African+Americans

African American's Experience

 * __Fiction__**

Isabel and her five year old sister, Ruth, are slaves to a loyalist couple during the time of the Revolutionary War. The harsh conditions Isabel and her sister face push Isabel to seek her own freedom through becoming a spy for the rebel armies. Isabel soon realizes that she can trust her freedom to no one but herself, and develops a plan of her own to lead herself to freedom. 1st of proposed series. Grades 6 - 9. Recommended by Ashlee M.
 * Anderson, Laurie Halse. //**Chains**//**.** Simon and Schuster, c2008.

Ayres, Katherine. //**North by Night: A Story of the Underground Railroad.**// Random House, c2000. Lucy Spencer lives in Ohio in 1851 and her family has a secret. Their home is a stop on the Underground Railroad. They are helping slaves escape to freedom. Lucy puts herself in danger by helping the slaves but she is willing to take that risk. In the process Lucy learns about life and love. Grades 5 - 8. Recommended by Emily.

Draper, Sharon. //**Copper Sun.**//** Atheneum, c2006. Two fifteen-year-old girls -- one a slave and the other an indentured servant -- escape their Carolina plantation and try to make their way to Fort Moses, Florida, a Spanish colony that gives sanctuary to slaves. Grades 9 - 12. Local author. Recommended by Stephanie **

Sixty-four paintings trace the torturous journey of slaves from Africa to the Americas, from their capture at gunpoint to conditions below deck, and depict the cruelty they suffered, including the separation of families. Grades 6 - up. Recommended by: John G.
 * Feelings, Tom. **//The Middle Passage : White ships/black cargo.//** Dial Books, c1995.

Krisher, Trudy. **//Spite Fences//**. Bantam Doubleday, 1994. A powerful story about the American civil rights movement. Thirteen year old Maggie Pugh lives with her family in Kinship, Georgia. The Pugh family is poor and white so they live on the west side of town. Segregation is being challenged in Kinship in the summer of 1960 and Maggie finds herself very much involved despite her parents' anger. //This book is by a local author.// Grades 8 - up. Recommended by Dr. Berg

Lee, Harper. //**To Kill a Mockingbird.**// Warner, 1962. This Pulitzer Prize winning novel is a story of racism, injustice and compassion set in Alabama in the 1930s. It is told through the eyes of eight year old Scout. Scout's father, Atticus Finch, a lawyer, defends Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman. Despite Atticus' efforts and Tom's innocence, Tom is convicted of the crime and is later shot while trying to escape from jail. Grades 9 - up. Recommended by Kim.

A gritty young adult novel that tells about a slave auction in pre-Civil War Georgia. This book deals with not only the harsh treatment of the slaves in that time but also the pain and anguish they felt in being separated (in many cases forever) from their loved ones. This book is available in recorded versions. Grades 6 - up. Recommended by Bill.
 * Lester, Julius. //**Day of Tears: A novel in dialogue**//**.** Hyperion, 2001.

McGuigan, Mary Ann. //**Morning in a Different Place.**// Front Street, 2009. This novel of two best friends with difficult home lives, one black and the other white, is set in 1963. It deals with race relations and the importance of John F. Kennedy to the black community and what a blow his assassination had upon the community. This book could be linked to several of the social studies themes. Grades 8 - 11. Recommended by Kim.

Schmidt, Gary D. //**Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy.**// Laurel Leaf, 2004. Turner Buckminster moves from Boston to a small town in Maine with his mother and preacher father in this historical novel set in 1912. In the town of Phippsburg, the white church-goers are committed to ridding the nearby island of Malaga of the African-Americans who have settled there. Lizzie Bright, a girl from Malaga, befriends Turner and they develop a special friendship. This book is based on events that actually happened, including the success of the people of Phippsburg in getting all of the people on Malaga to leave, some going to a quick death at the local pauper's home. Grades 6 - 9. Recommended by Amber

Taylor, Mildred D. //**The Land.**// P. Fogelman, 2001. This is the prequel to Taylor's Newbery Award winner, //Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry//. Paul-Edward is the son of a part-Indian, part-African slave mother and a white plantation owner father. He finds himself caught between the two worlds of his parents as he pursues his dream of owning land in the aftermath of the Civil War. Grades 8 - up. Recommended by Katy

Nonfiction

Fleischman, John. //**Black and White Airmen : Their true history**//**. Houghton Mifflin, c2007. John Leahr and Herb Heilbrun were born and grew up in Cincinnati during the 1920's and 1930's, however they may as well have been worlds apart since one was white, the other African American. This is the story of their experience as pilots during World War II. Grades 5 - 8. Local author. Recommended by Stephanie **

Gripping revelation about the lives of 2 slaves from Georgia and their daring escape from slavery. Includes bibliography. Grades 6 - 9. Recommended by Stephanie.
 * Fradin, Judith Bloom. **//5,000 Miles to Freedom: Ellen and William Craft's flight from slavery.//** National Geographic, c2006.

Jacob, Iris. **//My Sisters' Voices : Teenage girls of color speak out.//** H. Holt, 2002. This is a collection of writings from teenage girls of African American, Hispanic, Asian American, Native American, and biracial backgrounds. With candor and grace, they speak out on topics that are relevant not only to themselves and their peers but to anyone who is raising, teaching, or nurturing young women of color. Grades 6 - up. Recommended by: John G.

Kallen, Stuart A. //**Women of the Civil Rights Movement.**// (Women in History) Lucent Books, c2005. Profiles American black women who made significant contributions to the civil rights movement and helped change the nation's history. Includes bibliography. Grades 7 - up. Recommended by Stephanie Uschan, Michael. **//Life on the Front Lines: The fight for civil rights.//** (Lucent Library of Historical Eras. The 1960's.) Lucent Books, c2004. Provides a historical perspective on events that took place during the 1960s as they related to social conditions, politics, and American culture. Includes a bibliography. Grades 6 - up. Recommended by Stephanie