Don Tate

Duke Ellington’s collaboration with a classically trained colleague resulting in unique rendition of the ‘Nutcracker Suite’ comes to life in jazzy text and illustrations; a CD is included.

Effa Manley, born when jazz was new and sports were segregated, was passionate about fairness and baseball. She was to become the first woman inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame along with players from the Negro Baseball League. Her life is presented in stylized illustration and clear text, for an intriguing portrait of a person and a time.

Alice McGill retells the tales she heard growing up in North Carolina with the verve and informality of a storyteller. Some are familiar, others are less well known, but all involve Bruh (Brer) Rabbit and his companions from the lore of the southern United States.

As a kid, Lonnie fiddled around with toy rockets and more. But all of his tinkering led to a career in engineering, working at NASA and inventing the Super Soaker! His life is engagingly presented in text and illustration.