500+ Read Aloud Books for the 2016 African American Read-In

This is from NCTE: 

Host an African American Read-In
Download Badges for Online Use 

African American Read-In Resources

New for 2016!

Badges for Individual Hosts

Badges for Hosting Organizations

Click here to access the African American Read-In Toolkit and to make recommendations for future resources!

The toolkit includes complimentary bookmarks, booklists, recent articles, and more. 

During the month of February, schools, churches, libraries, bookstores, community and professional organizations, and interested citizens are urged to make literacy a significant part of Black History Month by hosting an African American Read-In. Hosting an event can be as simple as bringing together friends to share a book, or as elaborate as arranging public readings and media presentations that feature professional African American writers.

Host Responsibilities

As host, you are responsible for hosting an African American Read-In during the month of February and submitting a short report about your event that includes the location, number of attendees, and books featured. You do not need to register in advance. Note: The Host Report Card is to be submitted after your Read-In event.

It's easy as I,2,3!

To be recognized as an official African American Read-In Host:

1) Select books, poems, speeches (anything) authored by African Americans;

2) Hold your event during the month of February; and

 

3) Report results by submitting an African American Read-In Report Card

My Book Recommendations

Preschool and Kindergarten

1. Asim, Jabari. (2006). Whose Toes are Those? Illustrated by LeUyen Pham. New York: LB Kids.
2. Clifton, Lucille. (1992). The Boy Who Didn't Believe in Spring.  Illustrated by Brinton Turkle. New York: Puffin.
3. Cline-Ransome, Lesa. (2002). Quilt Alphabet. Illustrated by James Ransome. New York:  Holiday House.
4. Cline-Ransome, Lesa. (2002). Quilt Counting. Illustrated by James Ransome. New York: SeaStar Books.
5. Collier, Bryan. (2000). Uptown. New York: Henry Holt.
6. Cooke, Trish. (2008). Full, Full, Full of Love. Illustrated by Paul Howard. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Books.



from Be Boy Buzz

7. Cooke, Trish. (2008). So Much!. Illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Books. (500L)
8. Crews, Donald. (1998). Bigmama’s. New York: Greenwillow Books. 
9. Crews, Donald. (1996). Shortcut. New York: Greenwillow Books. (210L)
10. Crews, Nina. (2003). The Neighborhood Mother Goose. New York: Greenwillow Books.
11. Falwell, Cathryn. (2015). The Nesting Quilt. Thomaston, ME: Tilbury House Publishers. 
12. Falwell, Cathryn. (2013). Rainbow Stew. New York: Lee and Low Books. (740L)
13. Falwell, Cathryn. (2005). David's Drawings. NY: Lee & Low Books.
14. hooks, bell. (2002). Homemade Love.  Illustrated by Shane W. Evans. New York: Jump At The Sun.
15. hooks, bell. (2002). Be Boy Buzz. Illustrated by Chris Raschka. New York: Jump At The Sun. 
16. hooks, bell. (2001). Happy to be Nappy. Illustrated by Chris Raschka. New York: Jump At The Sun. 
17. Isadora, Rachel. (2009). The Princess and the Pea. New York: Puffin Books.
18. Johnson, Angela. (2004). Violet's Music. Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith. New York: Dial Books.
19. Johnson, Angela. (2000). Daddy Calls Me Man. Illustrated by Rhonda Mitchell. New York: Scholastic.
20. Johnson, Angela. (1993). Do Like Kyla. Illustrated by James Ransome. New York: Orchard Books. (510L)
21. Johnson, Angela. (1992). Rain Feet. Illustrated by Rhonda Mitchell. New York: Orchard Books.
22. Keats, Ezra Jack. (1998). Whistle for Willie. New York: Viking Books.
23. Keats, Ezra Jack. (1998). Peter's Chair. New York: Puffin Books.
24. Keats, Ezra Jack. (1976). The Snowy Day. New York: Puffin Books. (500L)
25. Lee, Spike. (2006). Please Baby, Please. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.
26. Lee, Spike. (2005). Please Puppy, Please. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.
27. Marley, Bob & Cedella Marley. (2012). Every Little Thing. Illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.
28. Marley, Cedella. (2011). One Love. Illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.  
29. Nelson, Kadir. (2005). He's Got the Whole World in His Hands. New York: Dial Books.
30. Onyefulu, Ifeoma. (2006). Chidi Only Likes Blue: An African Book of Colors. London: Frances Lincoln Children's Books.
31. Pinkney, Brian. (1997). Max Found Two Sticks. New York: Aladdin. (690L)
32. Weatherford, Carole Boston. (2000). Jazz Baby. Illustrated by Laura Freeman. New York: Lee & Low Books. (400L)
33. Williams, Vera B.  (1996). "More, More, More," Said the Baby. New York: Greenwillow Books.

from Beauty and the Beast, Illustrated by Pat Cummings

Primary Grades (1 - 3)

from Life Doesn't Frighten Me.

