Ralph Bunche: Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize

Ralph Bunche: Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize

Written by: Anne Schraff

"This title begins with an account of the dramatic assassination in 1948 of Count Folke Bernadotte, the appointed U.N. mediator for Palestine. This event propelled Bunche into the world spotlight as a negotiator. For his work in achieving an armistice between Israel and its Arab neighbors, the statesman won the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the first African American to receive this prestigious honor. The book covers his childhood, his student years at UCLA and Harvard, his professorship at Howard University, his later government service and diplomatic life, and his death in 1971."

School Library Journal Review

Online Resources:
http://www.ralphbunche.com/
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1950/bunche-bio.html

Forge

Forge

Written by: Laurie Halse Anderson

Award-winning author Laurie Halse Anderson have delivered an equally thrilling novel to follow up her National Book Award Finalist book Chains with Forge. Readers can pick up right where Curzon and Isabel left off at the end of Chains as they escaped from Revolutionary New York City in the middle of the night. After their escape, Curzon and Isabel take different paths with Curzon becoming a soldier at Valley Forge. He later meets up with Isabel after his master has captured him forcing him to leave the army to become a servant again. This novel details the treacherous living conditions soldiers at Valley Forge faced during that harsh winter. Halse-Anderson also discusses how many black soldiers fought in the Revolution with the hopes of gaining their freedom when the war was over. Curzon is a well-developed character that students will be able to relate, especially those who are interested in black soldiers serving in the war. Female students will connect with Isabel and the determination she possess in spite of the struggles she faces being torn from her family. This book will have a follow-up story as well which readers (including myself) will be eagerly waiting for!

Jennie's Review

Online Resources:
http://books.simonandschuster.com/Forge/Laurie-Halse-Anderson/9781416961444
*Readers guide at bottom of the page*
http://madwomanintheforest.com/historical-forge/
http://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/links/index.html

Obama: A Promise of Change

Obama: A Promise of Change

Written by: David Mendell

"This adaptation of Mendell's adult book Obama: From Promise to Power (Harper Collins, 2007) summarizes the life of Obama through March 2008, describing his upbringing, changing family, education, and political work. The text is accurate and well researched, with endnotes providing citations for each chapter. Captioned black-and-white photographs appear in a centerfold. Though the lack of an index makes this title more appropriate for reading from cover to cover than for research projects, the table of contents does allow youngsters to locate specific times in Obama's life by topic. Brief chapters and accessible vocabulary are appropriate for the intended audience, although adult assistance might be needed for total comprehension of the discussions of how politicians operate in party politics, run campaigns, and hire image-builders. These ideas may be unfamiliar to younger kids, and may need some explanation."

School Library Journal Review

Online Resources:
http://www.ontheissues.org/Promise_to_Power.htm

Chains

Chains

Written by: Laurie Halse Anderson

This beautifully written piece of historical fiction written by well-known young adult author Laurie Halse Anderson gives readers a very close up view of a young slave girls experience living in New York City during the time of the American Revolution. Isabel and her sister Ruth are sold to a couple who are very involved in the political scene in New York as Loyalists to the British crown. Isabel becomes involved with a boy whose master promises her freedom if she is able to deliver secret information to and from her master to the Rebel forces. Isabel endures many hardships including the loss of her sister Ruth whom her master sells right from under her without her knowing. She must dig deep to make the biggest leap of faith she has ever made by running away in the middle of the night to freedom. This story continues into the next novel, Fever which is the second in a series of three books written by Anderson. Readers will feel a connection to this time period in US history through the authenticity of the characters in this story. There is a very well written question and answer section in the back of the book that explains the historical aspects of this novel that readers will find as a great companion to this book.

This book has received numerous awards and honors including a National Book Award Finalist in 2008, and the 2009 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction.

Jennie's Review

Online Resources:
http://madwomanintheforest.com/teachers/historical-chains/
http://www.slavenorth.com/index.html

Ida B. Wells: Let the Truth Be Told

Ida B. Wells: Let the Truth Be Told

Written by: Walter Dean Myers
Illustrated by: Bonnie Christensen

Easy Readability

"Ida B. Wells was an extraordinary woman. Long before boycotts, sit-ins, and freedom rides, Ida B. Wells was hard at work to better the lives of African Americans.

