Special Collections

Baseball Saved Us

A Japanese American boy learns to play baseball when he and his family are forced to live in an internment camp during World War II, and his ability to play helps him after the war is over.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Money Hungry

Thirteen-year-old Raspberry Hill is always scheming about ways to make money. She's starved for the green stuff, and will do just about anything legal to get it-wash cars, sell rotten candy, skip lunch, and clean houses. She is obsessed with making money, having money, smelling money, and touching money. Raspberry is determined that she and her momma will never be homeless again. When they are approved for a Section 8 move to a nice house in Pecan Landings, Raspberry thinks things are looking up. But after their apartment in the projects is robbed, and protests by the rich folks in Pecan Landings force them out of their new house, Raspberry must do everything in her power to keep her world from crumbling.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

We Are the Ship

"We are the ship; all else the sea"

--Rube Foster, founder of the Negro National League.

The story of Negro League baseball is the story of gifted athletes and determined owners; of racial discrimination and international sportsmanship; of fortunes won and lost; of triumphs and defeats on and off the field. Most of all, the story of the Negro Leagues is about the unsung heroes who overcame segregation, hatred, terrible conditions, and low pay to do the one thing they loved more than anything else in the world: play ball.

Using an "Everyman" player as his narrator, Kadir Nelson tells the story of Negro League baseball from its beginnings in the 1920s through its decline after Jackie Robinson crossed over to the majors in 1947. The voice is so authentic, you will feel as if you are sitting on dusty bleachers listening intently to the memories of a man who has known the great ballplayers of that time and shared their experiences. But what makes this book so outstanding are the dozens of oil paintings--breathtaking in their perspectives, rich in emotion, and created with understanding and affection for these lost heroes of our national game.

We Are the Ship is a tour de force for baseball lovers of all ages.

[This text is listed as an example that meets Common Core Standards in English language arts in grades 4-5 at http://www.corestandards.org.]

Winner of the Sibert Medal and the Coretta Scott King Medal

Date Added: 05/25/2017

My People

Langston Hughes's spare yet eloquent tribute to his people has been cherished for generations. Langston Hughes (1902-1967) is one of America's most beloved and cherished chroniclers of the black experience. Best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance, Hughes's work was consistently groundbreaking throughout his forty-six year career.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Where Did You Get Your Moccasins?

Children in an urban school are curious about a classmate's pair of moccasins. In answer to their questions, the boy describes in detail how his grandmother or Kookum, made his moccasins. BERNELDA WHEELER was born in Fort Qu'Appelle Valley, Saskatchewan and has lived in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario, the Northwest Territories, Manitoba, and New York. She has a rich heritage, being part Cree and part Saulteaux, with a mixture of Scottish and French. Bernelda has been a columnist, and a journalist, and was the host, writer, and broadcaster of Our Native Land on CBC national radio. She has also worked in the field of alcoholism as a rehabilitation counsellor. She is currently based in Winnipeg and works part-time at writing, broadcasting, acting, and public speaking. BerneIda has two talented children and several grandchildren. Herman Bekkering is a freelance illustrator from Winnipeg, Manitoba. * ALSO BY BERNELDA WHEELER A Friend Called Chum I Can't Have Bannock but the Beaver Has a Dam

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Jingle Dancer

Jenna, a contemporary Muscogee (Creek) girl in Oklahoma, wants to honor a family tradition by jingle dancing at the next powwow. But where will she find enough jingles for her dress?

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Los Gatos Black on Halloween

Follow los monstruos and los esqueletos to the Halloween party. Under October's luna, full and bright, the monsters are throwing a ball in the Haunted Hall. Las brujas come on their broomsticks. Los muertos rise from their coffins to join in the fun. Los esqueletos rattle their bones as they dance through the door. And the scariest creatures of all aren't even there yet! This lively bilingual Halloween poem introduces young readers to a spooky array of Spanish words that will open their ojos to the chilling delights of the season.