1. Adoff, Arnold. (2003). Beautiful Blackbird. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. (540L)
2. Adoff, Arnold. (2000). Touch the Poem. Illustrated by Lisa Desimini. New York: Blue Sky Press.
3. Andrews, Troy. (2015). Trombone Shorty. Illustrated by Bryan Collier.  New York: Harry N. Abrams
4. Angelou, Maya. (1993). Life Doesn't Frighten Me. Paintings by Jean-Michele Basquiat. New York: Stewart, Tabori and Chang.
5. Bandy, Michael S. & Eric Stein. (2015). Granddaddy's Turn. Illustrated James Ransome. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.
6. Barton, Chris. (2105). The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch. Illustrated by Don Tate. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Books For Young Readers. 
7. Bass, Hester. (2015). Seeds of Freedom: The Peaceful Integration of Huntsville, Alabama. Illustrated by E.B. Lewis. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.
8. Battle-Lavert, Gwendolyn. (2003). Papa's Mark. Illustrated by Colin Bootman. New York: Holiday House. 
9. Beaty, Daniel. (2013). Knock Knock: My Dad's Dream for Me. Illustrated by Bryan Collier. New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
10. Benson, Kathleen. (2015). Draw What You See: The Life and Art of Benny Andrews. Illustrated by Benny Andrews. New York: Clarion.
11. Brooks, Gwendolyn. (2007). Bronzeville Boys and Girls. Illustrated by Faith Ringgold. New York: Amistad.
12. Bryant, Jan. (2013). A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin. Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. New York:Alfred A. Knopf. 
13. Clifton, Lucille. (1988). Everett Anderson's Goodbye. Illustrated by Ann Grifalconi. New York: Holt. 
14. Cline-Ransome, Lesa. (2016). Just a Lucky So-and-So: The Story of Louis Armstrong. Illustrated by James E. Ransome. New York: Holiday House. 
15. Cline-Ransome, Lesa. (2015). Freedom's School.  Illustrated by James E. Ransome. New York: Jump at the Sun.
16. Cline-Ransome, Lesa. (2014). Benny Goodman and Teddy Wilson: Taking the Stage As the First Black-and-white Jazz Band in History. Illustrated by James E. Ransome. New York: Holiday House.
17. Cline-Ransome, Lesa. (2012). Words Set Me Free: The Story of Young Frederick Douglass. Illustrated by James E. Ransome. New York: Simon & Schuster.
18. Cooper, Floyd. (2015). Juneteenth for Mazie. North Mankato, MN: Capstone Young Readers.
19. Cooper, Floyd. (2000). Mandela: From the Life of the South African Statesman. New York: Puffin. (890 L)
20. Copeland, Misty. (2014). Firebird.  Illustrated by Christopher Myers. New York:  G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers.
21. Daly, Niki. (2007). Pretty Salma: A Little Red Riding Hood Story from Africa. New York: Clarion Books. (640L)
22. Danticat, Edwidge. (2015). Mama's Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation. Illustrated by Leslie Staub. New York: Dial Books.
23. Danticat, Edwidge. (2010). Eight Days: A Story of Haiti. Illustrated by Alix  Delinois. New York: Orchard Books.
24. Dempsey, Kristy. (2014). A Dance Like Starlight: One Ballerina’s Dream. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. New York: Philomel.
25. Derby, Sally. (2016). Jump Back, Paul: The Life and Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar. Illustrated by Sean Qualls. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
26. Diouf, Sylvianne. (2004).  Bintou's Braids. Illustrated by Shane W. Evans. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle.
27. Evans, Shane. (2012). We March. New York: Roaring Brook Press.
28. Flournoy, Valerie. (1996).  The Patchwork Quilt. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Scholastic.
29. Forman, Ruth. (2014). Young Cornrows Callin out the Moon. Illustrated by Cbabi Bayoc. New York: Lee & Low Books. 
30. Giovanni, Nikki. (2007). Rosa. Illustrated by Bryan Collier. New York: Square Fish.
31. Golio, Gary. (2015). Bird & Diz. Illustrated by Ed Young. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
32. Gourley, Robbin. (2008). Bring Me Some Apples and I'll Make You a Pie: A Story About Edna Lewis. New York: Clarion Books. (810L)
33. Greenfield, Eloise. (2009). Paul Robeson. Illustrated by George Ford. New York: Lee and Low.
34. Greenfiled, Eloise. (2008). Brothers & Sisters: Family Poems. Illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist. New York: Amistad.
35. Greenfield. Eloise. (2006). When The Horses Ride By: Children in the Time of War. Illustrated by Jan Gilchrist. New York: Lee & Low.
36. Greenfield, Eloise. (1992). Africa Dream. Illustrated by Jan Gilchrist. New York: HarperCollins.
37. Grimes, Nikki, (2008). Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope. Illustrated by Bryan Collier. NY: Simon & Schuster.
38. Grimes, Nikki. (2006). Thanks a Million. Illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera. New York: Amistad.
39. Grimes, Nikki. (2001). Danitra Brown Leaves Town. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. NY: Amistad.
40. Grimes, Nikki. (2001). A Pocketful of Poems. Illustrated by Javaka Steptoe. New York: Clarion.
41. Gringsby, Susan. (2010).  In the Garden with Dr. Carver. Illustrated by Nicole Tadgell. Morton Grove,  IL: Albert Whitman & Company. (990L)
42. Gunning, Monica. (2009). A Shelter in Our Car. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
43. Gunning, Monica. (2004). America, My New Home. Illustrated by Ken Condon. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press.
44. Gunning, Monica. (1999). Not a Copper Penny in Me House: Poems from the Caribbean. Illustrated by Frane Lessac. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press.
45. Hartfield, Claire. (2002). Me and Uncle Romie: A Story Inspired by the Life and Art of Romare Bearden. Illustrated by Jerome Lagarrigue. New York: Dial. 
46. Herkert, Barbara. (2015). Sewing Stories: Harriet Powers' Journey from Slave to Artist. Illustrated byVanessa Newton. New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers.
47. Hicks, Kyra E. (2012). Martha Ann's Quilt for Queen Victoria. Illustrated by Lee Edward Fodi. Arlington, VA: Black Threads Press.
48. hooks, bell. (2004). Skin Again. Illustrated Chris Raschka. New York: Jump At The Sun. 
49. Hopkinson, Deborah. (2005). Under the Quilt of Night.  Illustrated by James E Ransome. New York: Aladdin.
50. Hopkinson, Deborah. (1995).  Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt. Illustrated by James E Ransome. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 
51. Hughes, Langston. (2015). Sail Away. Illustrated by Ashley Bryan. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
52. Isadora, Rachel. (2008). Rapunzel. New York: G.P. Putnam. (No Lexile Level)
53. Iyengar, Malathi. (2009). Tan to Tamarind: Poems About the Color Brown. Illustrated by Jamel Akib. New York: Lee & Low Books.
54. Johnson, Angela. (2014). All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom. Illustrated by E.B. Lewis. New York:  Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.
55. Johnson, Angela. (2007). Wind Flyers. Illustrated by Loren Long. New York: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
56. Johnson, Angela. (2005). The Leaving Morning. Illustrated by David Soman. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. (510L)
57. Johnson, Angela. (1993). When I Am Old With You. Illustrated by David Soman. New York: Scholastic. (730L)
58. Johnson, Jen Cullerton. (2010). Seeds of Change: Wangari’s Gift to the World. Illustrated by Sonia Lynn Sadler. New York: Lee & Low.



from Stitchin' and Pullin': A Gee's Bend Quilt

59. Kamkwamba, William & Bryan Mealer. (2012). The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon. New York, Dial.
60. Keeler, Patricia A. (2006). Drumbeat in Our Feet. Illustrated by Julio Leitao. New York: Lee & Low. 
61. McKissack, Patricia. (2008). Stitchin' and Pullin': A Gee's Bend Quilt. Illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera. New York: Random House Books for Young Readers. 
62. Medina, Tony. (2002). Love to Langston. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. New York: Lee & Low Books.
63. Medina, Tony. (2009). I and I Bob Marley. Illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson. New York: Lee & Low.
64. Mitchell, Margaree King. (2012). When Grandmama Sings. Illustrated by James Ransome. New York: Amistad.
65. Myers, Walter Dean. (2009). Looking Like Me.  Illustrated by Christopher Myers. New York: EgmontUSA.
66. Myers, Walter Dean. (2008). Jazz.  Illustrated by Christopher Myers. New York: Holiday House.
67. Myers, Walter Dean. (2000). The Blues of Flats Brown.  Illustrated by Nina Laden. New York: Holiday House.
68. Nelson, Kadir. (2013). Nelson Mandela. New York: Katherine Tegen Books
69. Nolan, Nina. (2015). Mahalia Jackson: Walking with Kings and Queens.  Illustrated by John Holyfield. New York: Amistad.
70. Nolen, Jerdine. 2007. Thunder Rose. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. San Diego, CA: Harcourt. 
71. Ochiltree, Dianne. (2012). Molly, by Golly!: The Legend of Molly Williams, America's First Female Firefighter. Illustrated by Kathleen Kemly. Honesdale, PA: Calkins Creek. (830L)
72. Pinkney, Andrea Davis. (2009). Sojourner Truth's Step-Stomp Stride. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. New York: Jump At The Sun. 
73. Pinkney, Andrea Davis. (2008). Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney.  New York: Greenwillow Books.  
74. Pinkney, Andrea Davis. (2006). Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. New York: Hyperion Book.  