An activist, educator, writer, journalist, suffragette, and pioneering voice against the horror of lynching, she used fierce determination and the power of the pen to educate the world about the unequal treatment of blacks in the United States. Award-winning author Walter Dean Myers tells the story of this legendary figure, which blends harmoniously with the historically detailed watercolor paintings of illustrator Bonnie Christensen."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://learningtogive.org/lessons/unit17/lesson4.html
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/calendar-activities/african-american-journalist-wells-20660.html#websites

The Groundbreaking, Chance-Taking Life of George Washington Carver and Science and Invention in America

The Groundbreaking, Chance-Taking Life of George Washington Carver and Science and Invention in America

Written and Illustrated by: Cheryl Harness

"Harness presents Carver as a man who, regardless of constant hardship and racial prejudice, persevered to become a beloved teacher and devoted scientist. From the beginning, she puts his life in historical context by looking at the effects of racism on his career choices and by talking about the achievements and beliefs of his contemporaries, many of whom he knew. The author raises challenging questions throughout, especially when she discusses debates over whether Carver was truly a great scientist or more a public thinker who promoted science to help better understand the world. The lively prose style conveys his sense of passion and adventure about the man and his intellectual pursuits, and the simple black-and-white drawings add a further sense of drama. This is not just a good choice for biography assignments; it's also a strong recommendation for a nonfiction read-aloud and as a way to interest fiction readers in biography."

School Library Journal Review

Online Resources:
http://people.pppst.com/george-washington-carver.html

On My Journey Now: Looking at African-American History Through the Spirituals

On My Journey Now: Looking at African-American History Through the Spirituals

Written by: Nikki Giovanni

"The songs written and first sung by African-American slaves were inspired by a host of human needs: to express emotion, to call God, to remain heartened under oppression, and, perhaps most importantly, to communicate covertly, often about the Underground Railroad. Giovanni brings these motives home in this short, impressionistic look at the lives of the slaves, beginning with their holding in places such as Cape Coast Castle and Goree Island, through the end of the Civil War, when members of divided families desperately attempted to track one another down. Giovanni is a poet, and the book has cadence; in tone, it almost reads like the transcript of a speech or sermon, as the author is generous with her own opinions and often refers to herself within the text."

School Library Journal Review

Online Resources:
http://nikki-giovanni.com/
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/nikki-giovanni

The Dred Scott Case: Testing the Right to Live Free

The Dred Scott Case: Testing the Right to Live Free

Written by: Jennifer Fleischner

"The author describes the case of the slave suing for his family’s freedom based on the fact that he had lived in free territories. The author discusses the political and economic ramifications of the case."

Social Studies Center (SSC)

Online Resources:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2933.html
http://digital.wustl.edu/d/dre/index.html

The Forbidden Schoolhouse: The True and Dramatic Story of Prudence Crandall and Her Students

The Forbidden Schoolhouse: The True and Dramatic Story of Prudence Crandall and Her Students

Written by: Suzanne Jurmain

Junior High and High School Grades

"Jurmain has plucked an almost forgotten incident from history and has shaped a compelling, highly readable book around it. In 1831, Prudence Crandall opened a school for young white ladies. When asked by an African American teenager if she might join the class, Crandall, whose sympathies were with the abolitionists, agreed. So begins a jolting episode in which Crandall turned her school into one for girls of color, and is both tormented and sued by the citizenry of Canterbury, Connecticut, who wanted no part of African Americans in their town.

Writing with a sense of drama that propels readers forward (and quoting the language of the day, which includes the word nigger), Jurmain makes painfully clear what Crandall and her students faced, while showing their courage as they stood up to those who tried to deter them. Printed on thick, snowy stock and including a number of sepia-toned and color photographs as well as historical engravings, the book's look will draw in readers. Children will be especially pleased by the appended material, which includes an epilogue that tells what became of the principals, as well as source notes for the many quotes."

American Library Association Review

Awards:
Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Award, 2006
Orbis Pictus Award, 2006

Web Resources:
http://www.cultureandtourism.org/cct/cwp/view.asp?a=2127&q=302260

Gabriel's Horses

Gabriel's Horses

Written by: Alison Hart

Easy Readability

"On a Kentucky plantation during the Civil War, slave Gabriel Alexander, 12, cares for his master's thoroughbred racehorses and dreams of being a great jockey, just like his dad. After Pa enlists with the Yankees, the boy also yearns to be a soldier and fight for freedom. At the core of this stirring historical novel is the question of what freedom means. Runaway slaves and freemen join the Yankee army only to dig ditches and collect firewood for white soldiers. The boy's first-person, present-tense narrative brings close the thrilling horse racing––on the plantation, at the race course, and in the war––and the African American history in all its complexity."