Winner of the Pura Belpre Medal

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Brown Girl Dreaming

A New York Times Bestseller and National Book Award WinnerA Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Book of the CenturyJacqueline Woodson, the acclaimed author of Red at the Bone, tells the moving story of her childhood in mesmerizing verse. Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child&’s soul as she searches for her place in the world. Woodson&’s eloquent poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite the fact that she struggled with reading as a child. Her love of stories inspired her and stayed with her, creating the first sparks of the gifted writer she was to become.A National Book Award WinnerA Newbery Honor BookA Coretta Scott King Award WinnerPraise for Jacqueline Woodson:Ms. Woodson writes with a sure understanding of the thoughts of young people, offering a poetic, eloquent narrative that is not simply a story . . . but a mature exploration of grown-up issues and self-discovery.&”—The New York Times Book Review

Date Added: 01/08/2019

Heaven

Marley has lived in heaven since she was two years old, when her mother found a postcard postmarked HEAVEN, OH, on a park bench and decided that was where she wanted to raise a family. And for twelve years, Marley's hometown has lived up to its name. She lives in a house by the river, has loving parents, a funny younger brother, good friends, and receives frequent letters from her mysterious uncle, Jack. Then one day a letter arrives from Alabama, and Marley's life is turned upsidedown. Marley doesn't even know who she is anymore--but where can she go for answers, when she's been deceived by the very people she should be able to trust the most?

Winner of the Coretta Scott King Medal

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Enchanted Air

In this poetic memoir, which won the Pura Belpré Author Award, was a YALSA Nonfiction Finalist, and was named a Walter Dean Myers Award Honoree, acclaimed author Margarita Engle tells of growing up as a child of two cultures during the Cold War.Margarita is a girl from two worlds. Her heart lies in Cuba, her mother’s tropical island country, a place so lush with vibrant life that it seems like a fairy tale kingdom. But most of the time she lives in Los Angeles, lonely in the noisy city and dreaming of the summers when she can take a plane through the enchanted air to her beloved island. Words and images are her constant companions, friendly and comforting when the children at school are not. Then a revolution breaks out in Cuba. Margarita fears for her far-away family. When the hostility between Cuba and the United States erupts at the Bay of Pigs Invasion, Margarita’s worlds collide in the worst way possible. How can the two countries she loves hate each other so much? And will she ever get to visit her beautiful island again?

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Let the Circle Be Unbroken

For the Logan family, it is a frightening and turbulent time. First their friend, T.J., must go on trial and confront an all-white jury. Then Cousin Suzella tries to pass for white, with humiliating consequences. And when Cassie's neighbor, Mrs. Lee Annie, stands up for her right to vote, she and her family are driven from their home. Other neighbors are destroyed and shattered by the greed of landowners. But through it all, Cassie and the Logans stand together and stand proud - proving that courage, love, and understanding can defy even the deepest prejudice.

Winner of the Coretta Scott King Medal

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Bud, Not Buddy

"It's funny how ideas are, in a lot of ways they're just like seeds. Both of them start real, real small and then... woop, zoop, sloop... before you can say Jack Robinson, they've gone and grown a lot bigger than you ever thought they could."

So figures scrappy 10-year-old philosopher Bud--"not Buddy"--Caldwell, an orphan on the run from abusive foster homes and Hoovervilles in 1930s Michigan. And the idea that's planted itself in his head is that Herman E. Calloway, standup-bass player for the Dusky Devastators of the Depression, is his father. Guided only by a flier for one of Calloway's shows--a small, blue poster that had mysteriously upset his mother shortly before she died--Bud sets off to track down his supposed dad, a man he's never laid eyes on. And, being 10, Bud-not-Buddy gets into all sorts of trouble along the way, barely escaping a monster-infested woodshed, stealing a vampire's car, and even getting tricked into "busting slob with a real live girl."

Christopher Paul Curtis, author of The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963, once again exhibits his skill for capturing the language and feel of an era and creates an authentic, touching, often hilarious voice in little Bud.

Newbery Medal Winner and Winner of the Coretta Scott King Medal

Winner of Pacific Northwest Library Association’s Young Reader’s Choice Junior Award

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Juna's Jar

Sometimes a simple, everyday object can take you away on great adventures. Juna and her best friend, Hector, have many adventures together, and they love to collect things in empty kimchi jars. Then one day, Hector unexpectedly moves away without having a chance to say good-bye. Juna is heartbroken and left to wonder who will on go on adventures with her. Determined to find Hector, Juna turns to her special kimchi jar for help each night. She plunges into the depths of the ocean, swings on vines through the jungle, and flies through the night sky in search of her friend. What Juna finds is that adventure--and new friends--can be found in the most unexpected places. Coupled with dreamy watercolor illustrations by Felicia Hoshino, Juna's Jar is a heart-warming and whimsical tale about the power of the imagination.

