Please stop by my Tribute to Black History Month
Aunt Sue's Stories
Aunt Sue has a head full of stories.
Black slaves
And the dark-faced child, listening,
The dark-faced child is quiet
-Langston Hughes
Major changes have occurred in African-American literature within the last 25 years. Before 1970, books of this genre were few, and those that
existed often were filled with stereotypes. Since then, many outstanding African-American authors and illustrators have given voice and vision to the African-American experience through biographies, historical fiction, contemporary
fiction, and poetry. Here are some of my favorite titles worth sharing with your students.
Reject books with offensive expressions, negative attitudes, or stereotypes.
Don't ignore books on African-Americans if there are no children of color in your class. These books are valuable for all children and encourage understanding of one another.
I found the following lesson plans online which focus on African-Americans and their rich history and contributions. I hope to add a few of my own when I find the time to type them up. :)
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The Children's Literature Nook
Presents
A Teacher's Guide to Afro-American Children's Literature and History in the Classroom
Aunt Sue has a whole heart full of stories.
Summer nights on the front porch
Aunt Sue cuddles a brown-faced child to her bosom
And tells him stories.
Working in the hot sun,
And black slaves
Walking in the dewy night,
And black slaves
Singing sorrow songs on the banks of a mighty river
Mingle themselves softly
In the flow of old Aunt Sue's voice,
Mingle themselves softly
In the dark shadows that cross and recross
Aunt Sue's stories.
Knows that Aunt Sue's stories are real stories,
He knows that Aunt Sue never got her stories
Out of any book at all,
But that they came
Right out of her own life.
On a summer night
Listening to Aunt Sue's stories.
"The Migration of the Negro: Panel NO. 3 Jacob Lawrence
The Best in Children's Books: African-Americans in Literature
Illustrated with colorful blocked pictures, this double why-story explains why a leopard has spots and why flies always sit on leaves in which kenki has been wrapped.
Nine folktales retold from original sources; full of action and humor-an excellent source for storytelling.
A diverse and joyous collection of poems by a dozen Caaribbean poets.
Newbery Medal
The grim and moving story of a black sharecropper's family whose father
is jailed for stealing food for them.
Miss Ida's porch is a place where the neighbors gather to share stories. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper.
Grades 5-9
Two young men are caught up in the Civil War: Johnny is on a bold mission to supply Rebel troops, while Cush, a Yankee, is a runaway slave. They form an unlikely alliance during the final days of the war.
Biography
A carefully written and researched biography.
A wonderfully warm poem that admires and celebrates daydreaming. The single ssubject drawings of young children render African-American children daydreaming.
A young boy awaits the arrival of his father hiding in a cardboard box.
A nine-year-old thinks in raps, poems aand chants and questions his life and times in his city neighborhood.
In this book of poetry about the nights in a city neighborhood, Greenfield's writing vibrates with authenticity and sensitivity. The poet lets the reader experience the neighborhood-its children, families, friends, and feelings-through the eyes of a child.
Kevin wanted a little brother, but his mother brought home a baby girl. In this story of
sibling rivalry aaand the disruption of a boy's life by his baby sister, Kevin adjusts to the new arrival with the help of two
loving parents.
In the village of Tos, located in the hills of the Cameroons in Central Africa, women live in round houses and men live in square ones. A young girl who grew up in this remote village tells how this came to be.
Grades 5-9
This novel chronicles the life of a young Ashanti boy from his captivity in West Africa to his life as a slave in Salem, MA, aand then to freedom with African-American ship captain, Paul Cuffe.
Haskins probes thoughtfully into King's philosophy and convictions.
Grace loves acting out stories. She dresses up in costumes, drmatizes fairy tales and imagines all the different things
sshe might be when she grows up. One day, the teacher announces that the class will put on a play. Grace volunteers to be Peter
Pan, but some of the children say she cannot be Peter Pan, because Grace is a girl. They also tell her she cannot be Peter Pan because
she is black. Upset, Grace tells her mother and grandmother. They tell her she can be anything she wants to be. Graace tries out for the part and wins it. She
is a terrific Peter Pan and believes again in her abilities.
Primary
During the summer, Noel visits his Grandpa Will, who takes him fishing. They enjoy each other's company. Grandpa Will shares stories of his life when he was a young boy.