Booklist Review

Awards:
Texas Bluebonnet Nominee, 2008-2009

Web Resources:
http://suzyred.com/2008gabrielshorses.html

Nightjohn

Nightjohn

Written by: Gary Paulsen

Hardship, struggle, abuse marked the lives of slaves working on plantations in the 1850’s. Award winning author Gary Paulsen breathes life into this dark period in American History in his book Nightjohn through Sarny, a twelve-year old slave girl struggling to find her way on a southern plantation. Sarny’s life changes for the better in ways she never dreamt were possible when she meets Nightjohn, a new slave on the plantation. This is a moving story about the power of friendship in the face of a dark period of American history.

Web Resources:
http://litplans.com/titles/Nightjohn_Gary_Paulsen.html
http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/amliterature/amlit_lp_nightjohn_overviewunit.htm

Lincoln and Douglass: An American Friendship

Lincoln and Douglass: An American Friendship

Written by: Nikki Giovanni
Illustrated by: Bryan Collier

Easy Readability

"Our 16th president is known for many things: He delivered the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address.He was tall and skinny and notoriously stern-looking. And he also had some very strong ideas about abolishing slavery, ideas which brought him into close contact with another very visible public figure: Frederick Douglass. Douglass was born a slave but escaped in 1838 and became one of the central figures in the American abolitionist movement.

This book offers a glimpse into the unusual friendship between two great American leaders. At a time when racial tensions were high and racial equality was not yet established, Lincoln and Douglass formed a strong bond over shared ideals and worked alongside each other for a common goal."

Publishers Synopsis

Online Resources:

http://teachingwithpicturebooks.blogspot.com/2009/09/lincoln-and-douglass-american.html

Maritcha: A Nineteenth-Century American Girl

Maritcha: A Nineteenth-Century American Girl

Written by: Tonya Bolden

"Born free in a nation stained by slavery, where free blacks had few rights and rare respect, here was a girl determined to rise, to amount to something." In this captivating biography, Bolden introduces Maritcha Reymond Lyon, born in the mid-1800s into a family of free blacks in Manhattan. Lyon found fame as a teenager in Providence, Rhode Island, when she sued the state to gain admission to the all-white high school--the only high school in town. Bolden's succinct text focuses on Lyon's growing-up, and the attractive spreads feature well-chosen archival photographs and engravings that offer a fascinating glimpse of Lyon's world of "New York City's striving class of blacks."

Lyon had a distinguished family, and Bolden shows how its members inspired her to succeed against formidable odds, even when she felt that "the iron had entered my soul." Bolden supplements quotes from Lyon's accounts with extensive research and enthralling detail, and the result is both an inspirational portrait of an individual and a piercing history about blacks in the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries--subjects rarely covered in books for youth. An author's note describes Lyon's adult achievements and lends insight into Bolden's research. Notes and a selected bibliography conclude this powerful volume."

Booklist Review

Awards:
Coretta Scott King Honor Book, 2006
Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Book Award, 2006

Web Resources:
http://www.tonyaboldenbooks.com/maritcha_a_nineteenth-century_american_girl.html

Elijah of Buxton

Elijah of Buxton

Written by: Christopher Paul Curtis

"The first child born into freedom in Buxton, Canada, a settlement of runaway slaves just over the border from Detroit, Elijah is best known in his hometown as the boy who threw up on Frederick Douglass. (Not on purpose, of course — he was just a baby then!)

But things change when a former slave calling himself the Right Reverend Zephariah W. Connerly the Third steals money from Elijah's friend Mr. Leroy, who has been saving to buy his family out of captivity in the south. Elijah joins Mr. Leroy on a dangerous journey to America in pursuit of the disreputable preacher, and he discovers firsthand the unimaginable horrors of the life his parents fled — a life from which he'll always be free, if he can find the courage to go back home."