from Molly, by Golly!: The Legend of Molly Williams, America's First Female Firefighter. 

75. Pinkney, Andrea Davis. (1998). Dear Benjamin Banneker. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. New York: Sandpiper.
76. Pinkney, Andrea Davis. (1995). Alvin Ailey. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. New York: Disney-Hyperion. (880L)
77. Powell, Patricia Hruby. (2014). Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker. Illustrated by Christian Robinson. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.
78. Ramsey, Calvin Alexander. (2010). Ruth and the Green Book. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books.
79. Reynold, Aaron. (2013). Back of the Bus. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. New York: Puffin.
80. Richards, Beah E. (2006). Keep Climbing, Girls. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. New York: Simon & Schuster.
81. Ringgold, Faith. (2015). Harlem Renaissance Party. New York: Amistad. 
82. Ringgold, Faith. (2003).  If a Bus Could Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks. New York: Aladdin.
83. Ringgold, Faith. (1998). My Dream of Martin Luther King. New York: Dragonfly Books.
84. Ringgold, Faith. (1996). Tar Beach. New York: Dragonfly Books.
85. Ringgold, Faith.  (1993). Dinner at Aunt Connie's House. New York: Hyperion.
86. Rockwell, Anne.  (2000).  Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth.  Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie.  New York: Knopf. 

87. 

    from Haiti My Country: Poems by Haitian Schoolchildren.

88. Rogé. (2014). Haiti My Country: Poems by Haitian Schoolchildren. Markham, ON: Fifth House.
89. Rosales, Melodye Benson. (1999). Leola and the Honeybears: An African-American Retelling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. (800L, GR Level 34/0)
90. Russell-Brown, Katheryn. (2014). Little Melba and Her Big Trombone. Illustrated by Frank Morrison. New York: Lee & Low Books. (720L)
91. San Souci, Robert. (1989). The Talking Eggs. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Dial. (840L) (Caldecott Honor Book)
92. Shabazz, Ilyasah. (2014). Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X. Illustrated by AG Ford. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
93. Shange, Ntozake. (2004). Ellington was Not a Street. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. New York: Simon & Schuster.
94. Skead, Rob. (2013). Something to Prove: The Great Satchel Paige Vs. Rookie Joe DiMaggio. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Picture Books.
95. Steptoe, John. (2008). Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale. New York: Puffin. (720L, GR Level 30/N)
96. Stroud, Bettye. (2007). The Patchwork Path: A Quilt Map to Freedom. Illustrated by Erin Susanne Bennett. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
97. Tate, Don. (2012). It Jes’ happened: When Bill Traylor Started to Draw. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. New York: Lee & Low.
98. Thomas, Joyce Carol. (2008). The Blacker the Berry. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. New York: Amistad.
99. Thomas, Joyce Carol. (1995). Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. New York: Harper Collins.
100. Thompson, Laurie Ann. (2015). Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah. Illustrated by Sean Qualls. New York: Schwartz & Wade.
101. Troupe, Quincy. (2005). Little Stevie Wonder. Illustrated by Lisa Cohen. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
102. Watson, Renee. (2012). Harlem's Little Blackbird. Illustrated by Christian Robinson. New York: Random House Books for Young Readers. (770L)
103. Weatherford, Carole Boston. (2014).  Leontyne Price: Voice of a Century. Illustrated by Raúl Colón. New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers.  
104. Weatherford, Carole Boston. (2015). Gordon Parks: How the Photographer Captured Black and White America. Illustrated by Jamey Christoph. Park Ridge, IL: Albert Whitman & Company. 
105. Weatherford, Carole Boston & Sean Quails (Illus.). (2008). Before John was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane. New York: Henry Holt.
106. Weatherford, Carole Boston. (2001). Sidewalk Chalk: Poems of the City. Illustrated by Dimitrea Tokumbo. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press.
107. Williams, Vera B.  (2007). A Chair for My Mother. New York: Greenwillow Books.
108. Williams, Vera B. (2004). Amber was Brave, Essie was Smart. New York: HarperTrophy.
109. Williams, Vera B.  (1991). Cherries and Cherry Pits. New York: Greenwillow Books.
110. Winter, Jeanette. (2008). Wangari’s Trees of Peace. New York: Houghton Mifflin. (730 L)
111. Winter, Jonah. (2015). How Jelly Roll Morton Invented Jazz. Illustrated by Keith Mallett. New York: Roaring Brook Press.
112. Woodson, Jacqueline. (2015). Visiting Day. Illustrated by James Ransome. New York: Puffin Books.
113. Woodson, Jacqueline. (2013). This Is the Rope: A Story From the Great Migration. Illustrated by James Ransome. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books. (1090L)
114. Woodson, Jacqueline. (2012). Each Kindness. Illustrated by E.B. Lewis. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books. (640L)
115. Woodson, Jacqueline. (2005). Show Way. Illustrated by Hudson Talbott. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers. (720L)

from Chasing Freedom: The Life Journeys of Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony, Inspired by Historical Facts.

Intermediate & Middle Grades (4-8)

1. Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem and Raymond Obstfeld. (2012). What Color Is My World? The Lost History of African American Inventors. Illustrated by Ben Boos. And A.G. Ford. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.
2. Adedjouma, Davida, (Ed.). (1996). The Palm of My Heart: Poetry by African American Children. Illustrated by Gregory Christie. New York: Lee & Low Books.
3. Alexander, Kwame. (2014). The Crossover. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt..
4. Alko, Selina. (2015). The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage. Illustrated by Sean Qualls & Selina Alko. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books.
5. Armand, Glenda. (2011). Love Twelve Miles Long. Illustrated by Colin Bootman. New York: Lee & Low.
6. Bolden, Tonya. (2015). Maritcha: A Nineteenth-Century American Girl. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers. 
7. Cheng, Andrea. (2013). Etched in Clay, The Life of Dave, Enslaved Potter and Poet. New York: Lee and Low Books.
8. Clinton, Catherine. (Ed.). (1998). I, Too, Sing America: Three Centuries of African American Poetry. Illustrated by Stephen Alcorn. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
9. Curtis, Christopher Paul. (2013). The Mighty Miss Malone. New York: Yearling. (750L)
10. Curtis, Christopher Paul. (2004). Bud, not Buddy. New York: Laurel Leaf. (950L)
11. Curtis, Christopher Paul. (1995). The Watson's Go to Birmingham. 1963. New York: Delacort.






