Something Beautiful
By: Sharon Wyeth
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A young girl learns to find beauty in her sometimes gritty urban neighborhood, showing how the way one sees makes a difference that affects others. Luminous watercolors detail the child, her neighborhood, and suggest what she sees around her.

Young girl on Caribbean shore
By: Ana Machado
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This delightful book is set on a Caribbean island and features a little white rabbit who admires a beautiful black girl. He asks her what her secret is and she tells him to drink lots of black coffee and to eat lots of black beans.

By: Rosa Parks James Haskins
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The famous civil rights activist Rosa Parks has simplified her autobiography for young readers in this Puffin Easy to Read book.
By: Andrea Pinkney
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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.
Through My Eyes
By: Ruby Bridges

Six-year-old Ruby Bridges became the first African American to integrate an elementary school. Her memories of that year, when so much hatred was directed at her, makes for a powerful memoir. A 1999 Parents' Choice Gold Award Winner.

Drylongso
By: Virginia Hamilton
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Newbery Award winner Virginia Hamilton describes how Lindy and her family suffer through a long drought. Then a mysterious boy comes and teaches them the secrets of finding water hidden in the earth.

By: Cheryl Hudson Bernette Ford
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Four African American children interact with one another in a preschool environment, exploring their facial features, skin tones, what they wear, what they do, and how they learn from and enjoy each other.

After a fire destroys their home and possessions, Rosa, her mother, and her grandmother save their money to buy a big comfortable chair. Suffused with warmth and tenderness, A Chair for My Mother celebrates family love and determination.

By: Patricia Polacco
Both Pink, the son of black slaves, and Say, a poor, white boy, fought in the Union army during the Civil War. Only Say survives the Andersonville Prison to tell of their remarkable friendship and how Pink saved Say and taught him how to read.
By: Arnold Lobel
Five short stories about best friends celebrate everyday activities. Each of them has a very distinctive personality; but Frog and Toad find that their differences are what make their friendship special.

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