Special Collections
Multicultural Books for Children and Teens
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Ling & Ting
by Grace LinLing and Ting are twins. They have the same brown eyes. They have the same pink cheeks. They have the same happy smiles.Ling and Ting are two adorable identical twins, and they stick together, whether they are making dumplings, getting their hair cut, or practicing magic tricks. But looks are deceiving--people can be very different, even if they look exactly the same.
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
by Grace LinIn the valley of Fruitless mountain, a young girl named Minli lives in a ramshackle hut with her parents. In the evenings, her father regales her with old folktales of the Jade Dragon and the Old Man on the Moon, who knows the answers to all of life's questions. Inspired by these stories, Minli sets off on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man on the Moon to ask him how she can change her family's fortune. She encounters an assorted cast of characters and magical creatures along the way, including a dragon who accompanies her on her quest for the ultimate answer.
Grace Lin, author of the beloved Year of the Dog and Year of the Rat, returns with a wondrous story of adventure, faith, and friendship. A fantasy crossed with Chinese folklore, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a timeless story reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz. Her beautiful illustrations, printed in full-color, accompany the text throughout. Once again, she has created a charming, engaging book for young readers.
Newbery Honor book
The Rock and the River
by Kekla MagoonCoretta Scott King - John Steptoe Award winnerIn 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: ChicagoFor 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?
Parrot in the Oven
by Victor MartinezPerico, or parrot, was what Dad called me sometimes. It was from a Mexican saying about a parrot that complains how hot it is in the shade, while all along he's sitting inside an oven and doesn't know it....For Manuel Hernandez, the year leading up to his test of courage, his initiation into a gang, is a time filled with the pain and tension, awkwardness and excitement of growing up in a crazy world. His dad spends most of his time and money at the local pool hall; his brother flips through jobs like a thumb through a deck of cards; and his mom never stops cleaning the house, as though one day the rooms will be so spotless they'll disappear into a sparkle, and she'll be free.Manny's dad is always saying that people are like money--there are million- and thousand- and hundred-dollar people out there, and to him, Manny is just a penny. But Manny wants to be more than a penny, smarter than the parrot in the oven. He wants to find out what it means to be a vato firme, a guy to respect.In this beautifully written novel, Victor Martinez gives readers a vivid portrait of one Mexican-American boy's life. Manny's story is like a full-color home movie--sometimes funny, sometimes sad, but always intensely original.For Manuel Hernandez, the year leading up to his test of courage, his initiation into a gang, is a time filled with the pain and tension, awkwardness and excitement of growing up in a mixed-up, crazy world. Manny’s dad is always calling him el perico, or parrot. It’s from a Mexican saying about a parrot that complains how hot it is in the shade while all along he’s sitting inside the oven and doesn’t know it. But Manny wants to be smarter than the parrot in the oven—he wants to find out what it means to be a vato firme, a guy to respect. From an exciting new voice in Chicano literature, this is a beautifully written, vivid portrait of one Mexican-American boy’s life.1998 Pura Belpre Author Award1996 Americas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature1997 Books for the Teen Age (NY Public Library)1996 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature
Martin Luther King, Jr.
by Lillie Patterson and Victor MaysA brief biography of Martin Luther King Jr, that helps the readers understand what it entails to have a fulfilling and successful life.
Winner of the Coretta Scott King Medal
Under the Mesquite
by Guadalupe Garcia MccallLupita, a budding actor and poet in a close-knit Mexican American immigrant family, comes of age as she struggles with adult responsibilities during her mother's battle with cancer. A novel in verse.
Winner of the Pura Belpre Medal
Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters
by Patricia C. Mckissack and Fredrick L. MckissackDescribes the customs, recipes, poems, and songs used to celebrate Christmas in the big plantation houses and in the slave quarters just before the Civil War.
Winner of the Coretta Scott King Medal
A Long Hard Journey
by Patricia C. Mckissack and Fredrick L. Mckissack"An exciting labor history . . . an excellent introduction to the subject". --School Library Journal.
Coretta Scott King Award winner.
The Dark-Thirty
by Brian Pinkney and Patricia C. MckissackIn that special half-hour of twilight--the dark-thirty--there are stories to be told. Mesmerizing, suspenseful, and breathtakingly original, these tales make up a heart-stopping collection of lasting value, a book not quickly forgotten.
