Book picks similar to
My Name Is Truth: The Life of Sojourner Truth by Ann Turner
picture-books
biography
nonfiction
picture-book
Juneteenth for Mazie
Floyd Cooper - 2015
She is ready to celebrate freedom. She is ready to celebrate a great day in American history — the day her ancestors were no longer slaves. Mazie remembers the struggles and the triumph, as she gets ready to celebrate Juneteenth.This beautiful story by award-winning author and illustrator Floyd Cooper will captivate both children and adults.
Above the Rim: How Elgin Baylor Changed Basketball
Jen Bryant - 2020
One of the first professional African-American players, he inspired others on and off the court. But when traveling for away games, many hotels and restaurants turned Elgin away because he was black. One night, Elgin had enough and staged a one-man protest that captured the attention of the press, the public, and the NBA.Above the Rim is a poetic, exquisitely illustrated telling of the life of an underrecognized athlete and a celebration of standing up for what is right.
All the Way to the Top: How One Girl's Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything
Annette Bay Pimentel - 2020
She never thought her wheelchair could slow her down, but the way the world around her was built made it hard to do even simple things. Like going to school, or eating lunch in the cafeteria.Jennifer knew that everyone deserves a voice! Then the Americans with Disabilities Act, a law that would make public spaces much more accessible to people with disabilities, was proposed to Congress. And to make sure it passed, Jennifer went to the steps of the Capitol building in Washington DC to convince them.And, without her wheelchair, she climbed.ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP!
The First Step: How One Girl Put Segregation on Trial
Susan E. Goodman - 2016
Then one day she was told she could never come back. She didn't belong. The Otis School was for white children only.Sarah deserved an equal education, and the Roberts family fought for change. They made history. Roberts v. City of Boston was the first case challenging our legal system to outlaw segregated schools. It was the first time an African American lawyer argued in a supreme court.These first steps set in motion changes that ultimately led to equality under the law in the United States. Sarah's cause was won when people--black and white--stood together and said, No more. Now, right now, it is time for change!With gorgeous art from award-winning illustrator E. B. Lewis, The First Step is an inspiring look at the first lawsuit to demand desegregation--long before the American Civil Rights movement, even before the Civil War.Backmatter includes: integration timeline, bios on key people in the book, list of resources, and author's note.
Ruth and the Green Book
Calvin Alexander Ramsey - 2010
Along the way they encounter prejudice, but they also discover The Green Book, a real guide to accommodations which was published for decades to aid African-American travelers as they faced prejudice on the roads across the country.
Shirley Chisholm is a Verb!
Veronica Chambers - 2020
Now young readers will learn about her early years, her time in Congress, her presidential bid and how her actions left a lasting legacy that continues to inspire, uplift, and instruct.
Libba: The Magnificent Musical Life of Elizabeth Cotten
Laura Veirs - 2018
Elizabeth Cotten was only a little girl when she picked up a guitar for the first time. It wasn't hers (it was her big brother's), and it wasn't strung right for her (she was left-handed). But she flipped that guitar upside down and backwards and taught herself how to play it anyway. By age eleven, she'd written "Freight Train," one of the most famous folk songs of the twentieth century. And by the end of her life, people everywhere—from the sunny beaches of California to the rolling hills of England—knew her music.
Miss Moore Thought Otherwise: How Anne Carroll Moore Created Libraries for Children
Jan Pinborough - 2013
Reading wasn’t all that important for children, many thought. Luckily Miss Anne Carroll Moore thought otherwise! This is the true story of how Miss Moore created the first children’s room at the New York Public Library, a bright, warm room filled with artwork, window seats, and most important of all, borrowing privileges to the world’s best children’s books in many different languages.
The Doctor with an Eye for Eyes: The Story of Dr. Patricia Bath
Julia Finley Mosca - 2017
Meet Dr. Bath—the scientist who never lost sight of her dreams!As a girl coming of age during the Civil Rights Movement, Patricia Bath made it her mission to become a doctor. When obstacles like racism, poverty, and sexism threatened this goal, she persevered—brightening the world with a game-changing treatment for blindness!The Doctor with an Eye for Eyes: The Story of Dr. Patricia Bath is the second book in a brand new educational series about the inspirational lives of amazing scientists! In addition to the illustrated rhyming tale, you'll find a complete biography, fun facts, a colorful timeline of events, and even a note from Dr. Bath herself!
We Wait for the Sun
Dovey Johnson Roundtree - 2021
But with the fierce and fearless Grandma Rachel at her side, the woods turn magical, and berry picking becomes an enchanting adventure that ends with the beauty and power of the sunrise.A memory from Dovey Johnson Roundtree’s childhood. With Grandma Rachel’s lessons as her guiding light, Dovey Mae would go on to become a trailblazer of the civil rights movement—fighting for justice and equality in the military, the courtroom, and the church.
Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop: The Sanitation Strike of 1968
Alice Faye Duncan - 2018
Martin Luther King Jr.'s final stand for justice before his assassination--when her father, a sanitation worker, participated in the protest.In February 1968, two African American sanitation workers were killed by unsafe equipment in Memphis, Tennessee. Outraged at the city's refusal to recognize a labor union that would fight for higher pay and safer working conditions, sanitation workers went on strike. The strike lasted two months, during which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was called to help with the protests. While his presence was greatly inspiring to the community, this unfortunately would be his last stand for justice. He was assassinated in his Memphis hotel the day after delivering his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" sermon in Mason Temple Church. Inspired by the memories of a teacher who participated in the strike as a child, author Alice Faye Duncan reveals the story of the Memphis sanitation strike from the perspective of a young girl with a riveting combination of poetry and prose.
This Is Your Time
Ruby Bridges - 2020
This volume features photographs from the 1960s and from today, as well as jacket art from The Problem We All Live With, the 1964 painting by Norman Rockwell depicting Ruby’s walk to school.
Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah
Laurie Ann Thompson - 2015
With that achievement he forever changed how his country treats people with disabilities, and he shows us all that one person is enough to change the world.
Me, Frida
Amy Novesky - 2010
It is the first time she has left her home in Mexico. And Frida wants to be a painter too.But as Frida begins to explore San Francisco on her own, she discovers more than the beauty, diversity, and exuberance of America. She finds the inspiration she needs to become one of the most celebrated artists of all time.Me, Frida is an exhilarating true story that encourages children to believe in themselves so they can make their own dreams soar.Praise for Me, Frida"The writing is lucid, the emotions are universal, and the illustrations soar. Glowing with warm, vibrant colors, the charcoal and acrylic paintings create distinctive, statuesque people within imaginatively conceived landscapes, cityscapes, and interiors." –Booklist
Jump at the Sun: The True Life Tale of Unstoppable Storycatcher Zora Neale Hurston
Alicia D. Williams - 2021
Now, her mama always told her that if she wanted something, “to jump at de sun”, because even though you might not land quite that high, at least you’d get off the ground. So Zora jumped from place to place, from the porch of the general store where she listened to folktales, to Howard University, to Harlem. And everywhere she jumped, she shined sunlight on the tales most people hadn’t been bothered to listen to until Zora. The tales no one had written down until Zora. Tales on a whole culture of literature overlooked…until Zora. Until Zora jumped.