Book picks similar to
The Jazz of Our Street by Fatima Shaik


music
picture-books
african-american
diverse

Hello Goodbye Dog


Maria Gianferrari - 2017
    So when Zara has to go to school, WHOOSH, Moose escapes and rushes to her side.Hello, Moose!Unfortunately, dogs aren't allowed at school and Moose has to go back home.Goodbye, Moose.But Moose can't be held back for long. Through a series of escalating escapes, this loyal dog always finds her way back to Zara, and with a little bit of training and one great idea, the two friends find a way to be together all day long.

The Water Princess


Susan Verde - 2016
    But clean drinking water is scarce in her small African village. And try as she might, Gie Gie cannot bring the water closer; she cannot make it run clearer. Every morning, she rises before the sun to make the long journey to the well. Instead of a crown, she wears a heavy pot on her head to collect the water. After the voyage home, after boiling the water to drink and clean with, Gie Gie thinks of the trip that tomorrow will bring. And she dreams. She dreams of a day when her village will have cool, crystal-clear water of its own.

My Rainbow


Trinity Neal - 2020
    And on one quiet day, playtime leads to an important realization: Trinity wants long hair like her dolls. She needs it to express who she truly is.So her family decides to take a trip to the beauty supply store, but none of the wigs is the perfect fit. Determined, Mom leaves with bundles of hair in hand, ready to craft a wig as colorful and vibrant as her daughter is.With powerful text by Trinity and DeShanna Neal and radiant art by Art Twink, My Rainbow is a celebration of showing up as our full selves with the people who have seen us fully all along.

Emma and Julia Love Ballet


Barbara McClintock - 2016
    Julia is big. They both love ballet. Emma takes ballet lessons. So does Julia. Emma is learning to be a ballerina.  Julia is a professional ballerina.   They are both excited about the big performance in the theater tonight. Emma will be watching from the audience.  Julia will be dancing onstage! And afterward, Emma will go backstage to meet her ballet hero!

Follow the Drinking Gourd


Jeanette Winter - 1988
    in full color. "Winter's story begins with a peg-leg sailor who aids slaves on their escape on the Underground Railroad. While working for plantation owners, Peg Leg Joe teaches the slaves a song about the drinking gourd (the Big Dipper). A couple, their son, and two others make their escape by following the song's directions. Rich paintings interpret the strong story in a clean, primitive style enhanced by bold colors. The rhythmic compositions have an energetic presence that's compelling. A fine rendering of history in picturebook format."--(starred) Booklist.

Mae Among the Stars


Roda Ahmed - 2018
    She imagined herself surrounded by billions of stars, floating, gliding, and discovering.She wanted to be an astronaut.Her mom told her, "If you believe it, and work hard for it, anything is possible.”Little Mae’s curiosity, intelligence, and determination, matched with her parents' encouraging words, paved the way for her success at NASA as the first African American woman to travel in space.

I Have a Dream


Martin Luther King Jr. - 1973
    The appendixes include texts of some of King's most famous speeches.

One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia


Miranda Paul - 2015
    But what happens when a bag breaks or is no longer needed? In Njau, Gambia, people simply dropped the bags and went on their way. One plastic bag became two. Then ten. Then a hundred.The bags accumulated in ugly heaps alongside roads. Water pooled in them, bringing mosquitoes and disease. Some bags were burned, leaving behind a terrible smell. Some were buried, but they strangled gardens. They killed livestock that tried to eat them. Something had to change.Isatou Ceesay was that change. She found a way to recycle the bags and transform her community. This inspirational true story shows how one person's actions really can make a difference in our world.

Saturday


Oge Mora - 2019
    Today would be splendid. It was Saturday! But sometimes, the best plans don’t work out exactly the way you expect….In this heartfelt and universal story, a mother and daughter look forward to their special Saturday routine together every single week. But this Saturday, one thing after another goes wrong–ruining storytime, salon time, picnic time, and the puppet show they’d been looking forward to going to all week. Mom is nearing a meltdown…until her loving daughter reminds her that being together is the most important thing of all.Author-artist Oge Mora’s highly anticipated follow up to Caldecott Honor Thank You, Omu! features the same magnificently radiant artwork and celebration of sharing so beloved in her debut picture book.

Tomás and the Library Lady


Pat Mora - 1997
    Colon's beautiful scratchboard illustrations, in his textured, glowingly colored, rhythmic style, capture the warmth and the dreams that the boy finds in the world of books. A 1999-2000 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List Book.

The Seven Chinese Brothers


Margaret Mahy - 1990
    "Exceptional." - School Library Journal, starred review

In the Garden with Dr. Carver


Susan Grigsby - 2010
    One day, Dr. George Washington Carver shows up to help the grownups with their farms and the children with their school garden.He teaches them how to restore the soil and respect the balance of nature. He even prepares a delicious lunch made of plants, including "chicken" made from peanuts. And Sally never forgets the lessons this wise man leaves in her heart and mind. Susan Grigsby's warm story shines new light on an African American scientist who was ahead of his time.

Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom


Shane W. Evans - 2011
    They run barefoot through unlit woods, sleep beneath bushes, take shelter in a kind stranger's home. Where are they heading? They are heading for Freedom by way of the Underground Railroad."A stellar introduction to the Underground Railroad, narrated by a group of slaves. Readers experience the fugitives' escape, their long nighttime journey punctuated by meetings with friends and enemies, and their final glorious arrival in a place of freedom....Though subdued in palette until the eruption of color as the figures reach the threshold of freedom, the author's collaged nocturnal paintings shimmer with an arresting luminescence." For preschool to grade 3 readers. --Jayne Damron, School Library Journal (starred review)

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.

Windows


Julia Denos - 2017
    Anything can happen on such a walk: you might pass a cat, or a friend, or even an early raccoon. And as you go down your street and around the corner, the windows around you light up one by one until you are walking through a maze of paper lanterns, each one granting you a brief, glowing snapshot of your neighbors as families come together and folks settle in for the night. With a setting that feels both specific and universal and a story full of homages to The Snowy Day, Julia Denos and E. B. Goodale have created a singular book — at once about the idea of home and the magic of curiosity, but also about how a sense of safety and belonging is something to which every child is entitled.