The Great Migration: Journey to the North


Eloise Greenfield - 2010
    Mama and Daddy leaving home, coming to the city, with their hopes and their courage, their dreams and their children, to make a better life. In this beautiful collection of poems and collage artwork, award winners Eloise Greenfield and Jan Spivey Gilchrist gracefully depict the experiences of families like their own, who found the courage to leave their homes behind during the Great Migration and make new lives for themselves elsewhere. When Eloise Greenfield was four months old, her family moved from their home in Parmele, North Carolina, to Washington, D.C. Before Jan Spivey Gilchrist was born, her mother moved from Arkansas and her father moved from Mississippi. Both settled in Chicago, Illinois. Though none of them knew it at the time, they had all become part of the Great Migration.The Great Migration concludes with a bibliography.

Children's Book: How to Be a Superhero (A Fun Illustrated Children's Picture Book; Perfect Bedtime Story)


Rachel Yu - 2011
    It’s the perfect bedtime story for the entire family to enjoy. Teen author, Rachel Yu, is residing happily ever after, in her own Castle of Brilliance. Another quality children picture book from the father and daughter team of Michael and Rachel Yu.

LeBron James: The Boy Who Became King


Anthony Curcio - 2016
    This Fully illustrated picture book biography tells the story of a young boy and his loving, single mother and their struggle to make it on their own. With the help of a coach and his family, LeBron is introduced to the game of basketball. Against all odds, “the kid from Akron” not only makes it to the NBA but becomes a basketball legend who now helps others who are struggling like he and his mother once were. Children's/Kids Picture Book Biography K-6

Let it Shine


Ashley Bryan - 2007
    Come, sing, and celebrate!

The Negro Speaks of Rivers


Langston Hughes - 2009
    Although he was only seventeen when he composed it, Hughes already had the insight to capture in words the strength and courage of black people in America.Artist E.B. Lewis acts as interpreter and visionary, using watercolor to pay tribute to Hughes's timeless poem, a poem that every child deserves to know.

Hello, Neighbor!: The Kind and Caring World of Mister Rogers


Matthew Cordell - 2020
    It introduced art, professions, food and even highlighted difficult subjects, like losing a loved one and divorce. This information was delivered both by live performers, like Fred Rogers himself and through a lively cast of puppets who lived in the land of make believe.Backmatter includes a short biography of Fred Rogers as well as exclusively published archival photos provided by Fred Rogers Productions, and an essay from the author.Available shortly after the release of the Mister Rogers' biopic, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood starring Tom Hanks, this is the perfect picture book for all who appreciate the power and beauty of Fred's mission.Thoroughly illustrated with lively and captivating drawings, by Caldecott-winning author and illustrator Matthew Cordell, Hello, Neighbor! captures the spirit of the beloved television show.A Junior Library Guild Selection!

Uptown


Bryan Collier - 2000
    . .Harlem, New York.Chicken and waffles.Jazz.Home."Uptown is a rich mix of flavors, colors, sounds, and cultures that come together to create a vibrant community like no other in the world. Seen through the eyes of one little boy who lives there, the details of life in Harlem are as joyous as a game of basketball on a summer's afternoon and as personal as a trip to the barbershop where old-timers reminisce.Bryan Collier's spare, poetic text and beautiful, intricate illustrations evoke every aspect of Harlem, from the legendary Apollo Theater to chocolate-colored brownstones, weekend shopping on 125th Street, and the music of Duke Ellington.Uptown is the winner of the 2001 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award.

Rap A Tap Tap


Leo Dillon - 2002
    Bill "Bojangles" Robinson was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1920s-30s. People said he "talked with his feet," and in the Dillons' graceful paintings of old New York, he dances from page to page to the tune of a toe-tapping rhyme. Rap a tap tap--think of that!

Jazz Day: The Making of a Famous Photograph


Roxane Orgill - 2016
    Could he pull it off? In a captivating collection of poems, Roxane Orgill steps into the frame of Harlem 1958, bringing to life the musicians’ mischief and quirks, their memorable style, and the vivacious atmosphere of a Harlem block full of kids on a hot summer’s day. Francis Vallejo’s vibrant, detailed, and wonderfully expressive paintings do loving justice to the larger-than-life quality of jazz musicians of the era. Includes bios of several of the fifty-seven musicians, an author’s note, sources, a bibliography, and a foldout of Art Kane’s famous photograph.

How Jelly Roll Morton Invented Jazz


Jonah Winter - 2015
    In this unusual and inventive picture book that riffs on the language and rhythms of old New Orleans, noted picture book biographer Jonah Winter (Dizzy, Frida, You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?) turns his focus to one of America's early jazz heroes in this perfectly pitched book about Jelly Roll Morton.Gorgeously illustrated by fine artist Keith Mallett, a newcomer to picture books, this biography will transport readers young and old to the musical, magical streets of New Orleans at the turn of the 20th century.A Neal Porter Book

The Blue Songbird


Vern Kousky - 2017
    But whenever she tries, she cannot get the tune right. Her mother encourages her to leave home and find a song that only she can sing. With courage and tenacity, she travels the world, seeking advice from a crane, an owl, and a mean-looking crow, and other birds, hoping they will lead her to her special song.

The Hunterman and the Crocodile


Baba Wagué Diakité - 1997
    A hunterman and a crocodile take turns being captive and captor in a humorous folktale that teaches the importance of living in harmony with nature and is illustrated with ceramic-tile paintings.

Jazzy Miz Mozetta


Brenda C. Roberts - 2004
    When she hears the neighborhood kids' music, she's inspired to dance, but her old friends have too many aches and pains to join her. The kids doubt that Miz Mozetta would be able to keep up with them. So she retreats to her parlor, where she dreams about the old days at the Blue Pearl Ballroom. Just when her feet are itching to get out there and do the jitterbug -- friends or no friends -- a knock comes on the door, and Miz Mozetta gets some welcome company. Lively, colorful illustrations and a rhythmic text make for a jazzy dance party that readers will delight in attending again and again. "Jazzy Miz Mozetta" is the winner of the 2005 Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe New Talent Award.

H.O.R.S.E.: A Game of Basketball and Imagination


Christopher Myers - 2012
    Not when a layup        from the other side of the court                     standing on one foot                               with your eyes closed  is just the warm-up.Around the neighborhood, around the world, off Saturn’s rings, the pair goes back and forth. The game is as much about skill as it is about imagination. A slam dunk from multi-award-winning author/illustrator Christopher Myers, H.O.R.S.E. is a celebration of the sport of basketball, the art of trash-talking, and the idea that what’s possible is bounded only by what you can dream.

There Was a Tree


Rachel Isadora - 2012
    Now "the prettiest tree that you ever did see" is a lovely acacia tree, where a baby starling is just about to hatch. Rachel Isadora gives children a fun, easy way to follow along with the cumulative lyrics by using rebus icons for the repeated words, as she did with 12 Days of Christmas. Sheet music is also included, making this irresistible fun!