NEW PICTURE BOOKS FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH

I’m always on the lookout for picture books that teach intermediate grade kids about history and life. Here are a couple I found this weekend:
NIGHT BOAT TO FREEDOM
BY MARGOT THIES RAVEN
PICTURES BY E.B. LEWIS
Granny Judith asks twelve-year-old Christmas John to row Molly, the cook’s daughter, across the river from Kentucky to Ohio. Although John is terrified he will be caught, he complies with his grandmother’s wishes, and rows Molly across the river. This trip is followed by many more dangerous journeys throughout the course of the next year. Each time John returns, Granny asks what color his passengers wore. She uses that information to create a quilt, made from squares of “freedom colors.” Finally, there are only two squares left, and it is time for Christmas John and Granny to journey across the river themselves. The original story, taken from true accounts in the WPA’s Slave Narrative Collection, is riveting, and the illustrations, done by EB Lewis are absolutely beautiful.


LET THEM PLAY
BY MARGOT THIES RAVEN
PICTURES BY CHRIS ELLISON

South Carolina, 1955. The Cannon Street YMCA All-Stars want to play in the state Little League Tournament. All of the white teams in the state, however, refuse to play the all-black All Stars and pull out of the tournament. This boycott earns the All Stars a spot at the Little League World Series. The Cannon Street Team is invited to attend the World Series as guests, but is not allowed to play. The title of the book, “Let Them Play,” comes from the chant shouted by the spectators who attended the World Series. Pair this book with TEAMMATES, BASEBALL SAVED US, or SISTER ANNE’S HANDS.