Newbery Honor Book
Winner of the Coretta Scott King Medal
Goin' Someplace Special
by Patricia C. Mckissack and Jerry PinkneyConfronted with the indignities and humiliations of segregated Nashville in the 1950s, young 'Tricia Ann holds her head high and remembers that she is "somebody, a human being--no better, no worse than anybody else in this world."
For the first time, 'Tricia Ann has been allowed to venture outside her community all by herself. Her grandmother has prepared her well, fortifying her "with enough love, respect, and pride to overcome any situation."
'Tricia Ann, though frustrated by the Jim Crow laws that forbid her, as an African American, to enter certain restaurants and hotels, or even to sit on park benches marked "For Whites Only," rises above her pain and makes her way to one of the only places in the city that welcomes her with open arms: the public library.
Winner of the Coretta Scott King Medal
Mirandy and Brother Wind
by Patricia C. Mckissack and Jerry PinkneyIn this Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Award winning tale, Mirandy is determined to capture the best partner for the junior cakewalk jubilee. And who is the best partner? The wind, of course!
Grandmama Beasley says, “Can’t nobody put shackles on Brother Wind, chile. He be special. He be free.” With neighbors up and down Ridgetop suggesting all manner of strategies, and friend Ezel laughing at each foiled one, Mirandy grows ever more determined: she’ll get hold of that Brother Wind yet!
Patricia C. McKissack’s thoroughly engaging tale dances with spirit and rollicking good humor. Complemented by Jerry Pinkney’s rich, eye-catching watercolors of the rural South, here’s one of those rare, rewarding picture books that is sure to be read and enjoyed again and again.
Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass
by Meg MedinaOne morning before school, some girl tells Piddy Sanchez that Yaqui Delgado hates her and wants to kick her ass. Piddy doesn't even know who Yaqui is, never mind what she's done to piss her off. Word is that Yaqui thinks Piddy is stuck-up, shakes her stuff when she walks, and isn't Latin enough with her white skin, good grades, and no accent. And Yaqui isn't kidding around, so Piddy better watch her back. At first Piddy is more concerned with trying to find out more about the father she's never met and how to balance honors courses with her weekend job at the neighborhood hair salon. But as the harassment escalates, avoiding Yaqui and her gang starts to take over Piddy's life. Is there any way for Piddy to survive without closing herself off or running away?
Winner of the Pura Belpre Medal
The Freedom Summer Murders
by Don MitchellA 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.
Baseball Saved Us
by Ken MochizukiA 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.
Los Gatos Black on Halloween
by Marisa MontesFollow 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
What Can You Do with a Paleta?
by Carmen Tafolla and Magaly MoralesWhere the paleta wagon rings its tinkly belland carries a treasure of icy paletasin every color of the sarape . . .As she strolls through her barrio, a young girl introduces readers to the frozen, fruit-flavored treat that thrills Mexican and Mexican-American children. Create a masterpiece, make tough choices (strawberry or coconut?), or cool off on a warm summer's day--there's so much to do with a paleta.
Doña Flor
by Pat MoraDoña Flor is a giant women who has a great heart and loves to help her town.
Winner of the Pura Belpre Medal
Little Melba And Her Big Trombone
by Katheryn Russell-Brown and Frank MorrisonMelba Doretta Liston loved the sounds of music from as far back as she could remember. As a child, she daydreamed about beats and lyrics, and hummed along with the music from her family's Majestic radio. At age seven, Melba fell in love with a big, shiny trombone, and soon taught herself to play the instrument. By the time she was a teenager, Melba's extraordinary gift for music led her to the world of jazz. She joined a band led by trumpet player Gerald Wilson and toured the country. Overcoming obstacles of race and gender, Melba went on to become a famed trombone player and arranger, spinning rhythms, harmonies, and melodies into gorgeous songs for all the jazz greats of the twentieth century: Randy Weston, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, and Quincy Jones, to name just a few. Brimming with ebullience and the joy of making music, Little Melba and Her Big Trombone is a fitting tribute to a trailblazing musician and a great unsung hero of jazz.
Remember
by Toni MorrisonToni 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
Wings
by Christopher A. MyersAre you brave enough to be your true self?
