Submitted by Tess from Lexington Park!
Our Children Can Soar: A Celebration of Rosa, Barack, and the Pioneers of Change by Michelle Cook, with illustrations by a variety of talented artists, is an excellent book for Black History Month, or any time of year you want to have a conversation with your child about the monumental achievements of African Americans throughout our country’s history. Beginning with the buffalo soldiers of the civil war, and ending with the election of Barack Obama and a promise of hope for the future, it features such heroes as George Washington Carver, Jesse Owens, Ruby Bridges, Ella Fitzgerald, and Thurgood Marshall, who all lead the way to inspire generations after them to dream and succeed. This is an upliftifting and powerful book, that may even bring tears to your eyes! See this book listed in our catalog
African American
The Other Side
Submitted by Tess from Lexington Park!
I love Jacqueline Woodson. I’ve had the privilege to see her speak several times and her classic The Other Side almost always comes up. She was inspired by a modern, urban setting, but the illustrator E.B. Lewis interpreted her words as referring to a time and place of segregation. It’s the story of two girls, one black and one white, Clover and Annie, who live on different sides of a fence that divides their town. After watching each other all summer, Clover feels brave enough one day to approach the fence to talk to Annie. They might not be able to go over the fence, but they can sit on top of it together. This is a heart-warming tale of a color-blind friendship, written in a style children can relate to, that I treasure and hope you will too. See this book listed in our catalog
Peeny Butter Fudge
Submitted by Catherine from Charlotte Hall!
Anyone who has ever had a Nana (or Grandma) knows how awesome they are. There is nothing better in the world than spending a day with Nana when Mom and Dad go out to take care of boring grown up stuff. In Peeny Butter Fudge by Toni and Slade Morrison, with illustrations by Joe Cepeda, the reader gets to spend the day with three kids and Nana. Nana is the awesome kind of Grandma who does everything from story telling, to potato sack races. She can even make nap time fun! But the best thing of all is her “Peeny Butter Fudge,” a recipe that’s been past down through the family. And now you can make it too from the recipe in the back! This rhythmic and rhyming story will have parents and kids smiling together as they think about fun times with their Nana. See this book listed in our catalog
How Do You Wokka-Wokka?
Submitted by Jill from Leonardtown!
How Do You Wokka-Wokka? by Elizabeth Bluemle is a rhythmic treat with a boppin’ beat. “Some days you wake up and you just gotta wokka… get you dance on.” That’s the case with one youngster who wakes up on a fine morning and sets out through his friendly, culturally diverse city neighborhood to gather up his friends. Each neighbor, when asked the question “How do you wokka-wokka?” shows off their own special dance. Some dance like “flamingos in a flocka,” others like “a clock go ticka-tocka.” As the crowd of dancers grows, the day turns into a rocking, “wokka-wokka party on the block-a” complete with balloons and whole dancing families. You’ve just got to read this book aloud, and follow it up with your own special wokka! See this book listed in our catalog
Ron’s Big Mission
Ron’s Big Mission by Rose Blue and Corinne J. Naden, and illustrated by Don Tate, is a truly inspirational story. Ron McNair loved to go the library and look through books about airplanes and space. But he couldn’t check them out and take them home, because he was black, and this story takes place in the south during the time of segregation. Only white people could have a library card, and Ron thought this was unfair. One day he had enough. In protest of the unfair rules, he climbed up on the library’s front desk and refused to come down. They called the police! They called his mom! Finally the librarian gives him a card and Ron takes his books home. And Ron grew up to be an astronaut! When he tragically died in the Challenger accident, they dedicated his childhood hometown library to his memory.
A Taste of Colored Water
Matt Faulkner’s A Taste of Colored Water is an engaging story about an important issue. When Abbey Finch informs Jelly and LuLu that she saw a fountain of colored water in the big city, they decide they need to see it for themselves. It’s probably just one of Abbey’s crazy stories, but what if isn’t? Can you imagine a fountain of water all the colors of the rainbow? And probably the flavor of assorted fruits! So they decide to tag along the next time Uncle Jack has to drive to the city. But Jelly and Lulu live in the south during the civil rights movement. And the “colored” sign over their fountain of water, is just part of the unfair Jim Crow laws popular there at the time. It’s an unfortunate discovery for them to make. Being children, they wonder “what color does a person have to be to get a taste of colored water?”