to the deep south and describes the murder of three young civil rights workers. He then traces the legal intricacies of the trial that brought their attackers to justice.

For more than two million American children of interracial background, questions of ethnicity and cultural identity are not easily answered. Barbara C. Cruz details the history of interracial marriages and children in the United States. She explores the struggles that mixed-race teens have endured, such as being alienated from nearly every race group and feeling pressure to choose only one race or ethnicity. Cruz provides readers with the resources they need to cope with these issues on their own, from inspiring biographies of well-known personalities to organizations and Web sites dedicated to promoting multiethnic and multicultural understanding.

Richly researched, told with sweep, speed, and balance, here is a biography of the man who was arguably the Plains Indians' most revered, most visionary leader. Tatan'ka Iyota'ke--Sitting Bull--was the great Hunkpapa Lakota chief who helped defeat Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. But more than that, he was a profound holy man and seer, an astute judge of men, a singer and speaker for his people's ways. In the face of the army, the railroad, the discovery of gold, and the decimation of the buffalo, he led his band to Canada rather than "come in" to the white man's reservation.

The ship known as the Amistad set sail on the morning of June 28, 1839, from Cuba packed with African slaves to be sold to the highest bidder. Horrified by the conditions under which they were being held, the Africans organized themselves, freed themselves of their shackles, and armed with sugar cane cutters, crept up on the sleeping crew of the Amistad to gain control of the ship. The Africans wanted only to return to Africa where they would be free. In a controversial case that centered on whether the slaves should be considered property (thus unworthy of any rights) or people (worthy of their freedom), the Supreme Court declared that the Amistad captives should be freed and returned to Africa.

Selected as one of the "Books that Matter" by the Association of American University Presses for its 75th anniversary. When photographer Gary Harwood first stepped onto the K. W. Zellers family farm in Hartville, Ohio, to take pictures of the Mexican migrant workers there, he did not expect to find such a strong, tightly knit community. Over the next five years he used his camera to study the lives and work of these migrants in their northeastern Ohio home. His artful photography captures the migrants' portraits and movingly conveys their great pride in work and family, their struggles and joys. Accompanying these vibrant photographs are revealing first-person narratives written by David Hassler. The voices of the migrants and community members are eloquent testaments to the importance of the culture, the resilience of the people, and the power of the place.

Presents the life and accomplishments of the blind singer and composer who won twenty Grammy Awards for his jazz and blues music.

Dance should be art AND entertainment, said Alvin Ailey, creative genius behind the world-famous Alvin Ailey Dance Theater company. Ailey's work appeals to people from all walks of life. Colorful, energetic, and theatrical, it showcases the richness of African-American history and culture. The stars did not always shine on Ailey, who was born into a world of poverty and racism. While his pathway to success had many twists and turns, Ailey never lost sight of his dream.

Presents a biography of the African American poet who has received the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize.

An overview of Asian-American history explores the rich diversity of Asian culture in the United States, discussing the geography, historical migration, and contributions of the Asian population in America.

Ella Fitzgerald revolutionized the music industry with her incredible skill and range as a jazz singer.With over 200 top-selling albums, 13 Grammy awards, and countless hits, Ella helped inspire her fellow performers with her spectacular talent.As sweet and true as her phenomenal voice, Ella dedicated her life to producing music that crossed generations, music genres, and racial boundaries.

Discusses various issues regarding racism, including racial profiling, police brutality, stereotyping, White privilege, and the need for dialogue.