12. Danticat, Edwidge. (2013). The Last Mapou. Paintings by Edouard Duval-Carrie. Brooklyn, NY: One Moore Book.
13. Danticat, Edwidge. (2002). Behind the Mountains. New York: Scholastic.
14. Dawes, Kwame. (2004). I Saw Your Face. Illustrated by Tom Feelings. New York: Dial.
15. Draper, Sharon . (2015). Stella by Starlight. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
16. Dray, Philip. (2008). Yours for Justice, Ida B. Wells: The Daring Life of a Crusading Journalist. Illustrated by Stephen Alcorn. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree Publishers.
17. Dunbar, Paul Laurence. (1999). Jump Back Honey:  The Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar.  Illustrated by Ashley Bryan, Carole Byard, Jan Spivey Gilchrist, Brian Pinkney, Jerry Pinkney and Faith Ringgold. New York: Hyperion.
18. Elliott, Zetta. (2008). Bird. Illustrated by Shadra Strickland. New York: Lee & Low.
19. Frame, Jeron Ashford. (2008). Yesterday I Had the Blues. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. Berkeley, CA: Tricycle.
20. Giovanni, Nikki (Ed.). (2008). Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A celebration of poetry with a beat. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, Inc.
21. Grady, Cynthia. (2011). I  Lay My Stitches Down: Poems of American Slavery.  Illustrated by Michele Wood. Grand Rapi

    ds, MI: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.
22. Grimes, Nikki. (2015). Chasing Freedom: The Life Journeys of Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony, Inspired by Historical Facts. Illustrated by Michele Wood. New York: Orchard Books.
23. Grimes, Nikki. (2013). Words with Wings. Honesdale, PA: WordSong.
24. Grimes, Nikki. (2003). Talkin’ About Bessie. Illustrated by E.B. Lewis. NY: Orchard.
25. Hamilton, Virginia. (2000). The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales. Illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon and James Earl Jones. New York: Knopf.
26. Hamilton, Virginia. (1997). A Ring of Tricksters: Animal Tales from America, the West Indies, And Africa. Illustrated by Barry Moser. New York: Blue Sky Press.
27. Haskins, Jim. (2005). Delivering Justice: W.W. Law and the Fight for Civil Rights. Illustrated by Benny Andrews. New York: Lee & Low Books.
28. Hill, Laban Carrick. (2013). When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop.  Illustrated by Theodore Taylor. New York: Roaring Brook Press. (910L)
29. Hill, Laban Carrick. (2010). Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave.  Illustrated by Bryan Collier. New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. (1100L)
30. Hughes, Langston. (2012). I, Too, Am America. Illustrated by Bryan Collier. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.
31. Hughes, Langston. (2009). The Negro Speaks of Rivers. Illustrated by E.B. Lewis. New York: Hyperion.
32. Hughes, Langston. (2007). The Dream Keepers and Other Poems. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. New York: Knopf Books.
33. Igus, Toyomi. (2009). I See the Rhythm. Illustrated by Michele Wood. New York: Lee & Low Books.
34. Lawrence, Jacob. (1995). The Great Migration: An American Story. New York: HarperCollins.
35. Lester, Julius. (2007). Days of Tears: A Novel in Dialogue. New York: Hyperion.
36. Lovejoy, Sharon. (2014). Running Out of Night. New York: Delacorte Books for Young Readers.
37. Lyons, Mary E. (2014). Roy Makes a Car. Illustrated by Terry Widener. New York: Atheneum.
38. Lyons, Mary E. (1993). Stitching Stars: The Story of Quilts of Harriet Powers. New York: Atheneum. 
39. McKissack, Patricia C. (2011). Never Forgotten. Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. New York: Schwartz & Wade. 
40. McKissack, Patricia C. (2001). The Dark Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. New York: Yearling. 
41. Morpurgo, Michael. (2015). A Medal for Leroy. New York: Squarefish.
42. Muse, Daphne (Ed.). (2005). Entrance Place of Wonders: Poems of the Harlem Renaissance. Illustrated by Charlotte Riley Webb. New York: Abrams.
43. Myers, Walter Dean. (2008). Ida B. Wells: Let the Truth Be Told. New York: Amistad.
44. Nelson, Kadir. (2013). Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans. New York: Harper Collins.
45. Nelson, Kadir. (2008). We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball. New York: Jump at the Sun. (900L)
46. Nelson, Marilyn. (2001). Carver: A Life in Poems. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mill Press.
47. Neri, G. (2007). Chess Rumble. New York: Lee & Low Books.
48. Perdamo, William. (2005). Visiting Langston. Illustrated by Bryan Collier. New York: Henry Holt.
49. Pinkney, Andrea Davis. (2015).  Rhythm Ride: A Road Trip Through the Motown Sound. New York: Roaring Brook Press. 
50. Pinkney, Andrea Davis. (2013). Let it Shine: Stories of Black Freedom Fighters. Illustrated by Stephen Alcorn. New York: HMH Books for Young Readers.
51. Pinkney, Andrea. (2012). Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. New York: Hyperion.
52. Ringgold, Faith. (2011). Henry Ossawa Tanner: His Boyhood Dream Comes True. Piermont, NH: Bunker Hill Publishing.
53. Rhodes, Jewell Parker. (2015). Bayou Magic. New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
54. Rhodes-Pitts, Sharifa. (2015). Jake Makes a World: Jacob Lawrence, A Young Artist in Harlem. Illustrated by Christopher Myers. New York: MOMA.
55. Rhuday-Perkovich,  Olugbemisola. (2010). 8th Grade Superzero. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books.
56. Rosa, Sonia. (2015). When the Slave Esperança Garcia Wrote a Letter.  Illustrated by Luciana Justiniana Hees. Translated by Jane Springer. Toronto, ON: Groundwood Books.
57. Ryan, Pam Muñoz.  (2002).  When Marian Sang:  The True Recital of Marian Anderson.  Illustrated by Brian Selznick. New York: Scholastic.
58. Samuelsson Marcus. (2015). Make it Messy: My Perfectly Imperfect Life. New York: Delacorte Books for Young Readers.
59. Scattergood, Augusta. (2015). The Way to Stay in Destiny. New York: Scholastic.
60. Shange, Ntozake. (2012). Freedom’s a-Callin Me. Illustrated by Rod Brown. New York: Amistad.
61. Smith Charles R. (2015). 28 Days: Moments in Black History that Changed the World. Illustrated by Shane W. Evans. New York: Roaring Brook Press.
62. Smith, Charles R. (2007). Hoop Queens. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.
63. Smith, Charles. R. (2007). Twelve Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali. Illustrated by Bryan Collier. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.
64. Smith, Hope Anita. (2009). Mother Poems.  New York:  Henry Holt.
65. Smith, Hope Anita. (2003). The Way a Door Closes. Illustrated by Shane W. Evans.  New York: Henry Holt.
66. Tate, Don. (2015). Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree Publishers.
67. Taylor, Mildred. (1976). Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.  New York:  Dial.
68. Watkins, Angela Farris. (2014). Love Will See You Through: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Six Guiding Beliefs. Illustrated by Sally Wern Comport. New York:  Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.
69. Weatherford, Carole Boston. (2015). Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer: The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement. Illustrated by Ekua Holmes. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
70. Weatherford, Carole Boston. (2005). Birmingham, 1963. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong.
71. Williams, Mary. (2005). Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie.  New York:  Lee & Low Books.
72. Williams-Garcia, Rita. (2015). Gone Crazy in Alabama. New York: Amistad.
73. Williams-Garcia, Rita. (2015). P.S. Be Eleven. New York: Amistad.
74. Williams-Garcia, Rita. (2010). One Crazy Summer.  New York: Amistad.
75. Winter, Jonah. (2015). Lillian's Right to Vote: A Celebration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Illustrated by Shane W. Evans. New York: Schwartz & Wade.
76. Woodson, Jacqueline. (2014). Brown Girl Dreaming. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books.
77. Woodson, Jacqueline. (2010). Miracle Boys. New York: Speak. 
78. Woodson, Jacqueline. (2010). After Tupac and D Foster. New York:  Speak.
79. Woodson, Jacqueline. (2010).  Peace, Locomotion. 
    New York: Speak.
80. 

