Children's books can be valuable teaching tools. From the Globe archives, here are some books for children that retrace the history of the civil rights movement, chronicle lives of outstanding black Americans, and feature present-day children in family, friendship, and school situations.
"The Dream Keeper and Other Poems" by Langston Hughes. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. Knopf. Ages 8 through 14. (Originally published in 1932. Republished with current illustrations in 1994.) Despite his despair over racial injustice, the volume of Hughes's poems written especially for children rings with hope, humor, optimism, and life. Pinkney's elegant illustrations extend the emotions of timeless words.
"The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales," retold by Virginia Hamilton. Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. Knopf. Ages 8 through 12. (1985). The first comprehensive anthology of African-American folklore retold for children includes 24 tales. Exquisite language and illustrations provide fresh insight into the history and tradition of African-American culture.
"Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" by Mildred Taylor. Dial. Ages 10 and up. (1976). Set in the Depression in Mississippi, this inspirational story
revolves around courageous young Cassie Logan and her close family, who
struggle to live in dignity amid prejudice and poverty. This is the first
book in a trilogy on Cassie.
"Now Is Your Time: The African American Struggle for Freedom" by Walter Dean Myers. Illustrated with photographs and reproductions. Harper/Collins. $17.95. Ages 11 and up. (1991). Myers presents a powerful history of the civil rights movement. He writes: "The African American experience cannot be told in one story, or even a hundred, for it is a living experience, ever changing, ever growing, ever becoming richer." Myers weaves together the lives of people and the stories of their arduous struggle for freedom.
"All Night, All Day: A Child's First Book of African-American
Spirituals," selected and illustrated by Ashley Bryan. Atheneum/S&S. Ages 5 and up. (1991). Ashley Bryan has long been concerned that children were not exposed to spirituals, a unique form of American music that came out of slave culture. Here are 20 spirituals (with words and music) accessible to youngest children. They are surrounded with illustrations that vibrate with colors, forms, and lines.
"I Have A Dream," speech by Martin Luther King. Illustrated by artists who are recipients of the Coretta Scott King Award. Scholastic. Ages 6 and up. (1997). Fifteen artists have pooled their talents in this stunning interpretation of King's speech of Aug. 28, 1963. With unusual variety in color, style, and design, the illustrations strengthen the power of King's message -- and remind us to take his words to heart.
"The Adventures of Sparrowboy," written and illustrated by Brian Pinkney. Simon & Schuster. Ages 6 through 10. (1997). Full of a joyous spirit is this comic-strip fantasy about Henry, a neighborhood paperboy. Before his route, Henry checks out the adventures of Falconman, whose superpowers are bestowed by a falcon. Then a sparrow endows Henry with the same gift. The story is laced with humor and grounded in a subtle lesson about compassion.
"Duke Ellington" by Angela Davis Pinkney. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. Hyperion. Ages 7 through 11. (1998). The Pinkneys were inspired to create this colorful biography because the composer likened the sounds of his musicians and their instruments to colors in a paint box. The lyrical text rolls off the pages. And swirling dramatically throughout the story are brilliant illustrations.
"The Amistad Slave Revolt and American Abolition" by Karen Zeinert. Ages 10 through 14. (Paperback 1997). Nonfiction is at its best in this riveting account about the West African captive Cinque, who led survivors of the slave ship, La Amistad, to a historic revolt. This powerful retelling coupled with a vivid portrait of a man of indomitable spirit makes for exciting reading. A video produced by the Armistad Committee (and distributed by Linnet) is a superior resource to use with the book in the classroom.
It seems fitting to begin with a book suitable for all ages, one that serves as a powerful and dramatic tribute to the long African-American struggle for equality. "Lift Every Voice and Sing" (Walker, $14.95) combines the lyrics from James Weldon Johnson's "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing," widely regarded as the African-American national anthem, with Elizabeth Catlett's stunning series of linocut prints of black women. Because the art and the song were created independently and at different times, it is amazing how the passion depicted in the prints illustrates and complements the spirit of the song. Johnson and his brother composed the anthem in 1900, when he was principal of a Florida school. Catlett's linocuts, done in 1946, reflect the horror and humiliation of discrimination and the will to move beyond it. The introduction, by author Jim Haskins, explains the book's historical significance. It is a treasure to be read, sung, shared and enjoyed among different generations and people of all races.
In a quiet, contemporary celebration of the love between "Father and Son" (Philomel, $14.95, ages 4 to 8), sparkling, color-splashed paintings by Jonathan Green depict a happy parent and child sharing special times and new experiences during a day together. The gentle story by Denize Lauture, presented with only a few lines of text per page, expands upon the pictures and reflects the give-and-take, warmth and genuine feeling apparent between the two characters.
In "When I Was Little" (by Toyomi Igus, illustrated by Higgins Bond; Just Us Books, $14.95/$6.95 paperback, ages 6 to 9), Grandpa Will and his grandson Noel spend the day together fishing. As they fish, Grandpa relates tales of his childhood and family history. The contemporary scenes are in color, while Grandpa's reflections on the past are interspersed as full-page black-and-white pictures that recall old photographs. This is a touching story about the joy of handing down personal memories from one generation to another.
In a dramatic, lyrical tribute to migrant farm workers, author Sherley Anne Williams draws upon her own childhood experience to create "Working Cotton" (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, $14.95, ages 5 to 9). The day begins before
dawn for Shelan, who, not old enough to carry her own sack, helps her family pick cotton and tends the baby as they work through the day. When evening arrives, the family and other workers are seen walking wearily back to the bus that delivered them that morning. The glowing paintings by Carole Byard are at once intimate and mural-like; her impressionistic style shows vistas of land and sky while also depicting powerful facial expressions and body language. By creating a tremendous sense of feeling and place, both text and pictures clearly convey the love and respect among family members and give dignity to a difficult way of life.
It's not hard to understand why stories of the Underground Railroad are so popular: The courage and resourcefulness with which slaves sought their freedom have immediate appeal to children. In "Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt," written by Deborah Hopkinson (Knopf, $15, ages 7 to 12), Clara, a young girl who works as a seamstress on her plantation, saves scraps of material from her sewing as well as scraps of information she overhears. Using both, she pieces together a quilt that becomes a map for slaves trying to escape. When she and her husband are ready to make their own escape, they leave the quilt as a guide for others, as Clara knows it by heart. James Ransome's luminous, vital paintings bring to life this colorful piece in the rich tapestry of African-American history.
