1994
Author Award Winner
Toning
the Sweep by Angela
Johnson
Before Emily's grandmother leaves her beloved desert home, possibly for the last
time, the sensitive teen sets out to record the memories of the woman, her
friends, and relatives on video. While documenting the reminiscences, she learns
about her African American family's past and gains the strength to say good-bye.
A powerful story about connections
and coping. Grades 6-9
Honor
Books
Brown
Honey in Broom Wheat Tea by Joyce Carol Thomas; ill. by Floyd
Cooper
These joyous and unusually moving poems celebrate family, individuality, and
African-American heritage. Richly illustrated with affectionate, glowing
paintings, the poems ask us to remember where we came from, to cherish who we
are, and to look with hope and courage to the future. Full color. Ages 4-8
Malcolm
X: By Any Means Necessary
by
Walter Dean Myers
In his preface, Newbery Honor book author Myers ( Scorpions ; Fallen Angels )
notes that Malcolm X's pivotal impact on the civil rights movement of the '60s
was the result of his distinctive, dramatic approach: ``It was Malcolm's anger,
his biting wit, his dedication, that put the hard edge on the movement, that
provided the other side of the sword, not the handle of acceptance and
nonviolence, but the blade.'' Appropriately, it is with incisive, precise prose
that the author chronicles the labyrinthine path of Malcolm's life, from his
1925 birth in Omaha to his assassination in Harlem 40 years later. Seamlessly
fusing historical notes on the era with the activist's story, Myers tells of
Malcolm's childhood, which was greatly influenced by his father, a disciple of
Marcus Garvey; his life as a youth on the streets of Harlem and Boston, where he
was convicted of burglary; his self-education while imprisoned for more than six
years; his crucial role in and eventual split from the Nation of Islam; and his
pilgrimage to Mecca, which inspired his Organization of Afro-American Unity,
established ``to unify Africans on an international basis.'' The inclusion of
quotations from Malcolm X's eloquent autobiography brings an added dimension to
Myers's account and successfully rounds out this carefully researched portrait
of a deeply devoted individual.
Ages
10-up.
Illustrator
Award Winner
Soul
Looks Back in Wonder , ill. by Tom Feelings; text ed. by Phyllis
Fogelman
After completing the
stunning art for Soul Looks Back In Wonder, Tom Feelings approached stellar
authors Maya Angelou, Margaret Walker, Walter Dean Myers, Lucille Clifton, among
others. They wrote these inspired poems to pass on the heritage of strength,
beauty, and creativity to today's African Americans--especially young people.
Full color. 40 pages, Ages
4-8
Honor
Books
Brown
Honey in Broom Wheat Tea , ill. by Floyd Cooper; text by Joyce
Carol Thomas
These joyous and unusually moving poems celebrate family, individuality, and
African-American heritage. Richly illustrated with affectionate, glowing
paintings, the poems ask us to remember where we came from, to cherish who we
are, and to look with hope and courage to the future. Full color. Ages 4-8
Uncle
Jed's Barbershop ,
ill. by James Ransome; text by Margaree King Mitchell
j E MIT
Sarah
Jean's Uncle Jed was the only black barber in the county. He travelled far to
cut his customers' hair--and he dreamed of the day when he could open his very
own barbershop. With Ransome's richly colored paintings brimming with life, this
is a stirring tale of dreams long deferred and finally realized. 40 pages, Ages
4-8
1993
Author Award Winner
Dark
Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural by Patricia A.
McKissack
YA McKissack, P.
When
I was growing up in the South, writes McKissack, we called the half hour just
before nightfall the dark-thirty. Her nine stories and one poem, however, are
far too good to be reserved for that special time when it is neither day nor
night and when shapes and shadows play tricks on the mind. These short
works-haunting in both senses of the word-explore aspects of the African
American experience in the South, from slavery to the Underground Railroad and
emancipation, from the era of Pullman cars to the desegregation of buses, from
the terror of the Ku Klux Klan to '60s activism. Here, African Americans'
historical lack of political power finds its counterbalance in a display of
supernatural power: ghosts exact vengeance for lynchings; slaves use ancient
magic to enforce their master's promise of emancipation. As carefully executed
as McKissack's writings, Pinkney's black-and-white scratchboard illustrations
enhance the book's atmosphere, at once clearly regional in setting and
otherworldly in tone. Ages 8-12.
Honor Books
Mississippi
Challenge by Mildred
Pitts Walter
Incorporating
the reminiscences and thoughts of many of the participants, this study of the
history of African Americans in Mississippi chronicles the struggle for civil
rights, from the time of slvaery through the events of the civil rights movement
of the 1960s. Young Adult
Sojourner
Truth: Ain't I a Woman?
by
Patricia C. & Frederick L. McKissack
Gr.
