Special Collections
Jane Addams Children's Book Award Winners
- Table View
- List View
Stick-in-the-mud
by Jean KetchumTomba was a small boy who lived in a village where all the houses were made of mud. When the rains came every year, all the people sat around in the wet. Tomba had an idea that if the huts were put on sticks, they wouldn't have to be uncomfortable. But the villagers had always lived that way and didn't want to listen to a small boy. But many times a new approach to a problem will solve, and Tomba did.
Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Winner
A Spirit to Ride the Whirlwind
by Athena V. LordTwelve-year-old Binnie, whose mother runs a company boarding house in Lowell, Massachusetts, begins working in a textile mill and is caught up in the 1836 strike of women workers.
A Song for the Unsung
by Carole Boston Weatherford and Rob SandersA singular, richly illustrated picture book biography of Bayard Rustin, the gay Black man behind the March on Washington of 1963, by the acclaimed authors of Unspeakable: the Tulsa Race Massacre and Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag.
On August 28, 1963, a quarter of a million activists and demonstrators from every corner of the United States convened for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It was there and then that they raised their voices in unison to call for racial and economic justice for all Black Americans, to call out inequities, and ultimately to advance the Civil Rights Movement.
Every movement has its unsung heroes: individuals who work in the background without praise or accolades, who toil and struggle without notice. One of those unsung heroes was at the center of some of the most important decisions and events of the Civil Rights Movement.
That hero was a quiet man, a gay African American man. He was Bayard Rustin.
Carole Boston Weatherford and Rob Sanders's A Song for the Unsung, featuring illustrations from artist Byron McCray, is an inspiring story that answers one of our nation’s greatest calls to action by honoring one of the men who made it happen.
Sitti's Secrets
by Naomi Shihab NyeA young girl describes a visit to see her grandmother in a Palestinian village on the West Bank.
The Short Life Of Sophie Scholl
by Hermann Vinke and Ilse AichingerThe biography of the twenty-one year-old German student who was put to death for her anti-Nazi activities with the underground group called the White Rose.
Shirley Chisholm Dared The Story of the First Black Woman in Congress
by Alicia D. Williams"An inspiring picture book biography about Shirley Chisholm".
Seven Brave Women
by Betsy Hearne and Bethanne AndersenTake a journey through time as a young girl recounts the exploits of her female ancestors, seven brave women who left their imprints on the past and on her. Beginning with the great-great-great-grandmother who came to America on a wooden sailboat, these women were devout and determined and tireless and beloved.
Separate Is Never Equal
by Duncan Tonatiuh
Almost 10 years before Brown vs. Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez and her parents helped end school segregation in California.
An American citizen of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage who spoke and wrote perfect English, Mendez was denied enrollment to a "Whites only" school.
Her parents took action by organizing the Hispanic community and filing a lawsuit in federal district court.
Their success eventually brought an end to the era of segregated education in California.
2015 Jane Addams Younger Reader Award,
2015 Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor Book
2015 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
Selavi, That Is Life
by Youme Landowne"Not so long ago and not so far away, people with guns could take a family, burn a house and disappear, leaving a small child alone in the world. " So begins the true story of Selavi, a small boy who finds himself on the streets of Haiti.
Selavi finds other street children who share their food and a place to sleep with him. Together they proclaim a message of hope through murals and radio programs. Youme is an artist and activist who has worked with communities in Kenya, Japan, Haiti and Cuba to make art which honors personal and cultural wisdom.
Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Winner
Sanctuary Kip Tiernan and Rosie’s Place, the Nation’s First Shelter for Women
by Christine McDonnellBefore Kip Tiernan came along, the US had no shelters for women. Here is the inspirational story of a singular woman and what her vision and compassion have brought to life.
