African-American Children's Books

ALLEN PUBLISHING
(212) 971-1346

Series: Topeka Heights launches with Princess's Journey and Christopher's Dilemma (Mar., $10.99 each paper, 13-18) by Jennifer Burton.

BAREFOOT BOOKS

We All Went on Safari (March, $15.99, 4-7) by Laurie Krebs, illus. by Julia Cairns. On a journey through the Tanzanian plains, three youngsters learn to count in English and Swahili.

BOYDS MILLS

Secret Signs: An Escape Through the Underground Railroad (Feb., $8.95 paper, 4-8) by Anita Riggio tells of the bravery of a deaf boy in the mid-1800s.

CANDLEWICK

A Voice of Her Own: The Story of Phillis Wheatley, Slave Poet (Jan., $16.99, 8-12) by Kathryn Lasky, illus. by Paul Lee, is a biography of the first African-American woman poet.

Vision of Beauty: The Story of Sarah Breedlove Walker (Jan., $6.99 paper, 8-12) by Kathryn Lasky, illus. by Nneka Bennett, chronicles the life of the Louisiana orphan who became a successful businesswoman and philanthropist.

Under the Moon & Over the Sea: A Collection of Caribbean Poems (Jan., $17.99, 6-up), ed. by John Agard and Grace Nicols, illus. by Christopher Corr, Sara Fanelli, Cathie Felstead, Satoshi Kitamura and Jane Ray, compiles verse by more than 30 poets.

Full, Full, Full of Love (Feb., $15.99, 2-up) by Trish Cooke, illus. by Paul Howard. An extended family enjoys Sunday dinner at Grannie's.

CHARLESBRIDGE

Don't Say Ain't (Feb., $15.95, 5-9) by Irene Smalls, illus. by Colin Bootman. In 1957, a girl leaves her Harlem neighborhood school to attend a newly integrated advanced school.

CLARION

This Our Dark Country: The American Settlers of Liberia (Nov., $18, 10-14) by Catherine Reef recounts the 1822 founding of Liberia by the American Colonization Society.

Fight On! Mary Church Terrell's Battle for Integration (Feb., $17, 10-14) by Dennis Brindell Fradin and Judith Bloom Fradin is a biography of this civil rights crusader.

CRICKET/MARCATO

Freedom Roads: Searching for the Underground Railroad (Jan., $16.95, 10-14) by Joyce Hansen and Gary McGowan explains how archeologists and historians have reconstructed the journeys of slaves who escaped via the Underground Railroad.

DIAL

The Village That Vanished (Sept., $16.99, 5-up) by Ann Grifalconi, illus. by Kadir Nelson. A brave girl helps to keep her village safe from slavers.

Me and Uncle Romie: A Story Inspired by the Art and Life of Romare Bearden (Dec., $16.99, 5-up) by Claire Hartfield, illus. by Jerome Lagarrigue. A North Carolina boy visits his uncle, a collage artist in New York City.

Series: Little Cliff returns in Little Cliff and the Cold Place (Sept., $16.99, 4-8) by Clifton L. Taulbert, illus. by E.B. Lewis.

DREAM PUBLISHING

Series: Sillwee Wobbert adds Sillwee Wobbert and Wheezing Will in The Big Game (Oct., $9.95 paper, up to 10) by G. Robert.

DUTTON

The Song Shoots Out of My Mouth: A Celebration of Music (Nov., $17.99, 12-up) by Jaime Adoff, illus. by Martin French, collects 24 poems paying tribute to teens' musical experiences.

FSG

Chill Wind (Oct., $16, 12-up) by Janet McDonald. A young woman faces challenges growing up in the Brooklyn projects.

Once Upon a Time (March, $16, 4-8) by Niki Daly. A struggling young reader is inspired by her aunt in the South African Karoo.

HARPERCOLLINS

Out of Bounds (Jan., $16.99, 10-up) by Beverly Naidoo is a collection of stories about the last century of apartheid in South Africa.

HARPERCOLLINS/AMISTAD

How They Got Over: African Americans and the Call of the Sea (Jan., $16.99, 8-11) by Jan Spivey Gilchrist explores little-known achievements of African-Americans at sea.

Honey I Love and Other Love Poems, 25^thAnniversary Edition (Jan., $14.95, 2-5) by Eloise Greenfield, illus. by Jan Spivey Gilchrist. A board book version.

Reprint: The Other Side of Truth (Jan., $5.99 paper, 10-up) by Beverly Naidoo.

HOLIDAY HOUSE

Blues Journey (Mar., $18.95, all ages) by Walter Dean Myers, illus. by Christopher Myers. In blues lyrics, the author traces the African-American experience from the Middle Passage to the present.

HYPERION

The Book of Mean People (Sept., $16.99, 4-8) by Toni Morrison and Slade Morrison, illus. by Pascal Lemaître, examines ways in which children experience meanness and anger.

I'm Your Child, God: Prayers for Our Children (Oct., $19.99, 8-up) by Marian Wright Edelman, illus. by Bryan Collier, focuses on issues that today's children and teens face.