Scholastic Press

Web Resources:
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=31083_type=Book_typeId=4743

5,000 Miles to Freedom: Ellen and William Craft's Flight from Slavery

5,000 Miles to Freedom: Ellen and William Craft's Flight from Slavery

Written by: Dennis and Judith Fradin

"Both exciting escape adventure and gripping history, this account of a husband and wife on the run from slavery traces their journey to freedom in the U.S and across the world. Ellen is a light-skinned African American, daughter of the master who raped her mother. Disguised as a wealthy Southern gentleman, she escapes with her husband, William, disguised as her slave, and they travel by train and steamboat to freedom in Boston. When their astonishing story makes the fugitive couple famous, slave catchers come after them, so the Crafts leave for England, where they continue their abolitionist work, until their return home after the Civil War. The Fradins, whose many fine histories include Ida B. Wells (2000), draw heavily on the Crafts' personal accounts to add depth and drama to the carefully documented narrative. The handsome design includes lots of photos, archival artwork, letters, and newspaper accounts."

Booklist Review

Online Resources:
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/wpa/wpahome.html

Slavery and Abolition in American History

Slavery and Abolition in American History

Written by: Linda Jones Altman

"This series entries that provide portraits of difficult periods in American history. Altman focuses on the history of slavery and the rise of the Abolition movement. Her text is filled with anecdotes about some of the movement's key figures, which help alleviate some of the dryness of the text. Ziff approaches her subject through reports on the progress and the effect of Reconstruction on the life of Robert Fitzgerald, a former Union soldier, teacher, and free black who moved South to be a teacher in Virginia and North Carolina. These vignettes help bring the story of this time to life."

School Library Journal Review

Online Resources:
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/afam007.html
http://www.ushistory.org/more/timeline.htm

Buffalo Soldiers

Buffalo Soldiers

Written by: Catherine Reef

"This book recounts the deeds of the 9th and 10th Cavalry, comprised of African American soldiers who kept peace between Indians and settlers on the western frontier, fought in the Spanish-American War, and pursued the outlaw Pancho Villa through Mexico."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.buffalosoldier.net/
http://www.buffalosoldiermuseum.com/

Day of Tears

Day of Tears

Written by: Julius Lester

"On March 2 and 3, 1859, the largest auction of slaves in American history took place in Savannah, Georgia. More than 400 slaves were sold. On the first day of the auction, the skies darkened and torrential rain began falling. The rain continued throughout the two days, stopping only when the auction had ended. The simultaneity of the rain storm with the auction led to these two days being called "the weeping time." Master storyteller Julius Lester has taken this footnote of history and created the crowning achievement of his literary career.

Julius Lester tells the story of several characters including Emma, a slave owned by Pierce Butler and caretaker of his two daughters, and Pierce, a man with a mounting gambling debt and household to protect. Emma wants to teach his daughters—one who opposes slavery and one who supports it—to have kind hearts. Meanwhile, in a desperate bid to survive, Pierce decides to cash in his “assets” and host the largest slave auction in American history. And on that day, the skies open up and weep endlessly on the proceedings below.

Using the multiple voices of enslaved Africans and their owners, Julius Lester has taken a little-known, all-true event in American history and transformed it into a heartbreaking and powerfully dramatic epic on slavery, and the struggle to affirm humanity in the midst of it."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.tnj.com/life-style/travel/savannah-ga
http://www.slavevoyages.org/tast/index.faces
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/slaveauction.htm

To Be a Slave

To Be a Slave

Written by: Julius Lester

"To be a slave. To be owned by another person, as a car, house, or a table is owned. To live as a piece of property that could be sold...

This book is about how it felt. The words of black men and women who had themselves been slaves are here, accompanied by Julius Lester's historical commentary and Tom Feelings's powerful and muted paintings, To Be a Slave has been a touchstone in children's literature for over thirty years."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/slavery-us/activity/10981.html
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=364

Amistad: A Long Road to Freedom

Amistad: A Long Road to Freedom

Written by: Walter Dean Myers

"In 1839, there was a rebellion on the slave ship Amistad. In a bloody struggle, the African captives aboard rebelled against their kidnappers and declared mutiny. While trying to sail the ship home, the Africans accidentally ended up in New York. They were later imprisoned and put on trial for murder. Award-winning author Walter Dean Myers's probing look at this triumph over indignity and injustice shows the events' effect on the country America has become."

Product Description

Online Resources:
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/amistad/