She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story by Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Don Tate

Abstract: Effa always loved baseball. As a young woman, she would go to Yankee Stadium just to see Babe Ruth's mighty swing. She never dreamed she would someday own a baseball team. Or be the first-and-only woman ever inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.













Publisher: Harpercollins, 1 v. (unpaged)

Ruth and the Green Book by Calvin Alexander Ramsey, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

Abstract: Ruth and the Green Book is the story of one black family's trip from Chicago to Alabama by car in the late 1940s. Along the way they encounter prejudice, but they also discover The Green Book, a real guide to accommodations which was published for decades to aid African-American travelers as they faced prejudice on the roads across the country.







Publisher: Carolrhoda Books, Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., unpaged

Almost Zero by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie

Abstract: Dyamonde really wants red high-top sneakers. Too bad they're so expensive! A classmate tells her it's her mom"s job to give her what she needs, but when Dyamonde tries that argument, her mom teaches her a lesson by literally only giving her what she needs.






Publisher: G.P. Putnam's, 96 p.

Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri, illustrated by Randy DuBurke

Abstract: A graphic novel based on the true story of Robert "Yummy" Sandifer, an eleven-year old African American gang member from Chicago who shot a young girl and was then shot by his own gang members








Publisher: Lee & Low Books, 94 p.

Climbing Lincoln's Steps: the African American Journey by Suzanne Slade, illustrated by Colin Bootman

Abstract: A study of events in African American history highlights important events that have taken place on the Lincoln Memorial steps in Washington, D.C.









Publisher: Albert Whitman and Co., 1 v. (unpaged)

Dave, the Potter by Laban Carrick Hill, illustrated by Bryan Collier

Abstract: A biography of a slave who lived in South Carolina in the 1800s and his extraordinary talent for pottery.








Publisher: Little, Brown, 1 v. (unpaged)

Clemente! by Willie Perdomo, illustrated by Bryan Collier

Abstract: A little boy named Clemente learns about his namesake, the great baseball player Roberto Clemente











Publisher: Henry Holt and Co., 1 v. (unpaged)

Skit-Scat Raggedy Cat: Ella Fitzgerald by Roxane Orgill, illustrated by Sean Qualls

Abstract: A swinging biography of young Ella Fitzgerald who pushed through the toughest of times to become one of America's most beloved jazz singers










Publisher: Candlewick Press, 48 pages

Oprah: The Little Speaker by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by London Ladd

Abstract: The first six years in the life of the world's most popular talk show host.











Publisher: Marshall Cavendish, 1 v. (unpaged)

Little Diva by LaChanze, illustrated by Brian Pinkney

Abstract: Nena wants to be a Diva, with a capital D, just like her mommy, who's a star on Broadway. So she learns all she can about singing and dancing when she is at the theater and trains day and night to make her dreams come true.









Publisher: Feiwel and Friends, 1 v. (unpaged)

My Brother Charlie by Holly Robinson Peete and Ryan Peete with Denene Millner, illustrated by Shane W. Evans

Abstract: A girl tells what it is like living with her twin brother who has autism and sometimes finds it hard to communicate with words, but who, in most ways, is just like any other boy. Includes authors' note about autism.










Publisher: Scholastic, 1 v. (unpaged)

Around Our Way on Neighbors' Day by Tameka Brown, illustrated by Charlotte Riley-Webb

Abstract: A young girl makes her way through an urban neighborhood filled with children playing, men debating, women cooking, and jazz music playing as her community gathers to celebrate "Neighbors' Day."

9780810989719






Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 1 v. (unpaged)

Black Jack: The Ballad of Jack Johnson by Charles R. Smith Jr., illustrated by Shane W. Evans

Abstract: Art and poetry combine to tell the story of boxer Jack Johnson, who became the first African-American world heavyweight boxing champion in the early part of the twentieth century.









Publisher: Roaring Brook Press, 1 v. (unpaged)

A Place Where Hurricanes Happen by Renee Watson, illustrated by Shadra Strickland

Abstract: Told in alternating voices, four friends from the same New Orleans neighborhood describe what happens to them and their community when they are separated, then reunited, as a result of Hurricane Katrina.






Publisher: Random House, 1 v. (unpaged).

Lucky Beans by Becky Birtha, illustrated by Nicole Tadgell

Abstract: During the Great Depression, Marshall, an African American boy, uses lessons learned in arithmetic class and guidance from his mother to figure out how many beans are in a jar in order to win her a new sewing machine in a contest.






Publisher: Albert Whitman & Co., 1 v. (unpaged)

Black Magic by Dinah Johnson, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie

Abstract: Presents a poem celebrating the African-American experience and what it means to be part of a strong, proud, and free people.








Publisher: Henry Holt and Co., 1 v. (unpaged)

Back of the Bus by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

Abstract: From the back of the bus, an African American child watches the arrest of Rosa Parks.







Publisher: Philomel, 1 v. (unpaged)

Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney

Abstract: "This picture book is a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the momentous Woolworth's lunch counter sit-in, when four college students staged a peaceful protest that became a defining moment in the struggle for racial equality and the growing civil rights movement."--Amazon.com.





Publisher: Little, Brown

Testing the Ice: A True Story about Jackie Robinson by Sharon Robinson, illustrated by Kadir Nelson

Abstract: As a testament to his courage, Jackie Robinson's daughter shares memories of him, from his baseball career to the day he tests the ice for her, her brothers, and their friends.






Publisher: Scholastic, 40 pages

We Troubled the Waters by Ntozake Shange, illustrated by Rod Brown

Publisher: Amistad/Harper, 32 pages