Maritcha: A Nineteenth-Century American Girl Click to order via Amazon by Tonya Bolden Reading level: Ages 9-12 Hardcover: 48 pages Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (February 1, 2005) Language: English ISBN-10: 0810950456 ISBN-13: 978-0810950450 A much-needed window into a little-documented time in black history Based on an actual memoir written by Maritcha Rémond Lyons, who was born and raised in New York City, this poignant story tells what it was like to be a black child born free during the days of slavery. Everyday experiences are interspersed with high-point moments, such as visiting the U.S.'s first world's fair. Also included are the Draft Riots of 1863, when Maritcha and her siblings fled to Brooklyn while her parents stayed behind to protect their home. The book concludes with her fight to attend a whites-only high school in Providence, Rhode Island, and her triumphant victory, making her the first black person in its graduating class. The book includes photographs of Maritcha, her family, and friends, as well as archival and contemporary maps, photographs, and illustrations. AUTHOR BIO: Tonya Bolden's books have received acclaim from organizations such as the American Library Association and the New York Public Library, and from publications like School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and Publishers Weekly.

Dark Sons Click to order via Amazon by Nikki Grimes Paperback: 224 pages Publisher: Jump At The Sun (March 20, 2007) Language: English ISBN-10: 1423102517 ISBN-13: 978-1423102519 Grade 6 Up–In free-verse narratives, one biblical and one modern, teenagers Ishmael and Sam introduce themselves and relate their parallel problems with their fathers. Abraham is exiling Ishmael, son of his Second Wife, now that elderly Sarah has finally had a son. Sam's dad has left Sam's mother for a younger white woman. In Book One, Ishmael's poems express his pain, confusion, and love: Half Chaldean. Half Egyptian. Half slave. Half free. Half loved. Half hated. Half blessed. All me. His story is set against the background of nomadic desert life, always in the context of God's relations with, and plans for, him. Book Two gives present-day Brooklynite Sam his say: black man breaks black woman's heart to marry white witch. He's angry at his father, baffled by his mother, and resistant to his stepmother's friendly overtures. Luckily he has friends and faith; prayer and a kiss from a potential girlfriend provide some peace. The biggest obstacle turns out to be the biggest help: his dad's new son worms his way into his half-brother's heart. Books Three and Four continue the first-person accounts: Abraham's second son is clearly his favorite, and Sarah (a witch here) withdraws her love from Ishmael. Anger and jealousy threaten Ishmael's relations with his father and with God. Sam's father leaves him disillusioned and betrayed. The cross-play is effective, though Sam's story is more vivid and engaging. References to God (not Jesus) layer another father into the mix. Religion is a key part of the healing, but even faith-challenged readers can admire and learn from these stories of struggle in vernacular verse.–Patricia D. Lothrop, St. George's School, Newport, RI  Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --

A Wreath for Emmett Till Click to order via Amazon by Marilyn Nelson Illustrated by Philippe Lardy Binding: Hardcover EAN: 9780618397525 ISBN: 0618397523 Number Of Pages: 48 Publication Date: April 04, 2005 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin In 1955, people all over the United States knew that Emmett Louis Till was a fourteen-year-old African American boy lynched for supposedly whistling at a white woman in Mississippi. The brutality of his murder, the open-casket funeral, and the acquittal of the men tried for the crime drew wide media attention. Award-winning poet Marilyn Nelson reminds us of the boy whose fate helped spark the civil rights movement. This martyr's wreath, woven from a little-known but sophisticated form of poetry, challenges us to speak out against modern-day injustices, to "speak what we see."