Carole Boston Weatherford

Celebrated author Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrator Floyd Cooper provide a powerful look at the Tulsa Race Massacre, one of the worst incidents of racial violence in our nation's history. The book traces the history of African Americans in Tulsa's Greenwood district and chronicles the devastation that occurred in 1921 when a white mob attacked the Black community. News of what happened was largely suppressed, and no official investigation occurred for seventy-five years. This picture book sensitively introduces young readers to this tragedy and concludes with a call for a better future.

The Tulsa Race Massacre

Unspeakable

A collage-illustrated collection of poems and spirituals inspired by the life and work of civil rights advocate Fannie Lou Hamer.

Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement

Voice of Freedom

2017 Caldecott Honor 2017 Coretta Scott King Honor 2017 Charlotte Zolotow Award A 2016 New York Times Best Illustrated Book This poetic, nonfiction story about a little-known piece of African American history captures a human’s capacity to find hope and joy in difficult circumstances and demonstrates how New Orleans' Congo Square was truly freedom’s heart. Mondays, there were hogs to slop, mules to train, and logs to chop. Slavery was no ways fair. Six more days to Congo Square. As slaves relentlessly toiled in an unjust system in 19th century Louisiana, they all counted down the days until Sunday, when at least for half a day they were briefly able to congregate in Congo Square in New Orleans. Here they were free to set up an open market, sing, dance, and play music. They were free to forget their cares, their struggles, and their oppression. This story chronicles slaves' duties each day, from chopping logs on Mondays to baking bread on Wednesdays to plucking hens on Saturday, and builds to the freedom of Sundays and the special experience of an afternoon spent in Congo Square. This book will have a forward from Freddi Williams Evans (freddievans.com), a historian and Congo Square expert, as well as a glossary of terms with pronunciations and definitions. AWARDS: 2017 Caldecott Honor winner 2017 Coretta Scott King Honor winner for illustration A New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2016 A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2016 A School Library Journal Best Book of 2016: Nonfiction Starred reviews from School Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, and The Horn Book Magazine

Freedom in Congo Square

This poetic book is a resounding tribute to Tubman's strength, humility, and devotion. With proper reverence, Weatherford and Nelson do justice to the woman who, long ago, earned over and over the name Moses.

When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom

Moses

In a powerful novel in verse, an award-winning author offers an eye-opening look at the life of Marilyn Monroe. From the day she was born into a troubled home to her reigning days as a Hollywood icon, Marilyn Monroe (née Norma Jeane Mortenson) lived a life that was often defined by others. Here, in a luminous poetic narrative, acclaimed author Carole Boston Weatherford tells Marilyn's story in a way that restores her voice to its rightful place: center stage. Revisiting Marilyn's often traumatic early life--foster homes, loneliness, sexual abuse, teen marriage--through a hard-won, meteoric rise to stardom that brought with it exploitation, pill dependency, and depression, the lyrical narrative continues through Marilyn's famous performance at JFK's birthday party, three months before her death. In a story at once riveting, moving, and unflinching, Carole Boston Weatherford tells a tale of extraordinary pain and moments of unexpected grace, gumption, and perseverance, as well as the inexorable power of pursuing one's dreams. A beautifully designed volume.

A Verse Novel of Marilyn Monroe

Beauty Mark

E. B. Lewis

From Mother Africa with Love

From an award-winning author and critically acclaimed artist comes a stunning and deeply moving picture book based on the popular spiritual. The classic lyrics have been reworked to chronicle the milestones, struggles, tragedies, and triumphs of African American history. A perfect gift or timeless keepsake! ★ "Gorgeous and enlightening."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review This inspirational book encapsulates African American history and invites conversations at all levels. Carole Boston Weatherford’s riveting text and Frank Morrison’s evocative and detailed paintings are informative reminders of yesterday, hopeful images for today, and aspirational dreams of tomorrow. Stretching more than four hundred years, this book features pivotal moments in history, such as the arrival of enslaved people in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619; Nat Turner's rebellion; the integration of the US military; the Selma to Montgomery marches; and peaceful present-day protests. It also celebrates the feats of African American musicians and athletes, such as Duke Ellington and Florence Griffith Joyner. Visually stunning and incredibly timely, this book reckons with a painful history while serving as a testament to the human spirit's ability to persevere in even the most hopeless of circumstances. Its universal message of faith, strength, and resilience will resonate with readers of all ages. The end of the book includes descriptions of the people, places, and events featured, along with a note from the author.

