Adoff, Arnold.
Street Music
. New York, NY. Harper Collin, 1995. A collection of poems about the street, city and urban living.
Angelou, Maya.
Life Doesn’t Frighten Me
. New York, NY. Stewart, Tabori and Chang, 1993. A children’s literature book that’s text is Angelou’s poem of the same name. Jean-Michel Basquiat’s paintings illustrate the poem.
Bolden, Tonya. ed.
Rites of Passage: Stories About Growing Up By Black Writers From Around the World
. New York, NY. Hyperion Books for Children, 1994. A collection of seventeen short stories about young people recognizing boundaries set by society and overcoming them. More appropriate for teacher-read lessons, this more advanced book includes stories from Costa Rica, Ghana, Jamaica, Australia, The United States and other regions.
Everett, Gwen.
Li’l Sis and Uncle Willie
. Washington D.C. The National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1991. A story based on the life and paintings of William Johnson. Illustrated with the paintings of the artist.
Feelings, T. and Greenfield, E.
Daydreamers
. New York, NY. The Dial Press, 1981. An evocative poem, by Greenfield, tells of children’s thoughts both unique and common in nature. Drawings, by Feelings, of black children accompany the poem to express silence and motion.
Greenfield, Eloise.
Honey, I Love and Other Love Poems
. New York, NY. Harper Trophy, 1978. A collection of love poems about relationships and the appreciation of the rich content of every day life for the young reader. Illustrated with drawings of portraits African American children.
Greenfield, Eloise.
Night on Neighborhood Street
. New York, NY. Dial Books, 1991. A collection of poems exploring the sounds, sights and emotions enlivening a black neighborhood during the course of one evening.
Greenfield, Eloise.
Sister
. New York, NY. Harper Trophy 1974. A chapter book that tells of an African American girl’s difficult relationship with her mother and sister after the death of her father.
Hoffman, Mary.
Amazing Grace
. New York, NY. Dial Books, 1991. A story of an young African American girl who lives with her mother and grandmother. Grace spends time daydreaming about her future and creates vivid characters and settings for herself in her thoughts.
Hudson, Wade.
Pass It On: African American Poetry for Children
. New York, NY. Scholastic Inc., 1993. A collection of poems for the young reader. Illustrated with paintings of African American children.
Isadora, Rachel.
City Seen from A to Z
. New York, NY. Greenwillow Books, 1983. Twenty-six black and white drawings of scenes of city life that suggest word beginnings with each letter of the alphabet.
Johnson, Angela.
When I Am Old with You
. New York, NY. Orchard Books, 1990. A story of an African American boy who imagines being old with Granddaddy and joining him in such activities as playing cards all day, eating bacon on the porch and taking long walks.
Keats, Ezra Jack.
Apt. 3
. New York, NY. The Macmillan Company, 1971. A story of a boy who explores his huge apartment building to find the origin of the harmonica playing that he hears.
Keats, Ezra Jack.
Peter’s Chair
. Mexico City, Mexico. Harper Collins Publishers, 1967. A story of a young African boy who faces new pressures of growing up as he adjusts to the presence of a new baby sister.
Moutoussamy-Ashe, Jeanne.
Daddy and Me
. New York, NY. Alfred A. Knopf, 1993. A collection of photographs of Arthur Ashe and his young daughter, Camera. Camera Ashe’s own words accompany the photos to tell a story of their loving relationship during his battle with AIDS. Excellent to integrate with AIDS Awareness curriculum.
Nikola-Lisa, W.
Bein’ This Way With You
. New York, NY. Lee and Low Books Inc., 1994. A story of a young African American girl who visits the park and discovers that dispite people’s differences—straight hair, curly hair, light skin dark skin-they have alot in common. Text is arranged in the beat of a playground rap which celebrates diversity.
Pippan, Horace.
Holy Mountain III: Art Reproduction
. Lisa R. Goodman Memorial Art Collection. New York Graphic Society.
Ringgold, Faith.
Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky
. New York, NY. Crown Publishers, Inc., 1992. A story of an African American girl retraces the steps escaping slaves took on the Underground Railroad in order to reunite with her younger brother. Throughout the story, Harriet Tubman serves as the girl’s guide.
Ringgold, Faith.
Dinner at Aunt Connie’s House
. New York, NY. Hyperon Books for Children, 1993. A story about a family who visits their Aunt Connie’s house and find a secret room filled with their aunt’s paintings. These paintings of famous black American women come to live for the children to explain their individual impact on the children’s lives today.
Ringgold, Faith.
Tar Beach
. New York, NY. Crown Publishers Inc., 1991. A story of a young African American girl who dreams of flying above home, claiming all she sees for herself and her family. Based on the author’s quilt painting of the same name.
Teaching Multicultural Literature in Grades K-8
. New York, NY. Christopher Gordon Publishers, 1992. A book for teachers that examines the politics of children’s literature and reflects upon multicultural learning and it’s political correctness.
