Black History Month
Literature in the AIS Library
Each week during 2021 Black History Month, Mr. Jacques will be donating six books to the AIS Library.
These texts will focus on Black history not just in the United States, but the history of the Black diaspora in nations across the globe.
In selecting titles, we work to ensure that the textual and visual references effectively reflect attitudes in our society and community
about justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion for different groups of people and social identities. In the selected titles below,
we work to avoid stereotypes, tokenism, and invisibility. Texts focus on the relationships between people, different lifestyles, and
the effect on children's self and social identities. Texts will feature children and adults who are engaging in actions for change.
Donations made on Friday, February 26th, 2021
Rosa
Award-winning poet, writer, and activist Nikki Giovanni's evocative text combines with Bryan Collier's striking cut-paper images to retell the story of this historic event from a wholly unique and original perspective.
Bayou Magic
Max Loves Muñecas!
Girl from the Tar Paper School
Fannie Lou Hamer
“I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.”
Despite fierce prejudice and abuse, even being beaten to within an inch of her life, Fannie Lou Hamer was a champion of civil rights from the 1950s until her death in 1977. Integral to the Freedom Summer of 1964, Ms. Hamer gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention that, despite President Johnson’s interference, aired on national TV news and spurred the nation to support the Freedom
Capoeira
Donations made on Friday, February 19th, 2021
Malcolm X
Malcolm X lived by the idea that Black people should demand equality by taking their lives and futures into their own hands. With guidance from the religious leader Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm became one of the most powerful leaders of the Civil Rights movement during the 1950s and 1960s, and his beliefs live on today.
Schomburg
El color de mis palabras
When life gets difficult for Ana Rosa, a 12-year-old would-be writer living in a small village in the Dominican Republic, she can depend on her older brother to make her feel better--until the life-changing events on her 13th birthday.
Looking for Bongo
Mom and Dad haven't seen him either. And Gato just meows and runs away
When he finds Bongo, the boy is thrilled—but he still doesn't understand how his toy ended up there. So he sets a trap to catch the Bongo thief...
Eric Velasquez's detailed, expressive illustrations follow the boy's investigation throughout his home, giving a glimpse at a warm, multi-generational family.
Ellen's Broom
When Ellen and her family make the long trip to the courthouse dressed in their best, she brings the broom her parents had jumped so many years before. Even though freedom has come, Ellen knows the old traditions are important too. After Mama and Papa's names are recorded in the register, Ellen nearly bursts with pride as her parents jump the broom once again.
Ellen is a wonderfully endearing character whose love for her family is brought to life in Daniel Minter's rich and eye-catching block print illustrations.
Twelve Days in May
Donations made on Friday, February 12th, 2021
Claudette Colvin
On March 2, 1955, an impassioned teenager, fed up with the daily injustices of Jim Crow segregation, refused to give her seat to a white woman on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Instead of being celebrated as Rosa Parks would be just nine months later, fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin found herself shunned by her classmates and dismissed by community leaders. Undaunted, a year later she dared to challenge segregation again as a key plaintiff in Browder v. Gayle, the landmark case that struck down the segregation laws of Montgomery and swept away the legal underpinnings of the Jim Crow South.
Based on extensive interviews with Claudette Colvin and many others, Phillip Hoose presents the first in-depth account of an important yet largely unknown civil rights figure, skillfully weaving her dramatic story into the fabric of the historic Montgomery bus boycott and court case that would change the course of American history.
We've Got a Job
We’ve Got a Job tells the little-known story of the 4,000 Black elementary, middle, and high school students who answered Dr. Martin Luther King’s call to “fill the jails.” Between May 2 and May 11, 1963, these young people voluntarily went to jail, drawing national attention to the cause, helping bring about the repeal of segregation laws, and inspiring thousands of other young people to demand their rights.
Combining extensive research and in-depth interviews with protesters, award-winning author Cynthia Levinson recreates the events of the Birmingham Children’s March from a new and very personal perspective. Archival photography and informational sidebars throughout. Backmatter includes an afterword, author’s note, timeline, map, and bibliography.
Unbound
The Book Itch
And as far as Lewis Michaux Jr. could tell, his father's bookstore was one of a kind. People from all over came to visit the store, even famous people―Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, and Langston Hughes, to name a few. In his father's bookstore people bought and read books, and they also learned from each other. People swapped and traded ideas and talked about how things could change. They came together here all because of his father's book itch. Read the story of how Lewis Michaux Sr. and his bookstore fostered new ideas and helped people stand up for what they believed in.
Before She Was Harriet
This lush, lyrical biography in verse begins with a glimpse of Harriet Tubman as an old woman, and travels back in time through the many roles she played through her life: spy, liberator, suggragist and more. Illustrated by James Ransome, whose paintings for The Creation won a Coretta Scott King medal, this is a riveting introduction to an American hero.
The paperback edition includes a new author's note, and a list of resources for further study.
The Oldest Student
In 1848, Mary Walker was born into slavery. At age 15, she was freed, and by age 20, she was married and had her first child. By age 68, she had worked numerous jobs, including cooking, cleaning, babysitting, and selling sandwiches to raise money for her church. At 114, she was the last remaining member of her family. And at 116, she learned to read. From Rita Lorraine Hubbard and rising star Oge More comes the inspirational story of Mary Walker, a woman whose long life spanned from the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement, and who--with perseverance and dedication--proved that you're never too old to learn.
Donations made on Friday, February 5th, 2021
The Rock and the River
Sam has always had faith in his father, but when he finds literature about the Black Panthers under Stick’s bed, he’s not sure who to believe: his father or his best friend. Suddenly, nothing feels certain anymore.
Sam wants to believe that his father is right: You can effect change without using violence. But as time goes on, Sam grows weary of standing by and watching as his friends and family suffer at the hands of racism in their own community. Sam beings to explore the Panthers with Stick, but soon he’s involved in something far more serious—and more dangerous—than he could have ever predicted. Sam is faced with a difficult decision. Will he follow his father or his brother? His mind or his heart? The rock or the river?
Lion Island
Asia, Africa, Europe—Antonio Chuffat’s ancestors clashed and blended on the beautiful island of Cuba. Yet for most Cubans in the nineteenth century, life is anything but beautiful. The country is fighting for freedom from Spain. Enslaved Africans and near-enslaved Chinese indentured servants are forced to work long, backbreaking hours in the fields.
So Antonio feels lucky to have found a good job as a messenger, where his richly blended cultural background is an asset. Through his work he meets Wing, a young Chinese fruit seller who barely escaped the anti-Asian riots in San Francisco, and his sister Fan, a talented singer. With injustice all around them, the three friends are determined to prove that violence is not the only way to gain liberty.
Pelé, King of Soccer
Eight Days
Hope comes alive in this heartfelt and deeply resonating story. While Junior is trapped for 8 days beneath his collapsed house after an earthquake, he uses his imagination for comfort. Drawing on beautiful, everyday-life memories, Junior paints a sparkling picture of Haiti for each of those days--flying kites with his best friend or racing his sister around St. Marc's Square--helping him through the tragedy until he is finally rescued. Love and hope dance across each page--granting us a way to talk about resilience as a family, a classroom, or a friend.
The Mighty Miss Malone
Freedom Walkers
Full of eye-witness reports, iconic photographs from the era, and crucial primary sources, this work brings the narratives alive for contemporary readers. A map, source notes, a bibliography, and other backmatter make is a valuable classroom resource.
Recipient of an Orbis Pictus Honor, the Flora Stieglitz Straus Award, and the Jane Addams Peace Association Honor Book Award, Freedom Walkers received five starred reviews.