“I can hear change humming/ In its loudest, proudest song./ I don’t fear change coming,/ And so I sing along.” As a young girl leads a cast of characters on a musical journey, they learn that they have the power to make changes — big or small — in the world, in their communities, and in most importantly, in themselves. Lyrical text and rhythmic illustrations is a call to action for everyone to use their abilities to make a difference.
Change Sings: A Children’s Anthem
In this picture book about voting and elections, the students of Stanton Elementary School learn how we can find — and use — our voices for change. Every two years, on the first Tuesday of November, the school closes for the day so that it can transform itself into a polling station. People can come from all over to vote for the people who will make laws for the country. The students might be too young to vote themselves, but that doesn’t mean they can’t encourage their parents, friends, and family to vote! After all, voting is how this country sees change — and by voting today, we can inspire tomorrow’s voters to change the future.
Vote for Our Future
Storms delay travelers at a Chicago airport but it is a lost toddler and a mistake by TSA staff that connects young Asian Americans in this series of interconnected short stories by a range of Asian American writers. Sometimes humorous, sometimes serious, the book highlights the diversity of Asian Americans as well as the biases they often confront.
You Are Here: Connecting Flights
Based on the true story of a boy in Brooklyn who became neighbors and friends with his hero, Jackie Robinson. In 1948, when eight-year-old Steve learns that his African American baseball hero Jackie Robinson — who broke the color barrier in the sport the previous year — will be the new next-door neighbor in his all-Jewish Brooklyn neighborhood, he gains knowledge about respect, friendship, and unity.
The Hero Two Doors Down
Sharon Robinson shares memories of her famous father in this warm loving biography of the man who broke the color barrier in baseball. Jackie Robinson was an outstanding athlete, a devoted family man and a dedicated civil rights activist. Includes never-before-published letters by Jackie Robinson, as well as photos from the Robinson family archives.
Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America
A portrait of the baseball legend, written by his daughter, traces the events that led up to Robinson’s historic signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers and his role in promoting the desegregation of baseball.
Jackie Robinson: American Hero
A realistic account of what it means to be an activist as a young kid. This memoir follows Sharon, the daughter of color barrier-breaking baseball player Jackie Robinson, as she navigates systemic anti-Black racism in America while being a preteen. This is the story of how one girl finds her voice in the fight for justice and equality.
Child of the Dream (A Memoir of 1963)
A picture book biography about how Carter G. Woodson became known as the “father of Black History” that also highlights the importance of literacy and being an informed citizen. Woodson, a child of formerly enslaved parents, grew up listening to family and friend’s stories and reading the newspaper to his father. Woodson was inspired to pursue more knowledge about the histories and lives of Black people, and to share these stories. Illustrations also feature brief biological sketches of important figures from African and African American history.
Carter Reads the Newspaper
Born Chloe Ardelia Wofford in Ohio, Toni Morrison grew up listening to her family tell myths, legends, and stories from the Bible. She loved hearing the music and power of the words. After an early childhood of soaking up tales from those around her, it was no surprise Toni grew into a voracious reader. When it came time for her to write her own stories, she knew she wanted to write about her people — Black people — and she began working on what would become an acclaimed and trailblazing body of work. Back matter includes further reading on Toni Morrison’s life and work.
On Her Wings: The Story of Toni Morrison
A comprehensive look at heroes, heroines, and critical moments from African American history— from the slave trade to the Black Lives Matter movement. In addition to the larger chronological narrative, the book also features short biographies of famous leaders, artists, and athletes. Key issues, events, and concepts are explored succinctly. Filled with vivid illustrations that bring these figures and events to life, plus a removable historical timeline poster.
A Child’s Introduction to African American History
This civil rights book examines the little-known Tennessee’s Fayette County Tent City Movement in the late 1950s and reveals what is possible when people unite and fight for the right to vote. Powerfully conveyed through interconnected stories and told through the eyes of a child, this book combines poetry, prose, and rich illustrations to shine light on this forgotten history.
Evicted!: The Struggle for the Right to Vote
The story of American slavery through the voice of a teacher struggling to help her students understand its harrowing history. From the fireside tales in an African village, through the unspeakable passage across the Atlantic, to the backbreaking work in the fields of the South, this is a story of a people’s struggle and strength, horror and hope. A testament to the resilience of the African American community, this book honors what has been and envisions what is to be.
An American Story
Ethel Payne always had an ear for stories. Seeking truth, justice, and equality, Ethel followed stories from her school newspaper in Chicago to Japan during World War II. It even led her to the White House briefing room, where she broke barriers as the only black female journalist. Ethel wasn’t afraid to ask the tough questions of presidents, elected officials, or anyone else in charge, earning her the title, “First Lady of the Black Press.”
The Power of Her Pen: The Story of Groundbreaking Journalist Ethel L. Payne
Letter by letter, this picture book celebrates a story that spans continents and centuries, triumph and heartbreak, creativity and joy. It’s a story of big ideas — P is for Power, S is for Science and Soul. Of significant moments — G is for Great Migration. Of iconic figure — H is for Zora Neale Hurston, X is for Malcom X. In addition to rhyming text, the book includes back matter with information on the events, places, and people mentioned in the poem, from Mae Jemison to W. E. B. Du Bois, Fannie Lou Hamer to Sam Cooke, and the Little Rock Nine to DJ Kool Herc.
The ABCs of Black History
You’ve heard the names Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King, but what about the many other women who were crucial to the Civil Rights Movement? Told through twelve short biographies, this book celebrates just some of the many Black women — each of whom has been largely underrepresented until now — who were instrumental to the nation’s fight for civil rights and the contributions they made in driving the movement forward.
Justice Rising: 12 Amazing Black Women in the Civil Rights Movement
Maya Angelou was the first Black poet and the first woman to recite poetry at a Presidential Inauguration. Her life is introduced in free verse and realistic collage to evoke the poet and her work. A timeline and notes from the award-winning author and illustrator conclude this memorable portrait.
Maya’s Song
Emmett Till was only 14 years old when he was murdered in 1955 in the South. His mother demanded her son be sent home to Chicago. “It was the braver thing that changed everything.” Mamie became an activist for social justice that helped launch the Civil Rights Movement. Lyrical text and expressive cut-paper illustrations convey the haunting story made accessible to sophisticated younger readers.
Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement
When Mac opens his copy of a book by Jane Yolen, he discovers that there are words that have been blacked out with a permanent marker. When he and his friends set out to find out what and who don’t want them to read these words, it begins a journey of true self-discovery and activism. Based on actual events experienced by the author’s son, this remarkable novel is sure to generate important discussion.
Attack of the Black Rectangles
Bentley met and married Swift Deer. One had escaped slavery, the other had escaped the Trail of Tears. Together they had a beautiful daughter named Magnolia who fell in love with a man, John, that her father did not approve of, so Magnolia and John fled Florida to be together. Rich illustrations add depth to the capable retelling of the Hurston short story, now made accessible to younger audiences.
Magnolia Flower
Carnegie Hall opened in 1891 to become the site in New York where everyone from Duke Ellington to Bob Dylan performed. Stern was not only a violin virtuoso, but he was also an effective community organizer who worked tirelessly to save the grand hall in the face of great opposition. His tenacity and music swirl throughout the lively illustrations and carefully crafted language. Additional information is appended.
The Greatest Song of All: How Isaac Stern United the World to Save Carnegie Hall
Can one small child with one small seed and a big wish change the world? Maybe they can. Lush, delicate illustrations and a gently rhyming text depict a child as a seed is planted in an arid environment, and from that seed grows more plants with seeds. “They say you can’t change the world…/But help things grow, you never know…/…maybe you might.”
Maybe You Might
Based on the true story of one family’s struggle for voting rights in the civil rights-era South, this story shines an emotional spotlight on a dark facet of U.S. history. One morning, when Granddaddy heads into town in his fancy suit, Michael knows that something very special must be happening — and sure enough, everyone is lined up at the town hall! For the very first time, Granddaddy is allowed to vote, and he couldn’t be more proud.
Granddaddy’s Turn: A Journey to the Ballot Box
Featuring Woodrow G. Washingtail, a civic-minded mouse with presidential ambitions, readers will follow Woodrow as he runs for president of the United Mice of America — introducing children to campaigning, elections, volunteering, and more.
Woodrow for President: A Tail of Voting, Campaigns, and Elections
The descendant of Cherokee ancestors who had been forced to walk the Trail of Tears, Wilma Mankiller experienced her own forced removal from the land she grew up on as a child. As she got older and learned more about the injustices her people had faced, she dedicated her life to instilling pride in Native heritage and reclaiming Native rights. She went on to become the first woman Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.