Andrea Pinkney

The most celebrated black cowboy was Bill Pickett, a fearless rodeo star with a knack for taming bulls that brought the crowds to their feet. The closing note in this book provides an overview of the history of rodeos and black cowboys.

Benjamin Banneker was born free when most blacks were still enslaved. Bannecker was troubled by slavery, and sent a letter to Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. Here is the extraordinary correspondence between the two men.

Jazz great Duke Ellington comes alive in jaunty, jazzy text and scratchboard illustrations that swirl, twirl and move across the pages. The reader can almost hear The Duke's music in the vibrant colors of this Caldecott Honor book.

"He was a smooth-talkin', slick-steppin', piano playin' kid" writes master wordsmith Andrea Pinkney in the rhythmic, fluid, swinging prose of this excellent biography for early readers.

From her early days in Harlem to becoming the First Lady of Jazz, the story of Ella Fitzgerald is presented by a cool feline named Scat Cat Monroe. As Scat Cat steals through the pages of this book, Ella Fitzgerald�s life and work are revealed in jazz-inspired language accompanied by dramatic scratchboard illustrations. The result is a lively and loving picture book biography.

Reenie and her mother often fish along a river nicknamed Jim Crow, where they often see Peter and his father fishing, too. Since Reenie is black and Peter is white, they never speak — until Reenie reaches out to bridge a divide even wider than the river. A hopeful ending concludes this expressively illustrated recollection of the author's childhood.

Brief sketches of the lives of both well (e.g. Harriet Tubman) and lesser known African American women (e.g., Biddy Mason) and their impact on civil rights are presented in the lively language of a storyteller sure to read aloud well. Vibrant, stylized Illustrations enhance the evocative text to complete the thought-provoking portraits.

Who is that beautiful face in the mirror? Why it is baby, held by a loving daddy. This simple yet appealing book is presented in a format appropriate for the youngest reader to hold.

Although Kwanzaa commemorates an ancient African harvest ritual, it is a relatively new holiday in North America. Seven Candles for Kwanzaa comfortably explains the origins, language, and daily themes of this warm and festive seven-day holiday.

The words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., inspired four students to protest in a way that ultimately changed the United States. Their peaceful dissent at the segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, would "combine black with white to make sweet justice." The "Greensboro Four" began their sit-in on February 1, 1960 and contributed to the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The text suggests storytelling and is accompanied by light-lined but evocative illustrations; back matter completes this compelling portrait.