HYPERION/JUMP AT THE SUN

Float Like a Butterfly (Sept., $15.99, 5-9) by Ntozake Shange, illus. by Edel Rodriguez, chronicles the life of Muhammad Ali.

Double Dutch (Sept., $16.99, 8-up) by Veronica Chambers pays tribute to the jump-roping game of double Dutch.

The Big Box (Sept., $6.99 paper, 8-up) by Toni Morrison and Slade Morrison, illus. by Giselle Potter, introduces three youngsters who show grownups what it means to be a kid.

Be Boy Buzz (Oct., $16.99, 4-8) by bell hooks, illus. by Chris Raschka, examines what it means to be a boy.

Homemade Love (Dec., $16.99, 4-8) by bell hooks, illus. by Shane W. Evans. When a girl makes a mistake, her parents' love helps her to set things right.

LEE & LOW

Elizabeti's School (Sept., $16.95, 4-7) by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen, illus. by Christy Hale. The third book featuring Elizabeti recounts this Tanzanian girl's first day of school.

LERNER

Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Oct., $3.95 paper, 5-7) by Robin Nelson reveals the history of this holiday.

Jackie Robinson (Oct., $5.95 paper, 6-8) by Sally Walker, illus. by Rodney Pate, is a biography of the first African-American to play major-league baseball.

Bessie Coleman: Daring to Fly (Jan., $5.95 paper, 6-8) by Sally Walker, illus. by Janice Lee Porter, is the story of the first African-American woman to earn her pilot's license.

Benjamin Banneker: Pioneering Scientist (Jan., $5.95 paper, 6-8) by Ginger Wadsworth, illus. by Craig Orback, tells of the life of this man of science.

Demanding Justice: A Story About Mary Ann Shadd Cary (Jan., $5.95 paper, 8-11) by Jeri Chase Ferris, illus. by Kimanne Smith. Born a free African-American in the 1820s, Cary devoted her life to fighting for equality for African-Americans.

MCGRAW HILL/GINGHAM DOG PRESS

The Freedom Riddle (Dec., $14.95, 4-9) retold by Angela Shelf Medearis, illus. by John Ward. A slave exchanges a riddle for freedom; based on a true story told to William Faulkner.

Our People (Dec., $14.95, up to 2) by Angela Shelf Medearis, illus. by Michael Bryant. An African-American father and daughter explore the history of their people.

PENGUIN PUTNAM/FOGELMAN

The Color of Home (Sept., $15.99, 4-8) by Mary Hoffman, illus. by Karin Littlewood. A boy whose family was forced to flee Somalia adjusts to life in the U.S.

The Nightingale (Sept., $16.99, 5-up) by Hans Christian Andersen, adapted and illus. by Jerry Pinkney, presents this classic with new art.

PUTNAM

Locomotion (Jan., $15.99, 10-up) by Jacqueline Woodson. A novel told in verse, from the perspective of a boy striving to reunite his family.

Reissues:It's Kwanzaa Time! (Sept., $8.99, all ages) by Linda and Clay Goss; Between Madison and Palmetto and Maizon at Blue Hill (Sept., $16.99 each, $5.99 Puffin paperback, 8-12) by Jacqueline Woodson.

RANDOM HOUSE

Reprint: Jefferson's Children: The Story of One American Family (Jan., $14.95 paper, 10-up) by Jane Feldman and Shannon Lanier.

ROURKE

From Slavery to Freedom (Oct., $19.27, 5-8) by Melinda Lilly recounts the story of the Underground Railroad.

Series: Holiday Celebrations adds Kwaanza (Sept., $19.27, 6-9) by Jason Cooper and Kieran Walsh. New to Discover the Life of an American Legend are Thurgood Marshall and Oprah Winfrey (Oct., $19.27 each, 6-9) by Don McLeese. And Discover the Life of an Equal Rights Leader welcomes Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and Jackie Robinson (Oct., $19.27 each, 6-9) by McLeese.

ROYAL REGAL BOOKS
(201) 227-8793

Call Me Black Call Me Beautiful (Sept, $9.95, all ages) by Alicia Terry Henderson, illus. by Jennifer Kindert, addresses issues of racial identity and racial pride.

SCHOLASTIC

Sweets and Treats and Snowflake Kisses and Gingerbread Smiles (Sept. and Oct., $6.95 each, 1-4) by Toni Trent Parker, photos by Earl Anderson, are holiday books featuring African-American youngsters.

Rap A Tap Tap (Sept., $15.95, 3-up) by Leo and Diane Dillon pays tribute to tap dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.

Visiting Day (Oct., $15.95, 4-up) by Jacqueline Woodson, illus. by James E. Ransome. A girl and her grandmother journey to visit the child's father in prison.

Why Heaven Is Far Away (Oct., $16.95, 6-8) by Julius Lester, illus. by Joe Cepeda, is a tale explaining why heaven and earth are no longer close together.

When Marian Sang: The True Recital of Marian Anderson (Oct., $16.95, 6-10) by Pam Muñoz Ryan, illus. by Brian Selznick, spotlights this singer who performed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939.

Time Pieces (Oct., $16.95, 10-up) by Virginia Hamilton. This semi-autobiographical novel centers on an Ohio girl whose grandfather escaped from slavery on the Underground Railroad.

