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From the Old West of the 1880s to the jazz clubs of the 1920s, this month's books paint a rich and varied portrait of African-Americans. World-famous figures, such as Martin Luther King, and obscure ones such as Aunt Clara Brown, become vivid and real through these books. Not only is it important for children of color to know their history and the sacrifice of those who came before them, it is crucial for all children to know about America's past, so they can ensure change and hope in the future. These stories help, in a roundabout way, to underscore the importance of the recent Supreme Court ruling to keep higher education options open to minorities. Among these open doors surely walks another King, another jazz virtuoso. For ages 5-8 Heaven's All-Star Jazz Band Written and illustrated by Don Carter (Alfred A. Knopf, 40 pages, hardcover, $15.95) Louis Armstrong. Dizzy Gillespie. Duke Ellington. These are just a few of the musical greats who inhabit jazz heaven in this wonderful book. Author-illustrator Don Carter uses an intriguing collage technique, incorporating painted backdrops and three-dimensional characters that seem to pop from the page, to inhabit the imagined all-star jazz heaven. This is where Grandpa Jack, who loved jazz with a passion, has gone now that he has passed away. When he reaches heaven, he finds a club called Cotton and the world's greatest jazz musicians playing. There's Charles Mingus, with angel wings, plucking his bass, Duke Ellington, elegant as ever, at the grand piano, Billie Holiday, with trademark gardenia in her hair, at the standup microphone. The last page contains a mini-biography of all the great artists mentioned in the book, as well as the author's picks of favorite songs from each. Our People Written by Angela Shelf Medearis; illustrated by Michael Bryant (McGraw Hill, 28 pages, hardcover, $14.95) Through the simple conversation of a young girl and her father, the legacy of African-Americans is narrated in this educational book. The father and daughter explore the accomplishments of their people from the days of ancient Egypt, through explorations with Ponce de Leon and Columbus, through surviving slavery in America, to the inventions and scientific discoveries of Lewis Latimer and George Washington Carver. The little girl, through the encouragement of her father, knows that she, too, can accomplish anything she sets out to do. It is a book about history as well as future possibility. The illustrations by Michael Bryant are colorful and charming. For ages 8 and up My Brother Martin - A Sister Remembers Written by Christine King Farris; illustrated by Chris Soentpiet (Simon & Schuster, 34 pages, hardcover, $17.95) Christine King Farris is the older sister of Martin Luther King. In this charming book, she writes about their childhood growing up in the segregated Atlanta of the 1930s and '40s. While the world knows King as the brave and noble leader of the American civil-rights movement, Farris lets us in on the prankish and fun-loving boy that he was. Young Martin loved to play ball and tag and other childhood games. It wasn't until two young white friends told him they couldn't play with him any more that he realized what being black in America meant at that time. And it was then he told his mother that someday he would turn the world "upside down." The book is lovingly written, and the illustrations are outstanding - lifelike and highly detailed. The Civil Rights Movement for Kids: A History With 21 Activities Written by Mary C. Turck (Chicago Review Press, 208 pages, paperback, $14.95) Imagine laws that order where you can sit on a bus or movie theater, drink from a water fountain or use a restroom. It's hard for a child of today, black or white, to understand segregation. But this well-written and detailed book takes children on an exploration of those laws, as well as the people behind the movement to end them. Each chapter focuses on a specific time period and includes profiles of significant leaders. It spans the late 1940s through the struggles of today. Among the activities: writing a Freedom Ride journal; sharing a freedom feast with friends; conducting an attitudes-on-race survey; learning how to do a letter-writing campaign for prisoners of conscience. One More Valley, One More Hill: The Story of Aunt Clara Brown Written by Linda Lowery (Random House, 240 pages, hardcover, $15.95) When it comes to American history, there is no lack of fascinating characters to read about. Sometimes the most interesting ones can be those who are unfamiliar to us. Aunt Clara Brown is such a person. Born into slavery, she became a Western pioneer who crossed the country on foot to live in the Colorado frontier. She was an entrepreneur who eventually became one of the wealthiest women in the West. And she was a philanthropist, donating her money when people were in need. She did all of this after receiving her freedom at age 56. Author Linda Lowery paints a vivid picture of the Old West, and a fascinating portrait of one of its stellar citizens. |
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