    from Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer: The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement
    
    

    Woodson, Jacqueline. (2010). Locomotion. New York: Speak.

High School (9-12) and Adult

1. Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. (2014). We Should All Be Feminists. New York: Vintage.
2. Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. (2014). Americanah. New York: Anchor.
3. Adoff, Arnold (Ed). (1997). I Am the Darker Brother: An Anthology of Modern Poems by African Americans. New York: Simon & Schuster.






4. Angelou, Maya. (2009). I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. New York: Ballantine. 
5. Baldwin, James. (2013). Go Tell It on the Mountain. New York: Vintage.
6. Baldwin, James. (1992). The Fire Next Time. New York: Vintage.
7. Baldwin, James. (1953/1985). Go Tell it on the Mountain. New York: Dell.
8. Baraka, Amiri. (1999.) The LeRoi Jones/Amiri Baraka Reader. New York: Basic Books.
9. Brooks, Gwendolyn. (2006). Selected Poems. New York: Harper.
10. Butler, Octavia. (2009). Kindred. New York: Beacon Press.
11. Chestnut, Charles W. (1880/2010). The Wife of His Youth and Other Stories. New York: Book Jungle.
12. Clifton, Lucille. (2000). Blessing the Boats: New and selected Poems 1988-2000. New York: BOA.
13. Clifton, Lucille. (1974). An Ordinary Woman: Poems. New York: Random House.
14. Coates, Ta-Nehisi. (2015). Between the World and Me. New York: Spiegel & Grau.
15. Conkling, Winifred. (2015). Passenger on the Pearl: The True Story of Emily Edmonson's Flight from Slavery. New York: Algonquin Young Readers. 
16. Countee, Cullen (Ed.). (1998). Caroling Dusk: An Anthology of Verse by Black Poets of the Twenties. New York: Citadel.
17. Danticat, Edwidge. (2014). Clair of the Sea Light. New York: Vintage.  
18. Danticat, Edwidge. (2010). Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
19. Danticat, Edwidge. (2008). Brother, I'm Dying. New York: Vintage.



Add caption

20. Danticat, Edwidge. (2015). Breath, Eyes, Memory: 20 Anniversary Edition. New York: Soho Press.
21. Dove, Rita. (1999). On the Bus with Rosa Parks. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
22. Dove, Rita. (1995). Mother Love. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
23. Douglass, Frederick. (1845/2011). The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. New York: Tribeca Books.
24. DuBois, W. E. B. (1903/2005). The Souls of Black Folks. New York: Simon & Schuster.
25. Dunbar, Paul Laurence. (2005). The Sports of the Gods and Other Essential Writings. New York: Modern Library.
26. Durrow, Heidi W. (2011). The Girl Who Fell from the Sky. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books. 
27. Ellison, Ralph. (1995). Invisible Man, 2nd Ed. New York: Vintage.
28. Fisher, Antwone Q. (2010). A Boy Should Know How to Tie a Tie: and Other Lessons for Succeeding for Life. New York:: Touchstone.
29. Fuller, Charles. H. (1982). A Soldier's Play. New York: Hill and Wang.
30. Gaines, Ernest J. (1997). A Lesson Before Dying. New York: Vintage.
31. Giovanni, Nikki. (2007). The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni: 1968-1998. New York: Harper.
32. Grimes, Nikki.  (2007). Dark Sons. New York: Jump at the Sun.
33. hooks, bell. (1997). Bone Black: Memories of a Girlhood. New York:Holt.
34. Hurston, Zora Neale. (2006). Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: Harper.
35. Johnson, Angela. (2000). The Other Side: Shorter Poems. New York: Orchard Books.
36. Jordan, June. (1995). June Jordan’s Poetry for the People: A Revolutionary Blueprint. New York: Routledge.
37. King, Martin Luther, Jr. (1990). A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr. New York: Harper.
38. Komunyakaa, Yusef. (2009). Warhorses: Poems. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
39. Kushner, Tony. (1993). Angels in America: Part One: Millennium Approaches. New York: Theater Communications Group.
40. Lorde, Audre. (2000). The Collected Poems of Audre Lorde. NY: W.W. Norton.
41. Marshall, Paule. Daughters. 
42. Matlwa, Kopano. (2008). Coconut. Auckland Park, South Africa: Jacana Media. 
43. Morrison, Toni. (2014). Paradise. NY: Vintage.
44. Morrison, Toni. (2009). A Mercy. NY: Vintage.
45. Morrison, Toni. (2008). What Moves at the Margins: Selected Nonfiction. Jackson, MI: University Press of Mississippi.
46. Morrison, Toni. (2004). Beloved. New York: Vintage.
47. Mosley, Walter. (2006). 47. New York: Little Brown.
48. Myers, Walter Dean. (2009). Amiri and Odette: A Love Story. Illustrated by Javaka Steptoe. New York: Scholastic Press.
49. Myers, Walter Dean. (2007). Street Love. New York: Amistad.
50. Myers,Walter Dean. (2004). Here in Harlem: Poems in Many Voices. New York: Holiday House.
51. Naylor, Gloria. (1993). Bailey's Cafe. New York: Vintage.
52. Naylor, Gloria. (1983). The Woman of Brewster Place. New York: Penguin.
53. Nelson, Marilyn. (2014). How I Discovered Poetry. New York: Dial.
54. Obama, Barack. (2007). Dreams of My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. New York: Crown.
55. Okutoro, Lydia (Ed.). (2002). Quiet Storm: Voices of Young Black Poets. New York:Jump at the Sun.
56. Packer, ZZ. (2004). Drinking Coffee Elsewhere. New York: Riverhead Books.
57. Petry, Ann. (1953/2008). The Narrows. New York: Dafina Books.
58. Reed, Ishmael. (2007). New and Collected Poems: 1964-2007. New York: DeCapo Press.
59. Robeson, Paul. (1998). Here I Stand. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
60. Shange, Ntozake. 2010. Some Sing, Some Cry. New York: St. Martin's Press.
61. Smiley, Tavis. (2002). Keeping the Faith: Stories of Love, Courage, Healing, and Hope from Black America. New York: Doubleday.
62. Sundiata, Sekou. (1997). Blue Oneness of Dreams. New York: Polygram Records.
63. Toomer, Jean. (1987). Cane. New York: Norton.
64. Troupe, Quincy. (2002). Tricircularities: New and Selected Poems. St. Paul, MN: Coffee House Press.
65. Tutu, Desmond. (1994). The Rainbow People of God: The Making of a Peaceful Revolution. New York: Doubleday.
66. Walcott, Derek. (2010). White Egrets. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.






