![Facing Frederick: The Life of Frederick Douglass, a Monumental American Man](/sites/default/files/styles/book_cover_mobile_1x/public/book/1419725467.jpg?itok=f8YFzxfK)
An engaging look at the many contributions of Frederick Douglass — including his work as a publisher, a diplomat to Haiti, a bank president, and a prolific writer. Chockful of quotes, excerpts from Douglass’s writing, and images that capture the atmosphere of the times.
Facing Frederick: The Life of Frederick Douglass, a Monumental American Man
![This Is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration](/sites/default/files/styles/book_cover_mobile_1x/public/book/0425288943_0.jpg?itok=j2UmUp_5)
The story of one family’s journey north during the Great Migration starts with a little girl in South Carolina who finds a rope under a tree one summer. She has no idea the rope will become part of her family’s history.
This Is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration
![March: Book One](/sites/default/files/styles/book_cover_mobile_1x/public/book/1603093001.jpg?itok=Msub0mW5)
John Lewis, son of a sharecropper, grew up to become an activist and later, a U.S. Congressman. His life and crucial role in the 1960s Civil Rights Movement is dramatically presented in word and image in graphic format in three volumes (March: Book Two (opens in a new window) and March: Book Three (opens in a new window)). The story of the young John Lewis can be shared with children as young as four years in the picture book biography, Preaching to the Chickens: The Story of Young John Lewis written by Jabari Asim, illustrated by E.B. Lewis.
March: Book One
![Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation](/sites/default/files/styles/book_cover_mobile_1x/public/book/0060780053_0.jpg?itok=8-ahrX09)
Journals, letters and other primary sources were used to introduce “a few of the women who helped… make [the United States] a nation where everyone could pursue the happiness promised when America declared independence…” Line and wash illustrations enhance the brief entries of these intriguing but largely unknown women.
Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation
![Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer](/sites/default/files/styles/book_cover_mobile_1x/public/book/0763665312.jpg?itok=54nySGGW)
Stirring poems and vibrant collage illustrations combine to celebrate the life of Fannie Lou Hamer, a champion of the Civil Rights and voting rights movements during the 1950s through the 1970s. Born in the Mississippi delta, the youngest of 20 children, Hamer had to drop out of school after sixth grade to work in the cotton fields before she became a powerful voice for her people. The book vividly brings to life Hamer’s legacy with a message of hope, determination, and strength.
Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer
![Friends for Freedom: The Story of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass](/sites/default/files/styles/book_cover_mobile_1x/public/book/1580895689.jpg?itok=OtUtc5E_)
An unlikely friendship developed between a white woman, Susan B. Anthony, and Frederick Douglass, a man born into slavery. Both were opposed to slavery and both recognized its similarity to women’s rights. A readable, well documented text and realistic illustrations present the engaging story of their friendship and their accomplishments.
Friends for Freedom: The Story of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass
![Elizabeth Started All the Trouble](/sites/default/files/styles/book_cover_mobile_1x/public/book/0786851422.jpg?itok=8igbd_Ej)
Women could not attend college, enter politics or vote when the United States was established. Over time, however, because of the work started by many women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and her friend, Lucretia Mott, contemporary women can vote, work and more. Vivid language and dramatic illustrations present the early trailblazers and their work. Additional information concludes this slim but informative volume.
Elizabeth Started All the Trouble
![Coretta Scott King: I Kept on Marching](/sites/default/files/styles/book_cover_mobile_1x/public/book/0802738265.jpg?itok=Jo7y8GEy)
Before she married Martin Luther King, Coretta Scott was known for her beautiful singing voice – and for her willingness to stand up for what was right. This installment of the series is similar in appearance and appeal as women from different historical times and places share the series title in common; each were “Women Who Broke the Rules.”
Coretta Scott King: I Kept on Marching
![Chasing Freedom: The Life Journeys of Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony, Inspired by Historical Facts](/sites/default/files/styles/book_cover_mobile_1x/public/book/0439793386.jpg?itok=KP3-1yUv)
Underground Railroad “conductor” Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony, a staunch proponent of women’s suffrage, lived during the same period in US history and actually met several times. Grimes richly imagines what they might have talked about at these meetings, contextualizing the period’s history and major events. Illustrations use strong lines and bold color to provide more than visual interest but also suggesting the strength of two remarkable women.
Chasing Freedom: The Life Journeys of Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony, Inspired by Historical Facts
![Lillian’s Right to Vote: A Celebration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965](/sites/default/files/styles/book_cover_mobile_1x/public/book/0385390289.jpg?itok=-JmiYNN_)
As the older woman, Ms Lillian, walks a steep hill to vote. While walking, she remembers the precipitous climb that those who preceded her made so that she could cast her ballot. The storyteller’s tone of the text and dramatic illustrations tell a powerful story.
Lillian’s Right to Vote: A Celebration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965
![Marvelous Cornelius: Hurricane Katrina and the Spirit of New Orleans](/sites/default/files/styles/book_cover_mobile_1x/public/book/1452125783.jpg?itok=35gfTKyO)
Cornelius Washington was proud of his hometown, New Orleans. His job as a sanitation worker was important before Hurricane Katrina devastated the city but became even more important after when Cornelius worked with others to help restore it. Textured illustrations and a hope-filled narrative combine fact with fiction for a moving look at a catastrophic event.
Marvelous Cornelius: Hurricane Katrina and the Spirit of New Orleans
![Because They Marched](/sites/default/files/styles/book_cover_mobile_1x/public/book/0823429210.jpg?itok=J2qSDrO_)
Fifty years ago well-known civil rights leaders came together with other lesser known but key individuals in Selma, Alabama. Events leading to breaking down the barriers to voting rights for African Americans are detailed through strong images and moving, well-documented narrative.