5-8. Born a slave in the North and sold on the auction block, Sojourner Truth
became a leading abolitionist and feminist, a speaker of wit and wisdom who drew
on her own experience to fight against human suffering. Standing six feet tall
and dressed in black, she stirred audiences across the country and spoke with
presidents. Illiterate, she dictated her autobiography, Narrative of
Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave, in 1850, editing and updating it several
times. The McKissacks (who won the Coretta Scott King Award for A Long Hard
Journey: The Story of the Pullman Porter ) draw on Sojourner Truth's Narrative,
and they integrate her personal story with a general history of slavery,
resistance, and the leading figures in the abolitionist movement. The style is
straightforward, but it's the dramatic quotes from Sojourner Truth herself that
grab you. Readers will be stirred by her speeches (including the famous one with
the refrain "And ain't I a woman?"). They'll also love her fierce
one-liners: "No more scars and stripes," she said, "just stars
and stripes for all God's children." Includes a bibliography, but no notes;
many black-and-white photos to come. Ages 9-12
Somewhere
in the Darkness
by Walter Dean Myers YA Myers, W.
A
teenage boy accompanies his father, who has recently escaped from prison, on a
trip that turns out to be an, often painful, time of discovery for them both. Young
Adult
Illustrator Award Winner
The
Origin of Life on Earth: an African Creation Myth , ill. by Kathleen
Atkins Wilson; retold by David A. Anderson j 398.2 AND
This
Yeruba creation myth begins in the heavenly court of the all-powerful and his
agents, male and female orishas. All the orishas are content, save one named
Obtala, whose wondering impels him to employ his power in some meaningful way.
He prepares thoughtfully for this work, aided by his fellow orishas, and
descends from heaven on a golden chain. He takes soil that has been sown with
the personality of the orishas and forms humans in his own image,``carefully and
lovingly,'' so that the resulting creatures (even the imperfect ones) are
``beautiful to behold.'' The all-powerful then brings them to life and sets the
earth spinning, completing this noble, reverent, and positive tale. In the
colorful illustrations, glowing with hot yellow and sapphire, ebony silhouettes
are effectively set off by elegant, vibrantly patterned clothing and gold
ornaments. The bright backgrounds recall batiked African textiles. This story's
themes of determination, effort, generosity, and the sacredness of life, as well
as the attractive art, extend its appeal beyond myth, religion, or ethic
collections. Grades 2-6
Honor Books
Little
Eight John , ill. by Wil Clay; text by Jan Wahl
j E WAH
Little Eight John, ``a fine-looking boy . . . as mean as mean there was,''
flouts every one of his mother's safeguards against bad luck. He kicks toads,
sits in the chair backwards, counts his teeth--then laughs himself silly when
these acts bring trouble. But an encounter with ``Old Raw Head Bloody Bones''
(in what turns out to have been a dream) makes him change his ways. Wahl's
almost cinematic telling of this cautionary tale from the black South jumps
rapidly from incident to incident, a pared-down approach that tends to
overemphasize the moral and downplay the comedy. In his second collaboration
with Wahl (after Tailypo! ) Clay dramatizes the story with realistic yet
stylized acrylics. His loosely rendered images of a rural African American
household of a few generations ago place Little Eight John's expressive face in
the sharpest focus, ensuring that the reader's attention will remain focused,
too. Ages 5-8.
Sukey
and the Mermaid
, ill. by Brian
Pinkney; text by Robert San Souci
j 398.21 SAN
Sukey is a hardworking daughter of poor South Carolina Islanders. One day
she escapes to the beach to hide from her stepfather's scoldings. There she
unwittingly calls up Mama Jo, a beautiful brown-skinned, black-eyed mermaid, who
gives Sukey a gold coin to present to her parents so they won't be mad at her.
The coin sets in motion a richly textured tale of greed, loyalty and the power
of love. Full-color illustrations. Ages 4-8
Working
Cotton
,
ill. by Carole Byard; text by Sherley Anne Williams
j E WIL
The child's eye-view of a long day's work picking cotton in a poet's
resonant language. Full-color illustrations by award-winning artist Carole Byard
capture the dramatic texture of life in the fields.
Ages
4-8
1992
Author Award Winner
Now is Your
Time: the African American Struggle for Freedom
by
Walter Dean Myers
Combining
the emotional and plot-weaving powers of his novelist talents with a strong
author's presence, Myers portrays the quests of individual Africans against the
background of broader historical movements. Instead of a comprehensive, strict
chronology, Myers offers, through freed slave Ibrahima, investigative reporter
Ida Wells, artist Meta Warrick Fuller, inventor George Latimore, artist Dred
Scott, the 54th Massachusetts Regiment and others, history at its best--along
with deeper understanding of past and contemporary events. Readers will grasp
reasons behind incidents ranging from bewildering Supreme Court decisions to the
historical need for the black extended family. Intriguing and rousing. Photos
not seen by PW. Ages 11-up.