67. West, Cornel. (2008). Hope on a Tightrope: Words and Wisdom. Carlsbad, CA: HayHouse. 
68. West, Dorothy. (1996). The Wedding. New York: Anchor.
69. Wilson, August. (1988). Joe Turner's Come and Gone. New York: Plume. 
70. Wright, Richard. (1938/2008). Uncle Tom's Children. New York: Harper.
71. X, Malcolm. (1992). By Any Means Necessary. New York: Pathfinder.
72. Young, Al. (2007). Something About the Blues. Naperville, IL:  Sourcebooks MediaFusion.

250 Book Recommendations from Jane M. Gangi

Books depicting black males slide show -sandra may 25 230pm from Mary Ann Reilly / Blueprints for Learning, Inc.

Focusing on Formative Assessment 10 Important Features

Example of student work that could be used as formative assessment.

NCTE's (2013) Position Statement on Formative Assessment is an excellent resource teachers and administrators might reference when making decisions about formative assessments.

From page 3 in the NCTE document:

"Over 30 years of research suggest formative assessment is a vital curricular component, proven to be highly effective in increasing student learning (Black & Wiliam 1998). Cizek distilled this research, identifying 10 elements across the studies that researchers have noted as important features (Cizek 8).

Formative assessment:

1. Requires students to take responsibility for their own learning. 
2. Communicates clear, specific learning goals. 
3. Focuses on goals that represent valuable educational outcomes with applicability beyond the learning context. 
4. Identifies the student’s current knowledge/skills and the necessary steps for reaching the desired goals. 
5. Requires development of plans for attaining the desired goals. 
6. Encourages students to self-monitor progress toward the learning goals. 
7. Provides examples of learning goals including, when relevant, the specific grading criteria or rubrics that will be used to evaluate the student’s work. 
8. Provides frequent assessment, including peer and student self-assessment and assessment embedded within learning activities. 
9. Includes feedback that is non-evaluative, specific, timely, and related to the learning goals, and that provides opportunities for the student to revise and improve work products and deepen understandings. 
10. Promotes metacognition and reflection by students on their work. 

Heritage further categorizes formative assessments into three types that all contribute to the learning cycle:

• “on-the-fly” (those that happen during a lesson), 
• “planned-for-interaction” (those decided before instruction), and 
• “curriculum-embedded” (embedded in the curriculum and used to gather data at significant points during the learning  process). 

Cited:

Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Inside the black box: Raising standards through classroom assessment. London: Granada Learning

Cizek, G. J. (2010). An introduction to formative assessment: History, characteristics, and challenges. In H. Andrade & G. Cizek (Eds.), Handbook of formative assessment (pp. 3–17).New York: Routledge.

Call for Submissions for #NCTE's Language Arts

I received this via email today and wanted to post here for those of you not in the NRC List serv. These are the upcoming descriptions of work that is being solicited for NCTE's Language Arts journal. The first three are advertised on the NCTE site, the remainder are not.  Here's how you submit a manuscript.

May 2013: Community Literacy/ies
Guest Editors: Rebecca Rogers and Inda Schaenen.Literacy/ies as sociocultural activities cannot be separated from the communities in which they are practiced. With literacy a continuing focus of educational policy, collaborations—between schools, families, universities, businesses, and cultural institutions—have been created to cultivate literacy development between and within communities. This issue of Language Arts explores how literacy-related collaborations influence and serve various communities. How have teachers, coaches, administrators, teaching artists, university faculty, parents, and children leveraged school-based literacy teaching and learning to serve community needs? How have community literacy practices been used to facilitate schoolbased literacy learning? What have we learned about literacy learning and development from educational interactions across communities? (Submission deadline: January 15, 2012)

July 2013: Inquiries and Insights (Summer)In this unthemed issue, we feature your current questions and transformations as educators, community members, students, and researchers. Many directions are possible in this issue. What tensions do you see in literacy education today? What do readers of Language Arts need to notice and think about? What inquiry work have you done that can stretch the field of literacy and language arts? Describe your process of learning about literature, literacy, culture, social justice, and language. What new literacy practices do you see in communities, after-school programs, and classrooms? What supports these practices? What is getting in the way of change? What connections are adults and children making as they engage in the art of language? Join us in creating a collection of inquiries and insights. (Submission deadline: March 15, 2012)

September 2013: Literacy Learning and DiscourseThe ways people interact and communicate in social communities are highly interrelated with literacy. Close looks at interactions in classrooms, those within communities outside of classrooms, and influences of new literacies on our ways of interacting have provided important information pertaining to relationships between language, learning, identity, and ideology. In this issue of Language Arts, we invite articles that examine how people communicate (e.g., gestural, spoken, visual, written, etc.) in social settings (e.g., classroom, community, Internet). How does the interrelatedness of language and literacy play out in classroom life? How have technological shifts altered how teachers and students interact around print? (Submission deadline: May 15, 2012)