Ikarus Jackson is. But it isn't always easy. The people in his neighborhood point at his wings. The kids at school laugh. The teachers call him a distraction.
One girl identifies with him, but she is too shy to speak up.
Finally, when his classmates' taunts send Ikarus drifting into the sky, the girl sets out in search of him, and so begins her own journey of self-discovery -- leaving both of them transformed.
Fallen Angels
by Walter Dean MyersOn a jungle battlefront where one misplaced step could be any soldier's last, every move can mean the difference between death and survival. Perry, Lobel, Johnson, Brunner, and Peewee are in Vietnam, all hoping to make it out alive.
Winner of the Coretta Scott King Medal
Monster
by Walter Dean MyersSometimes I feel like I have walked into the middle of a movie. Maybe I can make my own movie. The film will be the story of my life. No, not my life, but of this experience. I'll call it what the lady who is the prosecutor called me. MONSTER.
FADE IN: INTERIOR COURT. A guard sits at a desk behind Steve. Kathy O'Brien, Steve's lawyer, is all business as she talks to Steve.
O'BRIEN: Let me make sure you understand what's going on. Both you and this king character are on trial for felony murder. Felony Murder is as serious as it gets. . . . When you're in court, you sit there and pay attetion. You let the jury know that you think the case is a serious as they do. . . .
STEVE: You think we're going to win ?
O'BRIEN (seriously): It probably depends on what you mean by "win."
Sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon is on trial for murder. A Harlem drugstore owner was shot and killed in his store, and the word is that Steve served as the lookout.Guilty or innocent, Steve becomes a pawn in the hands of "the system," cluttered with cynical authority figures and unscrupulous inmates, who will turn in anyone to shorten their own sentences.
For the first time, Steve is forced to think about who he is as he faces prison, where he may spend all the tomorrows of his life.As a way of coping with the horrific events that entangle him, Steve, an amateur filmmaker, decides to transcribe his trial into a script, just like in the movies. He writes it all down, scene by scene, the story of how his whole life was turned around in an instant. But despite his efforts, reality is blurred and his vision obscured until he can no longer tell who he is or what is the truth. This compelling novel is Walter Dean Myers's writing at its best.
Motown And Didi
by Walter Dean MyersMotown lives in a burned-out building one floor above the rats, searching out jobs every day, working his muscles every night, keeping strong, surviving. Didi lives in her cool dream bubble, untouched by the Harlem heat that beats down on her brother until only drugs can soothe him. Didi escapes, without needles, in her tidy plans and stainless visions, etchings of ivy covered colleges where her true life will begin. Didi can survive inside her own safe mind, until Motown steps into her real world and makes it bearable. Together they can stand the often brutal present. What about the future?
Winner of the Coretta Scott King Medal
Now Is Your Time!
by Walter Dean MyersHistory has made me an African American. It is an Africa that I have come from, and an America that I have helped to create.
Since they were first brought as captives to Virginia, the people who would become African Americans have struggled for freedom. Thousands fought for the rights of all Americans during the Revolutionary War, and for their own rights during the Civil War. On the battlefield, through education, and through their creative genius, they have worked toward one goal: that the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness be denied no one.
Fired by the legacy of men and women like Abd al Rahman Ibrahima, Ida B. Wells, and George Latimer, the struggle continues today. Here is African-American history, told through the stories of the people whose experiences have shaped and continue to shape the America in which we live.
Winner of the Coretta Scott King Medal
Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Honor Book
Slam!
by Walter Dean MyersAn ALA Best Book: “A Harlem teenager learns to apply the will he has to win at hoops to other parts of his life in this vivid, fluent story.” —Kirkus ReviewsWinner of the Coretta Scott King AwardSeventeen-year-old Greg “Slam” Harris can do it all on the basketball court. He’s seen ballplayers come and go, and he knows he could be one of the lucky ones. Maybe he’ll make it to the top. Or maybe he’ll stumble along the way. Slam’s grades aren’t that hot. And when his teachers jam his troubles in his face, he blows up. Slam never doubted himself on the court—until he found himself going one-on-one with his own future, and he didn’t have the ball . . . From New York Times–bestselling author Walter Dean Myers, a National Book Award finalist in Young People’s Literature, this is an “admirably realistic coming of age novel” about the challenges of moving toward adulthood—and out of your comfort zone (Booklist, starred review).