Zora and Me, by Victoria Bond and T. R. Simon

Abstract: A fictionalized account of Zora Neale Hurston's childhood with her best friend Carrie, in Eatonville, Florida, as they learn about life, death, and the differences between truth, lies, and pretending. Includes an annotated bibliography of the works of Zora Neale Hurston, a short biography of the author, and information about Eatonville, Florida.







Publisher: Candlewick Press, 169 p.

Good Fortune by Noni Carter

Abstract: Brutally kidnapped from her African village and shipped to America, a young girl struggles to come to terms with her new life as a slave, gradually rising from working in the fields to the master's house, secretly learning to read and write, until, risking everything, she escapes to seek freedom in the North.

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 489 p.

Ruth and the Green Book by Calvin Alexander Ramsey, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

Abstract: Ruth and the Green Book is the story of one black family's trip from Chicago to Alabama by car in the late 1940s. Along the way they encounter prejudice, but they also discover The Green Book, a real guide to accommodations which was published for decades to aid African-American travelers as they faced prejudice on the roads across the country.







Publisher: Carolrhoda Books, Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., unpaged

Almost Zero by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie

Abstract: Dyamonde really wants red high-top sneakers. Too bad they're so expensive! A classmate tells her it's her mom"s job to give her what she needs, but when Dyamonde tries that argument, her mom teaches her a lesson by literally only giving her what she needs.






Publisher: G.P. Putnam's, 96 p.

Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri, illustrated by Randy DuBurke

Abstract: A graphic novel based on the true story of Robert "Yummy" Sandifer, an eleven-year old African American gang member from Chicago who shot a young girl and was then shot by his own gang members








Publisher: Lee & Low Books, 94 p.

Sell-Out by Ebony Joy Wilkins

Abstract: Being nearly the only African American in her school doesn't bother NaTasha. But it bothers Tilly, NaTasha's spitfire grandmother from Harlem, who decides NaTasha needs to get back to her roots.






















Publisher: Scholastic, 267 pages

Paper Thin by Shelia M. Goss

Abstract: Living with her emotionally absent father and a stepmother who spoils her, Sierra doesn't lack for material things, but she still struggles with the pain of losing her birth mother at an early age. Sierra hides her fears and disappointments behind food and fashion. After time spent at a weight loss camp, she returns to school twenty-five pounds lighter. She goes from being sweet to displaying a diva-like attitude. Her best friends, Britney and Jasmine, are quick to point out this new change.




Publisher: Urban Renaissance, 296 pages

Step Up by Monica McKayhan

Abstract: Indigo Summer and her boyfriend, Marcus Carter, have stayed solid through plenty of drama. Now Marcus is a senior and has already been accepted to Harvard. But with his bright future, Indigo suddenly doubts where she fits into his life








Publisher: Kimani, 248 p.

Obama: Only in America by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Richard Barrett

Abstract: A picture book biography of President Barack Obama.











Publisher: Marshall Cavendish, 1 v. (unpaged)

Michelle Obama: First Mom by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Robert Barrett

Abstract: A tribute to a remarkable woman who worked hard and reached high









Publisher: Marshall Cavendish, 1 v. (unpaged)

Finding Family by Tonya Bolden

Abstract: Raised in Charleston, West Virginia, at the turn of the twentieth century by her grandfather and aunt on off-putting tales of family members she has never met, twelve-year-old Delana is shocked when, after Aunt Tilley dies, she learns the truth about her parents and some of her other relatives.






Publisher: Bloomsbury, 181 pages

Clemente! by Willie Perdomo, illustrated by Bryan Collier

Abstract: A little boy named Clemente learns about his namesake, the great baseball player Roberto Clemente











Publisher: Henry Holt and Co., 1 v. (unpaged)

Oprah: The Little Speaker by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by London Ladd

Abstract: The first six years in the life of the world's most popular talk show host.











Publisher: Marshall Cavendish, 1 v. (unpaged)

Little Diva by LaChanze, illustrated by Brian Pinkney

Abstract: Nena wants to be a Diva, with a capital D, just like her mommy, who's a star on Broadway. So she learns all she can about singing and dancing when she is at the theater and trains day and night to make her dreams come true.









Publisher: Feiwel and Friends, 1 v. (unpaged)

My Brother Charlie by Holly Robinson Peete and Ryan Peete with Denene Millner, illustrated by Shane W. Evans

Abstract: A girl tells what it is like living with her twin brother who has autism and sometimes finds it hard to communicate with words, but who, in most ways, is just like any other boy. Includes authors' note about autism.










Publisher: Scholastic, 1 v. (unpaged)

Around Our Way on Neighbors' Day by Tameka Brown, illustrated by Charlotte Riley-Webb

Abstract: A young girl makes her way through an urban neighborhood filled with children playing, men debating, women cooking, and jazz music playing as her community gathers to celebrate "Neighbors' Day."

9780810989719






Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 1 v. (unpaged)

Lockdown by Walter Dean Myers

Abstract: Teenage Reese, serving time at a juvenile detention facility, gets a lesson in making it through hard times from an unlikely friend with a harrowing past.









Publisher: Amistad/Harper Teen, 247 p.

The Beatitudes: From Slavery to Civil Rights by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Tim Ladwig

Abstract: The Beatitudes form the backdrop for Weatherford's free-verse poem that traces the African American journey from slavery to civil rights.









Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 1 v. (unpaged)

The Other Half of My Heart by Sundee Tucker Frazier

Abstract: Twin daughters of interracial parents, eleven-year-olds Keira and Minna have very different skin tones and personalities, but it is not until their African American grandmother enters them in the Miss Black Pearl Pre-Teen competition in North Carolina that red-haired and pale-skinned Minna realizes what life in their small town in the Pacific Northwest has been like for her more outgoing, darker-skinned sister.





Publisher: Delacorte, 296 p.

Black Jack: The Ballad of Jack Johnson by Charles R. Smith Jr., illustrated by Shane W. Evans

Abstract: Art and poetry combine to tell the story of boxer Jack Johnson, who became the first African-American world heavyweight boxing champion in the early part of the twentieth century.









Publisher: Roaring Brook Press, 1 v. (unpaged)