The Road to Agra
by Armiee SommerfeltThe Road to Agra is a children's novel, written by Aimée Sommerfelt and published in Norwegian in 1959 as Veien til Agra. It is her most famous work and has been translated into 17 other languages. It is a tender story of the love between thirteen-year-old Lalu and his younger sister, Maya, who is seven. Lalu protects his sister and takes care of her needs. His concern for Maya's failing eyesight, the result of a contagious disease called trachoma, prompts Lalu to take his sister on a perilous, three-hundred-mile journey on foot to seek medical help. Lalu's desire to better his situation in life and his unwavering commitment to his goal will inspire young readers.
Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Winner
The Road from Home
by David KherdianAn extraordinary biography, this is also a record and reminder of yet another infamous holocaust in our century. Veron Dumehjian was born to a prosperous Armenian family, who lived in the Armenian quarter of the city of Aziziya, Turkey. Her early childhood was idyllic, until 1915, when the Turkish government, after years of persecuting its Christian minorities, decided to rid Turkey of its Armenian population. Veron was deported with her family and survived incredible hardship and suffering until, at the age of 16, she left for America as a "mail-order" bride. Poet-anthologist David Kherdian's story of his mother is a unique and gripping story of courage, survival and hope.
Newbery Medal Honor book
The Riddle of Racism
by S. Carl HirschFor thousands of years men have known that the inhabitants of different parts of the world are often visibly different. But in America, for the first time anywhere on earth, three great racial groups met in large numbers on the same continent. White colonizers took the land from the native population they called Indians, whose physical traits linked them to Asian origins. Black people were brought here from Africa to serve the white settlers as slaves. "Under this set of conditions," observes S. Carl Hirsch, "the meeting of the three great races on America's soil was not likely to he a happy one." In this bold, challenging book, the author examines the historical record for the roots of the race hatred that has troubled our nation since its inception. Within a chronological framework, the book traces the search for scientific knowledge of race as a biological phenomenon against the background of political events that reveal its sociological aspects. The scientific struggle was focussed on the question of "superior" and "inferior races, from a time when white supremacy was the prevailing view of America's political, social, and religious leaders, including those opposed to slavery, to today's understanding of a concept of race its biological and cultural significance. Along the way the reader meets many individuals whose personal stories illuminate the perpetual questions underlying that irrational force which still continues to pervade our land: racism.
A Jane Addams Children's Book Award Winner.
Rain Of Fire
by Marion Dane BauerWhen Steve's older brother Matthew, returning home after service in World War II, refuses to talk about his wartime experiences, Steve's friends begin to doubt the stories he has told of Matthew's heroism.
Rainbow Round the World
by Elizabeth YatesThe author describes her travels with a young boy as they visit 10 countries where UNICEF funds were being used.
Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Winner
Queenie Peavy
by Robert BurchQueenie Peavy is the worst troublemaker at school and the best shot in Georgia with her father in jail, why shouldn't she be angry? But Queenie wonders what would happen if she tried to behave herself, just for one day...
Profiles in Courage Young Readers Memorial Edition
by John F. KennedyCourage is the virtue that President Kennedy most admired. He sought out those people who had demonstrated in some way, whether it was on a battlefield or a baseball diamond, in a speech or fighting for a cause, that they had courage, that they would stand up, that they could be counted on.
That is why this book so fitted his personality, his beliefs. It is a study of men who, at risk to themselves, their futures, even the well-being of their children, stood fast for principle. It was toward that ideal that he modeled his life. And this in time gave heart to others.
As Andrew Jackson said, "One man with courage makes a majority." That is the effect President Kennedy had on others.
Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Winner
The Princess And The Admiral
by Charlotte Pomerantz and Tony ChenA small patch of dry Asian land called the Tiny Kingdom serves as the home for a community of poor farmers and fisherfolk. The land, as poor as its people, holds no gold, silver, or other riches. For this reason, no country has ever waged war against the Tiny Kingdom, and the people have lived in peace for 100 years. But when Princess Mat Mat, ruler of the Tiny Kingdom, meets with her advisers to plan a great peace celebration, they bring bad news. A large fleet of warships is sailing toward them and will attack their people in just two days. With no army, no forts, and no arsenal, how can the princess defend her country? Her wisdom testifies that the most heroic action does not win wars, but prevents them. Princess Mat Mat devises a plan that includes, as an unexpected ally, the moon.
Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Winner
Planting the Trees of Kenya
by Claire A. NivolaWangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize and founder of the Green Belt Movement, grew up in the highlands of Kenya, where fig trees cloaked the hills, fish filled the streams, and the people tended their bountiful gardens. But over many years, as more and more land was cleared, Kenya was transformed. When Wangari returned home from college in America, she found the village gardens dry, the people malnourished, and the trees gone. How could she alone bring back the trees and restore the gardens and the people? Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature, says: “Wangari Maathai’s epic story has never been told better—-everyone who reads this book will want to plant a tree!” With glowing watercolor illustrations and lyrical prose, Claire Nivola tells the remarkable story of one woman’s effort to change the fate of her land by teaching many to care for it. An author’s note provides further information about Wangari Maathai and the Green Belt Movement. In keeping with the theme of the story, the book is printed on recycled paper.
A Place Where Sunflowers Grow
by Amy Lee-TaiWhile she and her family are interned at Topaz Relocation Center during World War II, Mari gradually adjusts as she enrolls in an art class, makes a friend, plants sunflowers and waits for them to grow.
Piecing Me Together
by Renée Watson2018 Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner
Acclaimed author Renee Watson offers a powerful story about a girl striving for success in a world that too often seems like it's trying to break her.
Jade believes she must get out of her poor neighborhood if she's ever going to succeed.
Her mother tells her to take advantage of every opportunity that comes her way. And she has.
She accepted a scholarship to a mostly-white private school and even Saturday morning test prep opportunities. But some opportunities feel more demeaning than helpful.
Like an invitation to join Women to Women, a mentorship program for "at-risk" girls. Except really, it's for black girls. From "bad" neighborhoods.
And just because Maxine, her college-graduate mentor, is black doesn't mean she understands Jade.
And maybe there are some things Jade could show these successful women about the real world and finding ways to make a real difference.
NPR’s Best Books of 2017
A 2017 New York Public Library Best Teen Book of the Year
Chicago Public Library’s Best Books of 2017
A School Library Journal Best Book of 2017
Kirkus Reviews’ Best Teen Books of 2017
2018 Josette Frank Award Winner
A New York Times Bestseller
Jane Addams Children's Book Award Honors Book
The Perilous Road
by William O. SteeleChris Brabson hates Yankees, plain and simple. Not only are the Union troops down in Tennessee where they don't belong, but they helped themselves to all the supplies his family had saved for winter. And to add to it all, his brother joined up with the Union Army. How could he betray the south, Chris wonders.
Chris wants to prove his loyalty to the Confederate cause, any way he can. When he sees a Union wagon train cutting through the valley, he has his chance. He tells a spy where and how the Confederates can attack. But then he finds out that Jethro could be driving one of those Yankee wagons! Has he just caused the death of his own brother?
A Newbery Honor book and Jane Addams Children's Book Award Medal Winner
People Are Important
by Eva Knox EvansExplains the origins of communication and languages and how customs and symbols mean different things to different peoples.
Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Winner
Paul Robeson (Crowell Biographies)
by Eloise GreenfieldA biography of the black man who became a famous singer, actor, and spokesman for equal rights for his people.
Patrol
by Walter Dean MyersVietnam. A young American soldier waits for his enemy, rifle in hand, finger on the trigger. He is afraid to move and yet afraid not to move. Gunshots crackle in the still air. The soldier fires blindly into the distant trees at an unseen enemy. He crouches and waits -- heart pounding, tense and trembling, biting back tears. When will it all be over? Walter Dean Myers joined the army on his seventeeth birthday, at the onset of American involvement in Vietnam, but it was the death of his brother in 1968 that forever changed his mind about war. In a gripping and powerful story-poem, the award-winning author takes readers into the heart and mind of a young soldier in an alien land who comes face-to-face with the enemy.