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“This moving depiction of ecological innovation centers on a project spearheaded by Dr. Gordon Sato to plant mangrove trees, which grow easily in salt water, in the village of Hargigo in the impoverished African nation of Eritrea. Graceful prose alternates with cumulative verse to relay the benefits that the trees provided for the community: ‘These are the fishermen/ Who catch the fish/ That swim in the roots,/ Of the mangrove trees.’ Resembling papier-mâché, Roth’s textural mixed-media collages become increasingly lively as the new ecosystem flourishes.” — Publisher’s Weekly

The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families

Susan Roth

Age Level:

6-9

Product Description: For hundreds of years the Maasai have moved with their herds of cattle and goats across thousands of miles in Kenya and Tanzania. Today the Maasai face new challenges. Their traditional way of life is threatened, lands are overgrazed, and wildlife is in danger. Maasai tribes are meeting these obstacles head-on adapting their lives and agricultural practices while keeping their vibrant, close-knit culture alive. Award-winning author-photographer Jan Reynolds presents a striking glimpse of these dynamic people.

Only the Mountains Do Not Move: A Maasai Story of Culture and Conservation

Age Level:

9-12

“Mama Panya and her son, Adika, are all ready for market day where Mama is planning on using her few coins to buy the ingredients to make pancakes for dinner. Adika is so excited that he can’t help inviting all of their friends and neighbors. Mama Panya is worried that his generosity may be more than her few coins and their meager supplies can provide. Luckily all of the guests arrive with gifts, and a Kenyan cross between ‘Stone Soup’ and the story of the loaves and the fishes is realized.” — School Library Journal

Mama Panya’s Pancakes

Illustrator:

Julia Cairns

Age Level:

3-6

“Amadi, an Igbo boy in sun-drenched Nigeria, sees no point in learning to read, until he sees a picture of a snowman in a book and is curious to find out more. He wants to learn about the far-off country where frozen rain falls from the sky — a world so different from his own — and the chance to read about it fills him with joy. Children will enjoy reading about Amadi’s life in the village, depicted in the earth-toned, intimate scenes. It’s a nice reversal that young children will be able to grasp — what looks exotic and faraway to one person is a place where someone else lives.” — Booklist

Amadi’s Snowman

Age Level:

6-9

Product Description: Bernardi lives with his grandfather, Babu, who supports them by making toys. Bernardi wishes he could go to school, but they can’t afford it. When a tourist offers a handsome price for the music box Babu gave him as a present, Bernardi regretfully sells it, giving the money to Babu. Babu uses the money to pay for his grandson’s school, and he starts working on a new music box. The book’s sensitive text and endearing illustrations capture the tender relationship between a Tanzanian child and his grandfather.

Babu’s Song

Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen

Age Level:

6-9

Product Description: Upon the arrival of her new baby brother, Elizabeti decides she needs a doll she can care for the way her mother cares for the new baby. After looking around her village, Elizabeti finds the perfect doll to love, and names her Eva. When Mama changes the new baby’s diaper, Elizabeti changes Eva. When Mama sings to the baby, Elizabeti sings to Eva. And one day when Eva turns up lost, Elizabeti realizes just how much she loves her special doll. Set in contemporary Tanzania, this universal tale of love and tenderness that will touch readers of all ages.

Elizabeti’s Doll

Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen

Illustrator:

Christy Hale

Age Level:

6-9

“In first-person narration, Pelé describes his lifetime passion for the game, which began in childhoodMorrison’s vibrant, energetic illustrations depict a dual story. Each two-page spread features vignettes from Pelé’s career on one page (subtly aging their subject over the course of the book), while the facing page reveals a parallel story line of a modern-day child learning to love the game. The vivid pictures, featuring slightly elongated figures and tilted perspectives, convey all the energy of this universal sport.” — Kirkus Reviews

For the Love of Soccer!

Illustrator:

Frank Morrison

Age Level:

6-9

Product Description: Carnival is coming, and the villagers of John John, Trinidad, are getting ready to celebrate. Best of all, the Roti King has promised free rotis — tasty fried pancakes filled with chicken, herbs, and spices — for the best band in the parade. Young Winston dreams of feasting on those delicious rotis. But there’s a problem: he’s not in a band! Pondering his predicament as he wanders through the village junkyard, Winston makes a curious musical discovery that may be just the ticket to realizing his dream. Inspired by the early life of Winston “Spree” Simon, a pioneer in the development of the steel drum.

Drummer Boy of John John

Illustrator:

Frané Lessac

Age Level:

3-6

Product Description: Ray Charles and his soulful, passionate rhythms and melodies have been embraced around the world for decades. Now, in this beautiful new edition of an award-winning biography, readers can follow Charles from his boyhood, when he lost his sight and learned to read and write music in Braille, until the age of 40, when he had become a world-renowned jazz and blues musician packing auditoriums and stadiums. In a new introduction and afterword, the author updates Charlesâ€™s life to the present.