Talkin' About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman (Nov., $16.95, 5-9) by Nikki Grimes, illus. by E.B. Lewis, profiles this pioneer pilot.

Days of Jubilee: The End of Slavery in the United States (Feb., $18.95, 8-13) by Patricia C. and Fredrick L. McKissack documents the days leading up to freedom.

Series: HipKIDHop starts up with And the Winner Is… (Sept., $13.95, 7-10) by LL Cool J, illus. by JibJab Media; Think Again (Sept., $13.95, 7-10) by Doug E. Fresh, illus. by Joseph Buckingham Jr.; and Hope (Feb., $13.95, 7-10) by Shaggy, illus. by Buckingham. AFRO-BETS offers 1,2,3 Book and A,B,C Book (Oct., $3.50 each, 2-6) by Cheryl Willis Hudson. And First Person Fiction presents Behind the Mountains (Oct., $16.95, 11-15) by Edwidge Danticat.

SIMON & SCHUSTER

The Twins and the Bird of Darkness: A Hero Tale from the Caribbean (Sept., $16.95, 5-10) by Robert D. San Souci, illus. by Terry Widener, is a tale about the redemptive power of brotherly love.

Taking Liberty: The Story of Oney Judge, George Washington's Runaway Slave (Nov., $16.95, 12-up) by Ann Rinaldi is a novel based on the true story of one woman's path to freedom.

Please, Baby, Please (Nov., $16.95, 2-5) by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee, illus. by Kadir Nelson, focuses on family fun.

My Brother Martin: A Sister Remembers Growing Up with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Jan., $17.95, all ages) by Christine King Ferris, illus. by Chris Soentpiet, offers a portrait of this civil rights leader's childhood.

Daddy Says (Jan., $15.95, 10-14) by Ntozake Shange. The world of the African-American rodeo is the backdrop for this novel about a family.

SIMON & SCHUSTER/ALADDIN

Paperback Series: Stories of Famous Americans adds Harriet Tubman and the Freedom Train (Jan., $3.99, 6-8) by Sharon Gayle, illus. by Felicia Marshall. And joining Childhood of Famous Americans is Sojourner Truth, Voice of Freedom (Jan., $4.99, 8-12) by Kathleen Kudlinski, illus. by Lenny Wooden.

Reprints: Koi and the Kola Nuts: A Tale from Liberia by Verna Aardema, illus. by Joe Cepeda; and The Honest to Goodness Truth by Patricia C. McKissack, illus. by Giselle Potter (Jan., $6.99 each, 4-8); If a Bus Could Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks (Jan., $6.99, 5-9) by Faith Ringgold; Satchel Paige (Jan., $6.99, 6-10) by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illus. by James E. Ransome; Tippy Lemmey (Jan., $3.99, 7-10) by Patricia C. McKissack, illus. by Susan Keeter; and Missing from Haymarket Square (Jan., $4.99, 9-13) by Harriette Gillem Robinet.

SIMON & SCHUSTER/ATHENEUM

Beautiful Blackbird (Jan., $16.95, 3-7) by Ashley Bryan. Cut-paper collage art illustrates this folktale from Zimbabwe.

Twelve Travelers, Twenty Horses (Jan., $16.95, 9-14) by Harriette Gillem Robinet describes the 1860 Presidential election from an African-American perspective.

SIMON & SCHUSTER/MCELDERRY

Seaward Born (Jan., $16.95, 8-12) by Lea Wait. In 1805, a teenage slave decides to flee to freedom.

SIMON & SCHUSTER/SIMON PULSE

Reprint: Born in Sin (Jan., $5.99 paper, 12-up) by Evelyn Coleman.

SIMON & SCHUSTER/SIMON SPOTLIGHT

Paperback Series: Little Bill continues with Cleanup Day! by Eleanor Fremont, illus. by Andy Mastrocinque and Yay! ASnow Day! by Hopi Morton, illus. by Etsu Kahata (Sept., $5.99 each, 3-5); Christmas with Little Bill (Oct., $5.99, 3-6) by Eric Weil, illus. by Dan Kanemoto; Super Detective Little Bill (Oct., $8.99, 3-6) by Catherine Lukas, illus. by Andy Mastrocinque; Little Bill 8x8 Paperback: Thank You, Dr., King! (Jan., $3.50, 4-8) by Robin Reid, illus. by Dan Kanemoto; Happy Easter Everyone! A Lift-the-Flap Story (Feb., $5.99, 4-8) by Hopi Morton, illus. by Robert Powers; and Hooray for Mother's Day! (Apr., $5.99, 4-8) by Catherine Lukas, illus. by Bernie Cavender.

STARBRIGHT BOOKS

Reissue: Down in the Subway (March, $15.95, 4-8) by Miriam Cohen, illus. by Melanie Hope Greenberg changes a subway ride into a Caribbean fiesta.

WHITE MANE

Lottie's Courage: A Contraband Slave's Story (Feb., $7.95, 10-13) by Phyllis Hall Haislip tells of a girl who escapes after being sold to an evil slave trader.