Date Added: 03/09/2018

¡Pío Peep! Traditional Spanish Nursery Rhymes

Spanish oral folklore is rich in nursery rhymes and songs. Some rhymes are fragments of ancient medieval ballads; others, such as De colores, are old harvest songs. Some are frequently sung as lullabies, like Este niño lindo, others as finger plays, like Palmas palmitas. Some rhymes accompany games, such as El patio de mi casa, while others are unending rhymes that can be repeated as long as the child wants, like El barquito or La hormiguita. In most cases the rhymes and songs originated in Spain and crossed the Atlantic with the language, to delight children in all the nineteen Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America as well as the American Southwest, occasionally changing along the way. Of the ones we have collected here, three are from Mexico--La víbora de la mar, La piñata, and Tortillitas--the rest are well-known throughout the Spanish-speaking world. We have purposely selected some of the best known and most loved rhymes as an introduction to this genre. To make the selection for this book, we reviewed numerous anthologies from Spain and Latin America, among them those of Carmen Bravo Villasante, Arturo Medina, and Ana Pellegrin in Spain; Elsa Isabel Bornemann and Maria Elena Walsh in Argentina; the series Así cantan y juegan..., published by CONAFE in Mexico, and many more. Finally, faced with the decision to select among hundreds, we chose those nursery rhymes and songs that we cherished in our own childhoods, and those the numerous children--Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, and Central American--with whom we have worked love the most. En este libro la palabra se hace canto y juego para los más pequeñitos. Dirigida a niños de uno a seis años, esta maravillosa colección bilingüe de rimas tradicionales infantiles, que han sido transmitidas de generación en generación, que celebra la infancia y la herencia española y latinoamericana, será un fiel acompañante de los niños al momento de dormir o de jugar. Los versos se caracterizan por su gran ritmisidad y las adaptaciones inglesas son excelentes pues mantienen el ritmo, metro y sentido general de las originales, haciendo las rimas tan inolvidables y fácilmente memorizadas tanto en inglés como lo son en el idioma español. Esta colección, ilustrada bellamente por una artista española, está destinada a encantar a los niños y a transformarse en un clásico tanto para los más pequeños como para la familia.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

The Freedom Summer Murders

A gripping true story of murder and the fight for civil rights and social justice in 1960s Mississppi.On June 21, 1964, three young men were killed by the Ku Klux Klan for trying to help black Americans vote as part of the 1964 Fredom Summer registration effort in Mississippi. The disappearance and brutal murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner caused a national uproar and was one of the most significant events of the civil rights movement.The Freedom Summer Murders tells the tragic story of these brave men, the crime that resulted in their untimely deaths, and the relentless forty-one-year pursuit of a conviction. It is the story of idealistic and courageous young people who wanted to change their county for the better. It is the story of black and white. And ultimately, it is the story of our nation's endless struggle to close the gap between what is and what should be.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

The Story of Stevie Wonder

A biography of the blind composer, pianist, and singer who was a child prodigy and went on to win nine Grammy awards.

Winner of the Coretta Scott King Medal

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Moses

2007 Caldecott Honor book

I SET THE NORTH STAR IN THE HEAVENS AND I MEAN FOR YOU TO BE FREE . . .

Born into slavery, Harriet Tubman hears these words from God one summer night and decides to leave her husband and family behind and escape. Taking with her only her faith, she must creep through the woods with hounds at her feet, sleep for days in a potato hole, and trust people who could have easily turned her in.

But she was never alone.

In lyrical text, Carole Boston Weatherford describes Tubman's spiritual journey as she hears the voice of God guiding her north to freedom on that very first trip to escape the brutal practice of forced servitude. Tubman would make nineteen subsequent trips back south, never being caught, but none as profound as this first one. Courageous, compassionate, and deeply religious, Harriet Tubman, with her bravery and relentless pursuit of freedom, is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.

Winner of the Coretta Scott King Medal

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Celebrate!

