A Look at Our Books

In honor of Black History Month, we wanted to share some of our favorite books from our African-American collection. This collection is one of the many supplemental book sets that Raising A Reader offers to classroom teachers. By providing these multicultural book sets, we hope that the titles included in each collection will serve as a mirror and a window for each child. According to Rudine Sims Bishop, “It is important to provide multicultural books that allow a child to see an accurate portrayal of his or her life reflected in a book [the mirror], as well as offer an undistorted view of someone else’s life [the window].”

FULL, FULL, FULL OF LOVE
Written by Trish Cooke
Illustrated by Paul Howard

Publisher synopsis: “For Jay, Sunday dinner at Grannie’s house is always full—full of hugs and kisses…full of tasty dishes…full to the brim with happy faces…full, full, full of love.”

Raising A Reader review: Full, Full, Full of Love is full, full, full of wonderful illustrations, subtle rhymes and believable characters. Paul Howard’s illustrations perfectly capture the warm feeling of being at Grannie’s house and the closeness between Jay, Grannie and all of their family members. Trish Cooke’s thoughtful word choices and soft rhymes like, “Grannie’s fish tank is full,/ full of all kinds of fishes./ Splash, splish./ Wiggle, wiggle,” expose children to internal rhyme while also lending the text a three-dimensional feel. And although little Jay can be a bit mischievous and impatient while he waits for Sunday dinner, his Grannie finds kid-friendly ways to keep him entertained, like cuddling as they wait for the rest of their family to arrive. Full, Full, Full of Love is a sweet story to share with young readers while waiting for Sunday dinner to be served.

A STORY, A STORY
Written and illustrated by Gail E. Haley

Publisher synopsis: “Once, all the stories in the world belonged to Nyame, the Sky God. He kept them in a box beside his throne. But Ananse, the Spider man, wanted them—and caught three sly creatures to get them. This story of how we got our own stories to tell is adapted from an African folktale.”

Raising A Reader review: Gail E. Haley’s A Story, A Story is more than just a great story about Ananse, the spider man. Her colorful block prints transport the reader to another time and place where leopards can be tricked into traps and fairies exist alongside men. Rich vocabulary and African terms which might be new to young children (and their families) is helpfully repeated to clarify meaning and strengthen the feeling of the words. For example, Haley writes: “He crept through the tall grasses, sora, sora, sora, till he came to the nest of Mmboro, the hornets-who-sting-like-fire.” With its bright illustrations and fun trickster tale, it’s easy to see why A Story, A Story was chosen as a Caledcott Medal winner and as a part of our collection.

UPTOWN
Written and illustrated by Bryan Collier

Publisher synopsis: “Uptown is a rich mix of flavors, colors, sounds, and cultures that come together to create a vibrant community like no other in the world. Seen through the eyes of one little boy who lives there, the details of life in Harlem are as joyous as a game of basketball on a summer's afternoon and as personal as a trip to the barbershop where old-timers reminisce.”

Raising A Reader review: A young boy describes scenes from everyday life in Harlem, New York in Uptown. There are two great reasons to read Bryan Collier’s award winning book: first, the narrator gives the audience creative perspectives on what makes Harlem exciting and unique, such as, “Uptown is canvas awnings on the windows to block the sun” and "Uptown is a song sung by the Boys Choir of Harlem"; second, the mixed-media illustrations, which are composed of everything from textiles to photos to watercolor drawings. Each reading of Uptown will surprise young readers with new discoveries in Collier’s illustrations and delight them with a journey through Harlem’s vibrant community. Uptown is the winner of two awards: The Coretta Scott King Award and the Ezra Jack Keats Book Award.

A note about book awards:
We’ve all heard of the Pulitzer Prize for Literature, but children’s books can win awards, too! Many of the titles in our collection are award-winning…but what do those awards mean? Click the links below to find out more information about awards for children’s literature:

The Caldecott Medal
The Newbery Medal
The Coretta Scott King Award
The Erza Jack Keats Book Award