Because They Marched
![Seeds of Freedom: The Peaceful Integration of Huntsville, Alabama](/sites/default/files/styles/book_cover_mobile_1x/public/book/0763669199.jpg?itok=fNzs6MI9)
Huntsville, Alabama, home to the Marshall Space Center, was desegregated nonviolently during the 1960s. The people there nurtured the seeds planted by Martin Luther King, Jr. and others as they worked for equality. Realistic watercolors are expressive, effectively evoking the period and people.
Seeds of Freedom: The Peaceful Integration of Huntsville, Alabama
![My Name Is Truth: The Life of Sojourner Truth](/sites/default/files/styles/book_cover_mobile_1x/public/book/0060758988.jpg?itok=SZ6NBjNs)
Isabella Baumfree was born into slavery but she would not remain enslaved. Instead, she took the name Sojourner Truth and a famous orator for the abolition of slavery and for women’s rights. Sojourner’s words swirl throughout deeply colored pages of expressive illustrations.
My Name Is Truth: The Life of Sojourner Truth
![Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X](/sites/default/files/styles/book_cover_mobile_1x/public/book/144241216X.jpg?itok=I3MKqQux)
Words are powerful; they can inspire and they can be hurtful, as Shabazz demonstrates in this touching look at her father’s early life. Realistic illustrations combine with a compelling narration to examine a man and the turbulent times in which he lived. Older, more sophisticated readers may gain more from Shabazz’s X: A Novel (opens in a new window).
Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X
![Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909](/sites/default/files/styles/book_cover_mobile_1x/public/book/0061804428.jpg?itok=tD4HFHnA)
In the early 20th century, Clara Lemlick and her family immigrated to the United in search of a better life. The tough garment work in New York City didn’t deter Clara who persevered and helped better life for both women and men workers. A simple text combines with mixed media illustrations for a glimpse into early activism and unions.
Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909
![Write On, Mercy! The Secret Life of Mercy Otis Warren](/sites/default/files/styles/book_cover_mobile_1x/public/book/1590788222.jpg?itok=wXoMpYkr)
In the 1700s, women were relegated to home and house duties — but not Mercy Otis! Her father believed in educating girls and boys. Even after marrying James Warren, Mercy wrote about the politics of Massachusetts. Her accomplishments come alive through a straightforward text with inserts of Mercy’s writing and illustrations that evoke the period.
Write On, Mercy! The Secret Life of Mercy Otis Warren
![Miss Moore Thought Otherwise: How Anne Carroll Moore Created Libraries for Children](/sites/default/files/styles/book_cover_mobile_1x/public/book/054747105X.jpg?itok=p27fZqBg)
Here’s the true story of how Anne Carroll Moore created the first children’s room at the New York Public Library — a bright, welcoming room filled with art, reading nooks, and (most importantly) borrowing privileges to the world’s best children’s books. The folk art style illustrations capture a sense of history in the making. In the end notes, you can learn more about Moore and other pioneering children’s librarians.
Miss Moore Thought Otherwise: How Anne Carroll Moore Created Libraries for Children
![Rachel Carson and Her Book that Changed the World](/sites/default/files/styles/book_cover_mobile_1x/public/book/0823423700.jpg?itok=9IPw0_S8)
Rachel Carson was a shy child, always drawn to nature. She grew up to become a professional biologist and enter a field with few women and write a book that changed the way people looked at the environment. Soft, cartoon-like illustrations and straightforward narrative present an overview of Carson’s life; sources are included at the end.
Rachel Carson and Her Book that Changed the World
![""](/sites/default/files/styles/book_cover_mobile_1x/public/2023-04/let-it-shine.jpeg?itok=qGN_LSqG)
Brief sketches of the lives of both well (e.g. Harriet Tubman) and lesser known African American women (e.g., Biddy Mason) and their impact on civil rights are presented in the lively language of a storyteller sure to read aloud well. Vibrant, stylized Illustrations enhance the evocative text to complete the thought-provoking portraits.
Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters
![Words Set Me Free: The Story of Young Frederick Douglass](/sites/default/files/styles/book_cover_mobile_1x/public/book/1416959033.jpg?itok=8MwKqu5V)
A young Frederick Douglass narrates this handsome, moving, and authentic story of his early life as a slave, his desire to learn, and plans to escape slavery. The child who grew up to be an abolitionist, memorable writer, and orator knew that words — reading — would set him free.
Words Set Me Free: The Story of Young Frederick Douglass
![""](/sites/default/files/styles/book_cover_mobile_1x/public/2023-07/we-march.jpg?itok=trBGkes5)
Two children aroused by their parents join a march for equal rights. Short sentences and semi-abstract illustrations convey the children’s evolving feelings as they join scores of others in what adults recognize as an historic march for civil rights.
We March
![Underground](/sites/default/files/styles/book_cover_mobile_1x/public/book/1596435380.jpg?itok=2ACZ2Jgq)
Brief, staccato text and dark-hued, mixed-media illustrations convey the drama of enslaved people escaping on the Underground Railroad. There is limited light and grave danger until the family reaches freedom in this seemingly simple yet rich and sophisticated book.
Underground
![My Uncle Martin's Words for America](/sites/default/files/styles/book_cover_mobile_1x/public/book/1419700227.jpg?itok=7B0SVfIu)
Martin Luther King’s niece recalls how the power of her uncle’s words and his strength of conviction changed the United States. Realistic illustrations, straightforward language, and factual back matter create an accessible glimpse of the man and his place in history.