Libbie, a slave, tells of the peaceful coexistence of African-American slaves and the Seminole Indians. In the Seminole villages, runaway slaves found a haven of mutual respect.
Born into slavery, the young narrator in this story has a dream of freedom, but he must struggle with the harsh realities of his life. When his family is freed after the Civil War, they begin ther new life
by taking their wagon and mules to attend the funeral of Abraham Lincoln.
The fourth book in a series; southern black dialect preserves the richness of this collection of folktales.
Grades K-6
Historical accounts of Christmas on a southern plantation.
Primary
Rich, warm illustrations glow throughout this tender tribute to a young African-American girl's heritage. As she and her daddy talk about contributions of "our people", she acts out parallel events in her world today, as well as her dreams for tomorrow.
Poetry
Describes as "born in the dusty corner of an antique shop where the old photographs are kept," Myers has collected pictures of African-American children from around the turn of the century and written verses to express what he imagines
them to be thinking and feeling.
Myers takes readers from 1753 to 1994, tracing six generations of the Lewis family, in this complex story of struggles and achievement.
Biography
This picture book biography pays tribute to modern dancer, Alvin Ailey, who's best known for interpreting African American culture through his dancing and choreography.
A young girl's dream of visiting her relatives is realized when she takes a trip to visit North Carolina.
Primary
In this multicultural story, a Russian immigrant girl tells about her friendship with two
African-American children and their grandmother, Miss Eula. The little girl often eats Sunday
dinner at Miss Eula's. The boys want to buy her the special Easter hat she has admired. The
three children contrive a plan to purchase the hat by decorating Easter eggs in the "Pysanky"
style as they are done in Russia.
This is one of my favorite books! It is the unforgettable story of two young Union boys from very different backgrounds caught up in the travesties of war in Confederate territory. This poignant Civil War story has been passed down through generations, including the generation of the author.
A history lesson introducing twelve notable African-American women.
Primary
Cassie Louise Lightfoot is only eight years old, but in her dreams she flies above her home in
Harlem. She flies over all of New York...as she flies she imagines many things.
History, drama, and mystery are interwoven in two overlapping stories; one of the Underground Railroad of the 1850s and the other of a young girl in Lawrence, Kansas, in the 1990s.
Inspired by an African story published in 1895, Steptoe writes about
Mufaro's two beautiful daughters-Nyasha, the happy and kindly one, and Manyara, the
ill-tempered and selfish one.
Intermediate
Newbery Medal
A black family encounters persecution and condescension as well as poverty, but is strong in their love for one another and for the land they own.
The son of fugitive slaves who had fled to Canada on the Underground Railroad, McCoy overcame prejudice and hardship to patent more than 50 inventions.
Selected as a Reading Rainbow Book, Galimoto tells the story of Kondi, a boy from Malawi, Africa. Kondi wanders through his village searching
for the materials to make a galimoto, a toy constructed of wire.
Peter, an American boy with fair skin and golden hair, lived his early years in Africa. He became one with the children who called him "achimwene," which means "little brother" in Chichewa. Even though his family spoke of life in the United States, he did not want to leave Africa. After moving to America, his greatest desire was to return to the place he called home.
At night, when the work was done, Peg Leg Joe taught American slaves a song that secretly told the way to freedom. Under a starry sky, many slaves began the journey, guided by the song lyrics, that eventually led them to freedom in Canada and the northern United States.
Sister and her little brother, Me Too, learn the richness of their African-American heritage as Mama and Great-Grammaw tell "se-ri-ous, dy-no-mite" stories while weaving the children's hair into striking cornrow patterns. Every design has a name that represents a powerful African-American tradition.
How to Select Appropriate African-American Books
Select books which represent the diversity of all African-Americans.
Afro-American Lesson Ideas
Links to Black History
Click the Kwanzaa Logo for a section on this African-American holiday.
Focus On Africa
Virtual Africa
Teaaching Resources: Africa
Africa: Curriculum Units
The Geography of Africa
Africa for Kids
Return to:Multicultural Literature Home Page.
Return to theChildren's Literature Nook
Jeanne at abc123@powernet.net for any comments, questions, or suggestions.
Last Updated: February 23, 1998