Every culture has its own special traditions and reasons for celebrating. At first glance these practices seem quite different from each other, but they are actually much more alike than most people realise. In Celebrate! readers travel to communities near and far and explore the essence of celebrations the world over. With striking photographs and engaging text, photojournalist Jan Reynolds presents a refreshing look at the similarities among cultural traditions around the world.

Date Added: 05/14/2018

Save Me a Seat

Joe and Ravi might be from very different places, but they're both stuck in the same place: SCHOOL. Joe's lived in the same town all his life, and was doing just fine until his best friends moved away and left him on his own. Ravi's family just moved to America from India, and he's finding it pretty hard to figure out where he fits in. Joe and Ravi don't think they have anything in common -- but soon enough they have a common enemy (the biggest bully in their class) and a common mission: to take control of their lives over the course of a single crazy week.

Date Added: 03/23/2018

Remember

Toni Morrison has collected a treasure chest of archival photographs that depict the historical events surrounding school desegregation. These unforgettable images serve as the inspiration for Ms. Morrison's text, a fictional account of the dialogue and emotions of the children who lived during the era of separate but equal schooling. Remember is a unique pictorial and narrative journey that introduces children to a watershed period in American history and its relevance to us today. Remember will be published on the 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision ending legal school segregation, handed down on May 17, 1954.

Winner of the Coretta Scott King Medal

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Rosa

Fifty years after her refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus, Mrs. Rosa Parks is still one of the most important figures in the American civil rights movement. This tribute to Mrs. Parks is a celebration of her courageous action and the events that followed.

Winner of the Coretta Scott King Medal

Date Added: 05/25/2017

The Rock and the River

Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe Award winner In this &“taut, eloquent first novel&” (Booklist, starred review), a young Black boy wrestles with conflicting notions of revolution and family loyalty as he becomes involved with the Black Panthers in 1968 Chicago. The Time: 1968 The Place: Chicago For thirteen-year-old Sam, it&’s not easy being the son of known civil rights activist Roland Childs. Especially when his older (and best friend), Stick, begins to drift away from him for no apparent reason. And then it happens: Sam finds something that changes everything forever. Sam has always had faith in his father, but when he finds literature about the Black Panthers under Stick&’s bed, he&’s not sure who to believe: his father or his best friend. Suddenly, nothing feels certain anymore. Sam wants to believe that his father is right: You can effect change without using violence. But as time goes on, Sam grows weary of standing by and watching as his friends and family suffer at the hands of racism in their own community. Sam beings to explore the Panthers with Stick, but soon he&’s involved in something far more serious—and more dangerous—than he could have ever predicted. Sam is faced with a difficult decision. Will he follow his father or his brother? His mind or his heart? The rock or the river?

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Quilted Landscapes

Twenty-six young people of different ages and nationalities describe their experience of leaving their countries and immigrating to the the United States.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

The Circuit

"'La frontera'...I heard it for the first time back in the late 1940s when Papa and Mama told me and Roberto, my older brother, that someday we would take a long trip north, cross la frontera, enter California, and leave our poverty behind." So begins this honest and powerful account of a family's journey to the fields of California -- to a life of constant moving, from strawberry fields to cotton fields, from tent cities to one-room shacks, from picking grapes to topping carrots and thinning lettuce. Seen through the eyes of a boy who longs for an education and the right to call one place home, this is a story of survival, faith, and hope. It is a journey that will open readers' hearts and minds.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Through My Eyes

On November 14, 1960, a tiny six-year-old black child, surrounded by federal marshals, walked through a mob of screaming segregationists and into her school. From where she sat in the office, Ruby Bridges could see parents marching through the halls and taking their children out of classrooms. The next day, Ruby walked through the angry mob once again and into a school where she saw no other students. The white children did not go to school that day, and they wouldn't go to school for many days to come. Surrounded by racial turmoil, Ruby, the only student in a classroom with one wonderful teacher, learned to read and add. This is the story of a pivotal event in history as Ruby Bridges saw it unfold around her. Ruby's poignant words, quotations from writers and from other adults who observed her, and dramatic photographs recreate an amazing story of innocence, courage, and forgiveness. Ruby Bridges' story is an inspiration to us all.

Date Added: 05/25/2017