In February our nation celebrates Black History Month--which is a perfect time to let your kids' bedtime stories do double duty as entertainment and as a history lesson. You'll love the stories--and the artwork--in these fun and educational books.
The Sweet and Sour Animal Book
by Langston Hughes; illustrated by the Students from the Harlem School of Arts
This book pairs American icon Langston Hughes's poetry with gorgeous illustrations by talented young art students using photographed three-dimensional clay creations, paintings, and paper creatures. This is a beautifully crafted book of previously unpublished alphabetically arranged poems about lions, tigers, and camels?
Barack
by Jonah Winter; illustrated by AG Ford
This is a beautifully illustrated story of our President's life journey. From his humble beginnings and his peripatetic early life, to life as a student at Columbia and Harvard, to his life in Chicago and on to the Senate, and ultimately the Presidency, this book follows Barack Obama on his road to victory. Classic illustrations showcase the President's magnitude and passion.
Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
by Doreen Rappaport; illustrated by Bryan Collier
Martin's Big Words recounts Martin Luther King's childhood and his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Juxtaposed original text with quotes from King's speeches and writings offers a compelling account of Dr. King's rise to become the embodiment of the American civil rights movement.
Coretta Scott
by Ntozake Shange; illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Coretta is the story about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s wife, Coretta Scott King, and her influence on the civil rights movement, told through poet Ntozake Shange's words and Kadir Nelson's artwork. It is a compelling biographical read-aloud chronicling Scott's life from childhood to marriage, including her significant role as a woman during this great movement. It is not only fact-based but a poetically and beautifully crafted work of art.
We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball
written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson
We Are the Ship uses amazing paintings by Kadir Nelson to tell the inspiring story of baseball's Negro League. Divided into nine innings and starting with Rube Foster and ending with the trailblazing Jackie Robinson, Nelson offers a penetrating look into the lives the players of the Negro Leagues, many of whom should have played in the Major Leagues except for the roadblock of segregation.
Hip Hop Speaks to Children
edited by Nikki Giovanni
Hip Hop Speaks to Children is a colorful poetry book that includes a CD that pairs the poems with a hip-hop beat. Giovanni combines the many flavors of African-American vernacular--such as gospel, blues, jazz, and city and country rhythms--to present poems that focus on hope, self-esteem, respect for the past, and optimism for the future.
Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad
by Ellen Levine; illustrated by Kadir Nelson
When Henry was separated from his mother when he was a child and his family was sold in the slave market, Henry Brown "mailed himself to freedom." Henry traveled in a wooden crate that traveled to Philadelphia in a horse-drawn cart, on a steamboat "to a place where there are no slaves!" Paired with illustrations depicting Henry cramped in tight spaces, this book showcases the effects that slavery had on a single person and their family.
Now Let Me Fly: The Story of a Slave Family
written and illustrated by Dolores Johnson
Minna is kidnapped as a child in Africa and brought to North America on a dangerous three-month-long voyage and forced to work as a slave. This powerful but heart-wrenching story of a family that loves each other but is torn apart by the evils of slavery will promote quality discussion within your family about this dark time of American history.
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