A Modern Retelling of the Classic Spiritual

Standing in the Need of Prayer

the Greensboro Sit-Ins

Freedom on the Menu

The Beatitudes form the backdrop for Weatherford's free-verse poem that traces the African American journey from slavery to civil rights.

from slavery to civil rights

The Beatitudes

Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library

Describes Tubman's spiritual journey as she hears the voice of God guiding her north to freedom on that very first trip to escape the brutal practice of forced servitude.  Tubman would make nineteen subsequent trips back south, never being caught, but none as profound as this first one.

when Harriet Tubman led her people to freedom

Rhyming text celebrates the Harlem neighborhood that successful African Americans first called home during the 1920s. Includes brief biographies of jazz greats Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Sonny Rollins, and Miles Davis; artists Aaron Douglas and Faith Ringgold; entertainers Lena Horne and the Nicholas Brothers; writer Zora Neale Hurston; civil rights leader W. E. B. DuBois; and lawyer Thurgood Marshall.

Rhyming text celebrates the Harlem neighborhood that successful African Americans first called home during the 1920s.

Harlem's historic neighborhood

Sugar Hill

Winner of the Coretta Scott King Illustration Award! From a New York Times bestselling author and an acclaimed illustrator comes this vibrant portrait of Aretha Franklin that pays her the R-E-S-P-E-C-T this Queen of Soul deserves. Aretha Franklin was born to sing. The daughter of a pastor and a gospel singer, her musical talent was clear from her earliest days in her father’s Detroit church where her soaring voice spanned more than three octaves. Her string of hit songs earned her the title “the Queen of Soul,” multiple Grammy Awards, and a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. But Aretha didn’t just raise her voice in song, she also spoke out against injustice and fought for civil rights. This authoritative, rhythmic, Coretta Scott King Illustration Award–winning picture book biography will captivate young readers with Aretha’s inspiring story.

Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul

RESPECT

"In stanzas of six lines each, each line representing one side of a box, ... poet Carole Boston Weatherford ... narrates Henry Brown's story of how he came to send himself in a box from slavery to freedom"--Provided by publisher.

BOX: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom

At night, a ghost visits the library to find the answer to a riddle.

The Library Ghost

Explore the roots of rap in this stunning, rhyming, triple-timing picture book! A generation voicing stories, hopes, and fears founds a hip-hop nation. Say holler if you hear. The roots of rap and the history of hip-hop have origins that precede DJ Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash. Kids will learn about how it evolved from folktales, spirituals, and poetry, to the showmanship of James Brown, to the culture of graffiti art and break dancing that formed around the art form and gave birth to the musical artists we know today. Written in lyrical rhythm by award-winning author and poet Carole Boston Weatherford and complete with flowing, vibrant illustrations by Frank Morrison, this book beautifully illustrates how hip-hop is a language spoken the whole world 'round, it and features a foreward by Swizz Beatz, a Grammy Award winning American hip-hop rapper, DJ, and record producer.

16 Bars on the 4 Pillars of Hip-Hop

The Roots of Rap

"A prayer from mother to son that he will always in safe hands"--

In Your Hands

A picture-book biography of the first African-American first lady that features lyrical text and stunning illustrations that are a stirring tribute to a remarkable woman who has worked hard and achieved great things.

First Mom

Michelle Obama

From a creative team with multiple Caldecott Honors comes this vibrant portrait of Aretha Franklin that pays her the R-E-S-P-E-C-T this Queen of Soul deserves. Aretha Franklin was born to sing. The daughter of a pastor and a gospel singer, her musical talent was clear from her earliest days in her father’s Detroit church where her soaring voice spanned more than three octaves. Her string of hit songs earned her the title “the Queen of Soul,” multiple Grammy Awards, and a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. But Aretha didn’t just raise her voice in song, she also spoke out against injustice and fought for civil rights. This authoritative, rhythmic picture book biography will captivate young readers with Aretha’s inspiring story.

Carole Boston Weatherford

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