Ray Charles

Illustrator:

George Ford

Age Level:

6-9

Product Description: Richard Wright and the Library Card shares a poignant turning point in the life of a young man who became one of this country’s most brilliant writers, the author of Native Son and Black Boy. As a young black man in the segregated South of the 1920s, Wright was hungry to explore new worlds through books, but was forbidden from borrowing them from the library. This touching account tells of his love of reading, and how his unwavering perseverance, along with the help of a co-worker, came together to make Richard’s dream a reality. Also available in Spanish.

Richard Wright and the Library Card

William Miller

Illustrator:

R. Gregory Christie

Age Level:

6-9

Product Description: Zora is full of dreams. From the top of the chinaberry tree, she dreams of living in the cities beyond the horizon. Her father thinks she should wear dresses and leave dreaming and tree-climbing to boys. But her mother teaches Zora that like each new branch of the chinaberry tree, dreams are always within reach. Independent and full of spirit, Zora explores her hometown and listens to the stories of its people â€” stories her mother makes her promise to remember. But it isn’t until Zora is faced with her mother’s death that she realizes the importance of her promise. Based on autobiographical writings of the renowned African American writer Zora Neale Hurston. Also available in Spanish.

Zora Hurston and the Chinaberry Tree (Reading Rainbow Book)

William Miller

Age Level:

9-12

Product Description: On a beautiful sunny day, an African American girl visits the park and rounds up a group of her friends for an afternoon of fun and playground games. As they play, this happy crew discovers that despite their physical differences — straight hair, curly hair; brown eyes, blue eyes; light skin, dark skin — they are all really the same. With the irresistible and exuberant beat of a playground rap, Bein’ with You This Way invites readers of all ages to join in this celebration of diversity.

Bein’ With You This Way

W. Nikola-Lisa

Illustrator:

Laura Bryant

Age Level:

3-6

“Unflinching verse and elegant imagery combine in a powerful, evocative, picture-book portrait of Coretta Scott King. As stated on the cover, Shange uses poetry to recount Coretta Scottâ€™s life, from her childhood to her marriage with Martin Luther King, Jr. On the final page, the author offers a linear, prose biography, adding context to her more abstract references in the poetry.” — Booklist

Coretta Scott

Ntozake Shange

Illustrator:

Kadir Nelson

Age Level:

6-9

“Thunder Rose is an African-American child born on a stormy night abuzz with booming thunder, flashing lightning, and hailing rain. Her parents are awestruck by her remarkable gifts, which include forming a ball out of lightning, speaking in full sentences minutes after her birth, and snoring through a booming, thunderous rumble Nolen and Nelson offer up a wonderful tale of joy and love, as robust and vivid as the wide West. The oil, watercolor, and pencil artwork is outstanding. A splendid, colorful, and most welcome addition to the tall-tale genre.” — School Library Journal

Thunder Rose

Jerdine Nolen

Illustrator:

Kadir Nelson

Age Level:

6-9

“This picture-book biography matches Mandela’s outsize achievements with large, powerful images, resulting in a presentation that will seize and hold readers’ attentionNelson’s paintings range from poignant, when Mandela’s mother tells him good-bye as he leaves home for more education at the age of nine, to exuberant, when Mandela and 100 men arrested for protesting apartheid respond by dancing and singing, to inspiring, when people organize rallies demanding his release. When freedom finally comes, ‘a colorful sea of people’ celebrate.” — School Library Journal

Nelson Mandela

Kadir Nelson

Age Level:

6-9

“This joyful picture book uses watercolor-and-pencil artwork to show African dances from all over the continent and kids ‘coming from Brooklyn, coming from Harlem, the Bronx and down the subway lines’ to learn them at the Harlem’s Batoto Yetu dance studio. On each left-hand page is a sepia-tone illustration of a traditional African dance, accompanied by detailed notes about its origin, the performance, and the cultural tradition. Opposite pages include a rhythmic verse and a full-color picture of children in their American studio learning the dance, painting their faces and bodies with traditional designs, and putting on a show.” — Booklist

Drumbeat in Our Feet

Age Level:

6-9

“Well-loved illustrator Bryan’s pictures and recollections tell of his lifelong devotion to making and sharing art. His Antiguan-born parents sang, kept birds and sheltered orphans; they showed him how to resist convention and survive defeat. Drawing every day, as a soldier during WWII he kept his art supplies in his gas mask…Bryan honed his skills, overcame racism and discouragement, and thrived throughout 20th-century tumult. While the text forms a single narrative thread, the busy pages are laid out scrapbook-style on bright, overlapping rectangles of color, old family photos next to artwork next to call-outs of Bryan’s words in large type.” — Publisher’s Weekly