To be published: July 2013, January 2014
Inquiries and Insights
In these unthemed issues, we feature your current questions and transformations as educators, community members, students, and researchers. Many directions are possible in this issue. What tensions do you see in literacy education today? What do readers of Language Arts need to notice and think about? What inquiry work have you done that can stretch the field of literacy and language arts? Describe your process of learning about literature, literacy, culture, social justice, and language. What new literacy practices do you see in communities, after-school programs, and classrooms? What supports these practices? What is getting in the way of change? Whatconnections are adults and children making as they engage in the art of language? Join us in creating a collection of inquiries and insights.(Submission deadlines: For July, 2013, deadline is March 15, 2012; for January 2014, deadline is September 2012)


To be published: September 2013

Literacy Learning and Discourse
The ways people interact and communicate in social communities are highly interrelated with literacy. Close looks at interactions in classrooms, those within communities outside of classrooms, and influences of new literacies on our ways of interacting have provided important information pertaining to relationships between language, learning, identity, and ideology. In this issue of Language Arts, we invite articles that examine how people communicate (e.g., gestural, spoken, visual, written, etc.) in social settings (e.g., classroom, community, Internet). How does the interrelatedness of language and literacy play out in classroom life? How have technological shifts altered how teachers and students interact around print?
(Submission deadline: May 15, 2012)


To be published: November 2013

Innovations
As professionals, teachers are at the forefront of innovation in the language arts. Classrooms provide the space for new ideas, new instructional techniques, and new tools--but they’re not the only place for innovation. Sometimes innovations come from home experiences, afterschool programs, libraries, and communities. We invite manuscripts that describe exciting innovative practices that are enriching the lives of young people. Who is leading the way? What should we, as fellow educators, researchers, and family members, know about what’s going on? What conditions have led to innovative spaces and practices? In what ways are the innovations inviting children to participate in the language arts? How can we follow the lead of the most innovative practitioners?
(Submission deadline: July 15, 2012)



To be published: January 2014

Common Core or Rotten Core?
As the English Language Arts Common Core Standards are being implemented in U.S. schools, what is working? What's not? What are your views of the Common Core? Are they helpful? Hurtful? Will these new national standards transform schools? Or are they fatally flawed? This issue will present research about classroom ELA instruction and policy as well as commentary from teachers and researchers about the Common Core Standards. For this call, we invite submissions that are commentaries of 350 words or less in addition to our more traditional submissions (research studies, literature reviews, and theoretical pieces that are 6500 words or less). (Submission deadline: November 2012)

Read Aloud Books for National African American Read In for 2012

During the month of February, the 22nd National African American Read In is happening. As reported by NCTE:

Schools, churches, libraries, bookstores, community and professional organizations, and interested citizens are urged to make literacy a significant part of Black History Month by hosting and coordinating Read-Ins in their communities. Hosting a Read-In can be as simple as bringing together family and friends to share a book, or as elaborate as arranging public readings and media presentations that feature professional African American writers.

To be counted as participants, simply:

1. Select books authored by African Americans; 
2. Hold your event during the month of February; and 
3. Report your results by submitting the 2012 African American Read-In Host Report Card.

You must submit a separate Host Report Card for each Read-In held.
In 1990, the first African American Read-In was sponsored by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English. In 1991, the National Council of Teachers of English joined in the sponsorship. The Read- In has been endorsed by the International Reading Association. Over a million readers of all ethnic groups, from 48 states, the District of Columbia, the West Indies, and African countries have participated. The goal is to make the celebration of African American literacy a traditional part of Black History Month activities.

Some Recommended Texts for Read Aloud

Elementary Grades

Adedjouma, Davida, (Ed.). 1996. The Palm of My Heart: Poetry by African American Children. Illustrated by Gregory Christie. New York: Lee & Low.
Angelou, Maya. 1993. Life Doesn't Frighten Me. Paintings by Jean-Michele Basquiat. NY: Stewart, Tabori and Chang.
Brooks, Gwendolyn. 2007. Bronzeville Boys and Girls. Illustrated by Faith Ringgold. NY: Amistad.
Clifton, Lucille. 1988. Everett Anderson's Goodbye. Illustrated by Ann Grifalconi.NY: Holt.
Cooper, Melrose. 1998. Gettin' Through Thursday. Illustrated by Nneka Bennett. NY: Lee & Low Books.
Danticat, Edwidge. 2010. Eight Days: A Story of Haiti. Illustrated by Alix  Delinois. NY: Orchard Books.
Diouf, Sylvianne. 2004. Bintou's Braids. Illustrated by Shane Evans. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle books.
Elliot, Zeta. 2008. Bird. Illustrated by Shadra Strickland.NY: Lee & Low Books.
 Frame, Jeron Ashford. 2003. Yesterday I Had the Blues. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. Berkeley, CA: Tricycle.
Giovanni, Nikki. 2005. Rosa. Illustrated by Brian Collier. NY: Henry Holt.

Greenfield, Eloise. 2009. Paul Robeson. Illustrated by George Ford. New York: Lee and Low.
Greenfield. Eloise. 2006. When The Horses Ride By: Children in the Time of War. Illustrated by Jan Gilchrist. NY: Lee & Low.
Grimes, Nikki, 2008. Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope. Illustrated by Bryan Collier. NY: Simon & Schuster.
Grimes, Nikki. 2003. Talkin’ About Bessie. Illustrated by E.B. Lewis. NY: Orchard.
Grimes, Nikki. 2001. Danitra Brown Leaves Town. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. NY: Amistad.
Grimes, Nikki. 2001. A pocketful of poems. Illustrated by Javaka Steptoe. New York: Clarion.
Gunning, Monica. 1999. Not a Copper Penny in Me House: Poems from the Caribbean. Illustrated by Frane Lessac. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press.
Hamilton, Virginia. 2000. The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales. Illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon and James Earl Jones. NY: Scholastic.

Hamilton, Virginia. 1997. A Ring of Tricksters : Animal Tales from America, the West Indies, And Africa. Illustrated by Barry Moser. NY: Blue Sky Press.
Hubbard, Crystal. 2008. The Last Black King of the Kentucky Derby: The Story of Jimmy Winkfield. Illustrated by Ribert McGuire. New York: Lee and Low Books.
Issa, Kai Jackson. 2008. Howard Thurman's Great Hope. Illustrated by Arthur L Dawson. New York: Lee and Low Books.
Johnson, Angela. 2007. Wind Flyers. Illustrated by Loren Long. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Johnson, Lynn. 1996. A Wave in Her Pocket: Six Stories from Trinidad. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney.
NY: Sandpiper.
Lyons, Mary E. 2005. Roy Makes a Car. Illustrated by Terry Widener. NY: Atheneum.
Medina. Tony. 2002. Love to Langston. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. NY: Lee & Low Books.

