January's Sparrow
10 best books like January's Sparrow (Patricia Polacco): I Lay My Stitches Down: Poems of American Slavery, Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation, Ruth and the Green Book, These Hands, Never Forgotten, Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad, Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave, Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt, One World, One Day, The Bat Boy & His Violin
| Author | Cynthia Grady |
| ISBN | 0802853862 |
This rich and intricate collection of poems chronicles the various experiences of American slaves. Drawn together through imagery drawn from quilting and fiber arts, each poem is spoken from a different perspective: a house slave, a mother losing her daughter to the auction block, a blacksmith,...
| Author | Andrea Davis Pinkney |
| ISBN | 0060821183 |
This story begins with shoes.
This story is all for true.
This story walks. And walks. And walks.
To the blues.
Rosa Parks took a stand by keeping her seat on the bus. When she was arrested for it, her supporters protested by refusing to ride. Soon a community of thousands was coming...
| Author | Calvin Alexander Ramsey |
| ISBN | 0761352554 |
In the not so distant past, traveling America's highways was not easy for the black motorist. Many restaurants, hotels, and even gas stations refused service to African Americans. In 1936, Victor Green, an African American from New York, listed all the businesses that would serve black travelers...
| Author | Margaret H. Mason |
| ISBN | 0547215665 |
Joseph’s grandpa could do almost anything with his hands. He could play the piano, throw a curveball, and tie a triple bowline knot in three seconds flat. But in the 1950s and 60s, he could not bake bread at the Wonder Bread factory. Factory bosses said white people would not want to eat bread touched...
| Author | Patricia C. McKissack |
| ISBN | 0375843841 |
A 2012 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book
"Forceful and iconic," raved Publishers Weekly in a starred review. This gorgeous picture book by Newbery Honor winner Patricia C. McKissack and two-time Caldecott Medal-winning husband-and-wife team Leo and Diane Dillon is sure to become a treasured...
| Author | Henry Cole |
| ISBN | 0545399971 |
A young girl's courage is tested in this haunting, wordless story. When a farm girl discovers a runaway slave hiding in the barn, she is at once startled and frightened. But the stranger's fearful eyes weigh upon her conscience, and she must make a difficult choice. Will she have the courage to help him?...
Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave
Dave was an extraordinary artist, poet, and potter living in South Carolina in the 1800s. He combined his superb artistry with deeply observant poetry, carved onto his pots, transcending the limitations he faced as a slave. In this inspiring and lyrical portrayal, National Book Award nominee Laban...
| Author | Deborah Hopkinson |
| ISBN | 0679874720 |
2013 marks the 20th anniversary of Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt!
As a seamstress in the Big House, Clara dreams of a reunion with her Momma, who lives on another plantation--and even of running away to freedom. Then she overhears two slaves talking about the Underground Railroad. In a flash...
| Author | Barbara Kerley |
| ISBN | 1426304617 |
One World, One Day uses exquisite, moving photographs and Barbara Kerley’s poetic text to convey a simple yet profound concept: we are one global family. This is a sophisticated concept book, presented as an elegant picture book with contributions from top international photographers.
This...
| Author | Gavin Curtis |
| ISBN | 0689841159 |
Reginald loves to create beautiful music on his violin. But Papa, manager of the Dukes, the worst team in the Negro National League, needs a bat boy, not a "fiddler," and traveling with the Dukes doesn't leave Reginald much time for practicing.
Soon the Dukes' dugout is filled with Beethoven,...
| Author | Bettye Stroud |
| ISBN | 0763635197 |
"An exciting story about a girl and her father who escape slavery. . . . Works well as a story and also as a lesson in African-American history." — SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
Now that Hannah’s papa has decided to make the run for freedom, her patchwork quilt is not just a precious memento of Mama...
| Author | Phil Bildner |
| ISBN | 0399247890 |
The extraordinary story of James Banning, the first African-American pilot to fly across country
During the Great Depression, the ace black pilot James Banning decided to fly from coast to coast to serve as an inspiration to people everywhere. So with a little ingenuity and a whole lot of...
| Author | Carole Boston Weatherford |
| ISBN | 0803728603 |
When four courageous black teens sat down at a lunch counter in the segregated South of 1960, the reverberations were felt both far beyond and close to home. This insightful story offers a child's-eye view of this seminal event in the American Civil Rights Movement. Connie is used to the signs and customs...
| Author | Angela Johnson |
| ISBN | 0689832524 |
There's a sweet, sweet smell in the air as two young girls sneak out of their house, down the street, and across town to where men and women are gathered, ready to march for freedom and justice.
Inspired by the countless young people who took a stand against the forces of injustice, two Coretta Scott...
| Author | Jane Yolen |
| ISBN | 0399240055 |
This six-year-old has an uncle like no other! His uncle wears long white dresses and never smokes cigars. Gilbert's uncle is none other than Emily Dickinson . . . Uncle Emily he calls her. And how he loves her. He knows that she writes poems about everything, even dead bees. But it's a poem about truth that,...
| Author | Kelly Starling Lyons |
| ISBN | 0399252134 |
Tosh loves his grandma Honey and her delicious golden tea cakes. When she tells the story of how the cookies became part of their family, he feels like he's flying back in time. But then one day, Honey starts forgetting things, even an ingredient for the tea cakes. Inspired by his love for his grandma and...
| Author | Dianna Hutts Aston |
| ISBN | 0803731078 |
In July 1969, the world witnessed an awe-inspiring historical achievement when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the moon. For the young protagonist of this lyrical and hopeful picture book, that landing is something that inspires her to make one giant step toward...
Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope
| Author | Nikki Grimes |
| ISBN | 1416971440 |
Barack Obama is the story of an exceptional man, as told by Nikki Grimes and illustrated by Bryan Collier, winners of the Coretta Scott King Award.
Ever since Barack Obama was young, Hope has lived inside him. From the beaches of Hawaii to the streets of Chicago, from the jungles of Indonesia...