Honor Book
Night on
Neighborhood Street by
Eloise Greenfield, ill. by Jan Spivey Gilchrist
A collection of poems exploring the sounds, sights, and emotions enlivening a
black neighborhood during the course of one evening.
Ages
4-8
Tar
Beach by Faith Ringgold
j E RIN (2)
A young girl dreams of flying above her Harlem home, claiming all she sees for
herself and her family. Based on the author's quilt painting of the same name.
Ages
4-8
Honor
Books
All
Night, All Day: A Child's First Book of African American Spirituals ,
ill. and selected by Ashley Bryan
Ashley Bryan, one of America's most renowned storyteller-anthologizers,
presents an inspiring introduction to the African-American spirituals that he
has also illustrated with twelve gloriou full-color paintings. From over 1,000
songs collected since the Civil War, Ashley Bryan has chosen twenty of the
best-loved spirituals. Full color illustrations. Ages 4-8
Night on
Neighborhood Street ,
ill. by Jan Spivey Gilchrist, text by Eloise Greenfield
A collection of poems exploring the sounds, sights, and emotions enlivening
a black neighborhood during the course of one evening.
Ages
4-8
1991
The Road to Memphis by Mildred D.
Taylor j TAY
Sadistically
teased by two white boys in 1940's rural Mississippi, a black youth severely
injures one of the boys with a tire iron and enlists Cassie's help in trying to
flee the state. Young Adult
Honor Books
Black
Dance in America by James
Haskins
A history
of African-American dance in the United States discusses such celebrated artists
as Bill ""Bojangles"" Robinson, Katherine Dunham, Arthur
Mitchell, and others who were influential in the dance world. Young Adult
“A
small child imagines a future when he will be old with his Grandaddy. . . . The
African-American child and grandfather are distinct individuals, yet also
universal figures, recognizable to anyone who has ever shared the bond of family
love across generations."--School Library Journal, starred review. Full
color. Ages 4-8
Illustrator Award Winner
Aida
, ill. by Leo and Diane Dillon; text by Leontyne Price
j 782.102 PRI
Opera
diva Leontyne Price tells the compelling, romantic story of Aida, the captive
Ethiopian princess who falls in love with her country's greatest enemy.
Full-color illustrations. Ages 4-8
1990
Author Award Winner
A Long
Hard Journey: the Story of the Pullman Porter
by
Patricia C. & Frederick L. McKissack
The
moving story of the courage and solidarity that helped shape the history of
African Americans explains how the actions of the train workers fraternity
helped change the way of labor and the civil rights movement in this country. Young
Adult
Honor Books
Nathaniel
Talking by Eloise
Greenfield, ill. by Jan Spivey Gilchrist
The rhythm of Greenfield's text is infectious from a very early line: ``It's
Nathaniel talking / and Nathaniel's me/ I'm talking about / My philosophy/ About
the things I do / And the people I see / All told in the words / Of Nathaniel B.
Free / That's me.'' Her sentiments are equally affecting, but in a more sobering
way; Nathaniel wonders when he'll ever be old enough not to have to answer a
question ``I don't know,'' and he remembers his mother, who has died: ``Mama was
funny / was full of jokes / was pretty / dark brown-skinned / laughter.'' His
experiences are warmly universal, as are Gilchrist's depictions of his joyful
and sorrowful moments, and both poetry, picture and mood come together in one
wistful moment when Nathaniel says, ``I know life ain't no piece of pie . . . I
know I got to try.'' Ages 5-11.
The Bells
of Christmas by Virginia
Hamilton
Award-winning author Virginia Hamilton provides a heartwarming story perfect
for the Christmas gift-giving season. Full-color illustrations. Ages 4-8
Illustrator Award Winner
Nathaniel
Talking , ill. by Jan
Spivey Gilchrist; text by Eloise Greenfield
The
rhythm of Greenfield's text is infectious from a very early line: ``It's
Nathaniel talking / and Nathaniel's me/ I'm talking about / My philosophy/ About
the things I do / And the people I see / All told in the words / Of Nathaniel B.
Free / That's me.'' Her sentiments are equally affecting, but in a more sobering
way; Nathaniel wonders when he'll ever be old enough not to have to answer a
question ``I don't know,'' and he remembers his mother, who has died: ``Mama was
funny / was full of jokes / was pretty / dark brown-skinned / laughter.'' His
experiences are warmly universal, as are Gilchrist's depictions of his joyful
and sorrowful moments, and both poetry, picture and mood come together in one
wistful moment when Nathaniel says, ``I know life ain't no piece of pie . . . I
know I got to try.'' Ages 5-11.
Honor Book
The
Talking Eggs , ill. by Jerry Pinkney, text by Robert San Souci
j 398.2 SAN
The
author of such delights as The Christmas Ark and The Enchanted Tapestry joins
forces with illustrator Pinkney to resurrect a colorful folktale that captures
the unique flavor of the American South. Ages 4-8