Obama, Barack. 2010. Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters. Illustrated by Loreen Long. NY: Knopf.
Queen Latifah. 2006. Queen on the Scene. Illustrated by Frank Morrison. NY: Harper Collins.
Rappaport, Doreen. 2005. The School Is Not White! A True Story of the Civil Rights Movement. Illustrated by Curtis James. NY: Jump at the Sun.
Ringgold, Faith. 1998. My Dream of Martin Luther King. NY Dragonfly Books.
Shange, Ntozake. 2004. Ellington Was Not a Street. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Steptoe, Javaka. 2001. In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers. NY: Lee & Low Books.
Thomas, Joyce Carol. 2008. The Blacker the Berry. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. NY: Amistad.
Thomas, Joyce Carol. 1995. Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. NY: Harper Collins.

Troupe, Quincy, 2005. Little Stevie Wonder. Illustrated by Lisa Cohen. NY: Houghton Mifflin.
Van Dyke, Henry. 1896/2007. The Other Wise Man. Illustrated by Robert Barrett. NY: Ideals Children's books.
Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2007. Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins. Illustrated by Jerome Lagarrigue. NY: Puffin.
Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2006. Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom.  Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. NY: Hyperion.
Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2001. Sidewalk Chalk: Poems of the City. Illustrated by Dimitrea Tokumbo. Honesdale, PA: Boyds MIlls Press.
Woodson, Jacqueline. 2010.  Peace, Locomotion. (reprint ed.) NY: Speak.
Woodson, Jacqueline. 2007.  Locomotion. (reprint ed.) NY: Speak.
Yarbrough, Camille. 1997. Cornrows. Illustrated by Carol Byard. NY: Putnam.

Middle School

Clinton, Catherine. (Ed.). 1998. I, Too, Sing America: Three Centuries of African American Poetry. Illustrated by Stephen Alcorn. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Curtis, Christopher Paul. 1995. The Watson's Go to Birmingham. 1963. NY: Delacort.
Danticat, Edwidge. 2002. Behind the Mountains. NY: Scholastic.
Elliot, Zeta. 2010. A Wish After Midnight. NY: Amazon Encore.
Giovanni, Nikki (Ed). 1996. Shimmy Shimmy Shimmy Like My Sister Kate: Looking at the Harlem Renaissance through Poetry. NY: Henry Holt.
Hughes, Langston. 2007. The Dream Keepers and Other Poems. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. NY: Knopf Books.
Jacobs, Harriet. 1861/2001. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. NY: Dover.

Lawrence, Jacob. 1995. The Great Migration: An American Story. NY: HarperCollins.
Lester, Julius. 2007. Days of Tears: A Novel in Dialogue. NY: Hyperion.
McKissack, Patricia C. 2001. The Dark Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. NY: Yearling.
Nelson, Marilyn. 2002. Carver: A Life in Poems. Asheville, NC: Front Street.
Nelson, Marilyn. 2004. Fortune's Bones: The Manumission Requiem. Asheville, NC: Front Street.
Nelson, Marilyn. 2005. A Wreath for Emmett Till. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Neri.G. 2007. Chess Rumble. NY: Lee & Low Books.
Parks, Gordon. 1987. The Learning Tree. NY: Fawcett.
Sanders, Dori. 1991. Clover. NY: Ballantine.
Shange, Ntozake. 1994. I Live in Music. Paintings by Romare Bearden. NY: Welcome Books.
Smith, Charles R. 2007. Hoop Queens. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.
Smith, Charles. R. 2007. Twelve Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali. Illustrated by Bryan Collier. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.
Smith, Hope Anita. 2009. Mother Poems. NY: Henry Holt.
Smith, Hope Anita. 2003. The Way a Door Closes. Illustrated by Shane W. Evans. NY: Henry Holt.
Taylor, Mildred. 1976. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. NY: Dial.
Walker, Alice. 2007. Why War is Never a Good Idea. Illustrated by Stefano Vitale. New York: HarperCollins.

Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2005. Birmingham, 1963. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong.
Williams, Mary. 2005. Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of  Sudan. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. NY: Lee & Low Books.
Williams-Garcia, Rita. 2010. One Crazy Summer. NY: Amistad.
Woodson, Jacqueline. 2010.  Miracle Boys. (reprint ed.) NY: Speak.
Woodson, Jacqueline. 2010.  After Tupac and D Foster. (reprint ed.) NY: Speak.


High School

Adoff, Arnold (Ed). 1997. I Am the Darker Brother: An Anthology of Modern Poems by African Americans. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Angelou, Maya. 2009. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. NY: Ballantine.
Baldwin, James. 1953/1985. Go Tell it on the Mountain. NY:Dell.
Baraka, Amiri. 1999. The LeRoi Jones/Amiri Baraka Reader. NY: Basic Books.
Brooks, Gwendolyn. 2006. Selected Poems. NY: Harper.
Chestnut, Charles W. 1880/2010. The Wife of His Youth and Other Stories. NY: Book Jungle.
Clifton, Lucille. 2000. Blessing the Boats: New and selected Poems 1988-2000. NY: BOA.
Clifton, Lucille. 1974. An Ordinary Woman: Poems. NY: Random House.
Countee, Cullen (Ed.). 1998. Caroling Dusk: An Anthology of Verse by Black Poets of the Twenties. NY: Citadel.

Danticat, Edwidge. 2010. Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Dove, Rita. 1999. On the Bus with Rosa Parks. NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Dove, Rita. 1995. Mother Love. NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Douglass, Frederick. 1845/2011. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. NY: Tribeca Books.
DuBois, W. E. B. 1903/2005. The Souls of Black Folks. NY: Simon & Schuster.
Dunbar, Paul Laurence. 2005. The Sports of the Gods and Other Essential Writings. NY: Modern Library.
Ellison, Ralph. 1995. Invisible Man, 2nd Ed.. NY: Vintage.
Fisher, Antwone Q. 2010. A Boy Should Know How to Tie a Tie: and Other Lessons for Succeeding for Life. NY: Touchstone.

Fuller, Charles. H. 1982. A Soldier's Play. NY: Hill and Wang.
Giovanni, Nikki. 2007. The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni: 1968-1998. NY: Harper.
Grimes, Nikki. 2007. Dark Sons. NY: Jump at the Sun.
hooks, bell. 1997. Bone Black: Memories of a Girlhood. NY: Holt.
Hurston, Zora Neale. 2006. Their Eyes were Watching God. NY: Harper.
Johnson, Angela. 2000. The Other Side: Shorter Poems. NY: Orchard Books.
Jordan, June. 1995. June Jordan’s Poetry for the People: A Revolutionary Blueprint. NY: Routledge.
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