The African-American Experience

Biography    Picture Books

Fiction

 

Bud, not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
Ten-year-old Bud, an orphan living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father-- the renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway.

 

 

The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
The everyday routines of the Watsons, an African American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963.

 

Yolonda's Genius by Carol Fenner
After moving from Chicago to Grand River, Michigan, fifth grader Yolonda, big and strong for her age, determines to prove that her younger brother is not a slow learner but a true musical genius.

The Road to Paris by Nikki Grimes
Inconsolable at being separated from her older brother, eight-year-old Paris is apprehensive about her new foster family but just as she learns to trust them, she faces a life-changing decision.

A Friendship for Today by Patricia McKissack
When desegregation comes to Kirkland, Missouri in 1954, ten -year-old Rosemary faces many changes and challenges at school and at home as her parents separate.

My Name Is Sally Little Song by Brenda Woods
When their owner plans to sell one of them in 1802, twelve-year-old Sally and her family run away from their Georgia plantation to look for both freedom from slavery and a home in Florida with the Seminole Indians.

Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson
When a new, white student nicknamed "The Jesus Boy" joins her sixth grade class in the winter of 1971, Frannie's growing friendship with him makes her start to see some things in a new light.