Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Five Good Book Picks for Black History Month


The Times-Picayune (http://timespicayune.com/) listed five books today that would be great picks for kids in honor of Black History month. The books specifically focus on the Black experience historically and are recommended as permanent books to add to everyone's shelves. I'll list them briefly below but you can check out the Times-Picayune newspaper online to get even further detail by journalist Susan Larson. It's a good time to introduce all children to historical books such as these. The stories are compelling and I'm always looking for books like this which I can introduce to my own child but in a gentle manner that she would understand.

When my daughter read the story of Mary McLeod Bethune, she was fully engaged in the book but the illustrations really captivated her as well and helped her to fully understand the relevance of what she was reading. The story was explained to her on her 1st grade level and it's the one she always wants to pick for her monthly book reports. Unfortunately, I had to explain to her that she can't pick the same book all of the time.

LIST OF FIVE BLACK HISTORY BOOKS FOR KIDS

1.The People Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton - This story comes in book and audio which is narrated by the author and James Earl Jones.

2.Following The Drinking Gourd by Jeannette Winter - noted as a good introductory book for kids covering historical events.

3.The Patchwork Path: A Quilt Map to Freedom by Bettye Stroud - quick fact: the freedom quilt was one of many creative tools used by people determined to live free.

4.Night Running: How James Escaped with the Help of His Faithful Dog by Elisa Carbone - Beautiful illustrations by E.B. Lewis who has won a Coretta Scott King award for his work.

5.D is for Drinking Gourd: An African American Alphabet by Nancy l. Sanders - African American history alphabetized in historical order from past to present events.

Sphere: Related Content

No comments: