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African-American Interest Books for Preschool - Grade 3

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Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers has published a number of titles which promote a sense of cultural pride through positive portrayal of African-American figures.

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Angelina's Island

Every day I tell Mama, I want to go home. Every day she tells me, We are home, Angelina. New York is home now. Angelina’s heart aches for Jamaica, and...

"...is home now. Angelina’s heart aches for Jamaica, and.... Every day I tell Mama, I want to go home..."

Jeanette Winter Jeanette Winter

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The Baby on the Way

By the Coretta Scott King Honor author In an urban rooftop garden, a young African American boy named Jamal initiates an intriguing conversation with his...

"...By the Coretta Scott King Honor author In an urban rooftop garden, a young African American boy named Jamal initiates an intriguing conversation with his.... By the Coretta Scott King Honor author In an urban rooftop garden, a young African American boy named Jamal initiates an intriguing..."

By Karen English and Sean Qualls

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The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County

Meet one smart chicken chaser. She can catch any chicken on her grandmother’s farm except one – the elusive Miss Hen. In a hilarious battle of wits, the...

"...“feathers will fly” been aptly illustrated as in this vivacious story."  --Starred, Kirkus Reviews   "Both..."

By Janice N. Harrington and Shelley Jackson

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Circle Unbroken

Keeping the African heritage alive As she teaches her granddaughter to sew a traditional sweetgrass basket, a grandmother weaves a story, going back...

"...the big circle of African-American history...Lewis' astonishing pictures combine the panoramas..."

By Margot Theis Raven and E. B. Lewis

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Elsina's Clouds

A Basotho girl's prayer to the ancestors "When can I paint a wall, Mama?" "When the rains come and wash away my designs, Elsina. Then you can paint the...

"...paint the walls," she says. For hundreds of years Basotho women in southern Africa have decorated the walls of their houses as prayers for rain. Bold, colorful art based on traditional African motifs..."

Jeanette Winter Jeanette Winter

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The Escape of Oney Judge

Martha Washington’s Slave Finds Freedom

When General George Washington is elected the first President of the United States, his wife chooses young Oney Judge, a house slave who works as a seamstress...

"..., and there Oney meets free blacks for the first time. At first Oney can’t imagine being free – she..."

Emily Arnold McCully Emily Arnold McCully

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Gloria Rising

"Readers will connect with Gloria's fears and anger, and young astronaut wanna-bes will like the beautiful details about space." --Booklist

By Ann Cameron and Lis Toft

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Going North

An African American family becomes a new kind of pioneer Leaving behind Big Mama, loving relatives, and the familiar red soil and cotton fields of Alabama,...

"...An African American family becomes a new kind of pioneer Leaving behind Big Mama, loving relatives, and the familiar red soil and cotton fields of Alabama,.... An African American family becomes..."

By Janice N. Harrington and Jerome Lagarrigue

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The Hard-Times Jar

A look at the life of migrant workers through a child’s eyes Emma Turner loves books and dreams of one day having the store-bought kind, but the...

By Ethel Footman Smothers and John Holyfield

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Jamela's Dress

Jamela gets in trouble when she takes the material intended for a new dress for Mama, parades it in the street, and allows it to become dirty and torn. But...

"...is set in a South African town, but the story of a little girl getting carried away by her make-believe..."

Niki Daly Niki Daly

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Where's Jamela?

When Mama tells Jamela about her new job and a new place for them to live, Mama is excited but Jamela isn't. She likes so many things about the house they live...

"..., expressive faces and slightly exotic locales give this South African moving-day-blues tale an extra..."

Niki Daly Niki Daly

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What's Cooking, Jamela?

"Who could resist playful, imaginative Jamela?" -- School Library Journal When Mrs. Zibi arrives to prepare the Christmas meal, Jamela decides to save...

"...story for all seasons features the same colorful South African township characters who made..."

Niki Daly Niki Daly

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Happy Birthday, Jamela!

What Jamela wants for her birthday is a pair of beautiful princess shoes. What she gets instead is clunky, practical school shoes. Jamela is definitely...

"....   Vibrant illustrations animate a sunny and satisfying story set in South Africa about embracing..."

Niki Daly Niki Daly

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Jazzy Miz Mozetta

"Okay, young cats, let the beat hit your feet." One fine evening, Miz Mozetta puts on her firecracker-red dress and heads outside to enjoy the moonlight....

"...if it ain't got that swing' - and this vivacious offering definitely does." -- Kirkus Reviews..."

By Brenda C. Roberts and Frank Morrison

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Please, Malese!

A Trickster Tale from Haiti

"Tom Sawyer looks like a small-time operator compared to the haitian trickster Malese . . . This well-paced, funny folktale will supplement social studies...

By Emily Lisker and Amy MacDonald

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Speak to Me

(And I Will Listen between the Lines)

Six voices from an inner-city classroom In a series of candid free-form poems, Karen English presents the thoughts of six third-grade children in one day...

"...of emotion and interest children will easily identify with, and Amy June Bates's watercolors breathe..."

By Karen English and Amy June Bates

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