Books with author Carole Boston Weatherford

A stirring picture book biography from award-winning duo Carole Boston Weatherford and Bryan Collier, about gospel composer and preacher Charles Albert Tindley, best known for the gospel hymn “We’ll Understand It Better By and By.”At a time when most African Americans were still enslaved, Charles Tindley was born free. His childhood was far from easy, with backbreaking hours in the fields, and no opportunity to go to school. But the spirituals he heard as he worked made him long to know how to read the Gospel for himself. Late at night, he taught himself to read from scraps of newspapers. From those small scraps, young Charles raised himself to become a founding father of American gospel music whose hymn was the basis for the Civil Rights anthem “We Shall Overcome.” Told in lilting verse with snippets of spirituals and Tindley’s own hymns woven throughout, Carole Boston Weatherford’s lyrical words and Bryan Collier’s luminous pictures celebrate a man whose music and conviction has inspired countless lives.

Double Tap to Zoom. Throughout their father’s twenty-two month campaign for president, Malia and Sasha Obama begged their parents for a dog. Finally, when their father became the 44th President of the United States, he rewarded their patience and good behavior in his victory speech: "Malia and Sasha will get their new puppy."Would the girls choose a Foxhound like President George Washington’s? Or a chocolate Labrador Retriever like the Clintons’? Maybe a shelter dog? Finally, on February 25, 2009, they decided to look for a Portuguese Water Dog to move into the White House. Art rendered in watercolor, gouache, and pencil.

Imagine that you are an outstanding baseball player but banned from the major leagues. Imagine that you are breaking records but the world ignores your achievements. Imagine having a dream but no chance to make that dream come true. This is what life was like for African American baseball players before Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier. Meet Josh Gibson, called "the black Babe Ruth," who hit seventy-five home runs in 1931; James "Cool Papa" Bell, the fastest man in baseball; legendary Satchel Paige, who once struck out twenty-four batters in a single game; and, of course, Jackie Robinson, the first black player in Major League Baseball, and one of the greatest players of all time. Featuring lively verse, fascinating facts, and archival photographs, this is a celebration of the Negro Leagues and the great players who went unrecognized in their time.

A stunning picture-book biography of iconic African American opera star Leontyne Price. Born in a small town in Mississippi in 1927, the daughter of a midwife and a sawmill worker, Leontyne Price might have grown up singing the blues. But Leontyne had big dreams—and plenty to be thankful for—as she surrounded herself with church hymns and hallelujahs, soaked up opera arias on the radio, and watched the great Marian Anderson grace the stage. While racism made it unlikely that a poor black girl from the South would pursue an opera career, Leontyne’s wondrous voice and unconquerable spirit prevailed. Bursting through the door Marian had cracked open, Leontyne was soon recognized and celebrated for her leading roles at the Metropolitan Opera and around the world—most notably as the majestic Ethiopian princess in Aida, the part she felt she was born to sing.From award-winners Carole Boston Weatherford and Raul Colón comes the story of a little girl from Mississippi who became a beloved star—one whose song soared on the breath of her ancestors and paved the way for those who followed.

It's a fine day in June. Cassandra's family has just moved from the city back to her parents' hometown in Texas. Cassie likes her new house, and her new school is okay, but Texas doesn't quite feel like home yet.What Cassie doesn't know is that her family has a surprise for her — a Texas tradition. As she helps prepare red velvet cake, fried chicken, and piles of other dishes, she wonders what makes June 19th so important. It isn't until Cassie and her family arrive downtown that she discovers what the commotion is about. And, in the process, she realizes that she and her family have indeed come home.With text and illustrations as warm as a summer day, author Carole Boston Weatherford and artist Yvonne Buchanan bring the African American emancipation celebration of Juneteenth to life for children. Readers of all ages will delight in this declaration of freedom and homecoming.

When ships were in trouble off the treacherous coast of North Carolinas Outer Banks, the courageous black lifesavers at Pea Island Station were first on the sceneand in the water. Through raging storms, pitch-black nights, and hurricanes, these surfmen performed amazing, death-defying rescues. For over seven decades, the intrepid crews battled fierce waves and racial prejudice. Ultimately, they received the recognition they richly deservedin 1996, more than a century after they broke the color barrier. Sink or Swim: African-American Lifesavers of the Outer Banks is the story of their heroism, their struggle, and their triumph.With dozens of historic prints and photographs, this documentary history is the first book about the U.S. Lifesaving Services only all-black crew. Spanning slavery times, the Civil War, Emancipation, Reconstruction and the Jim Crow era, Sink or Swim recalls this little-known chapter in American and North Carolinian history. Mixing adventure and social discord, the informative, action-packed narrative will enhance young readers understanding of coastal conditions and how slavery and other racial barriers affected African Americans lives. Readers witness violent storms, courageous rescues, tragic losses, and the lifesavers ultimate victory over prejudice. Their story is both powerful and empowering; in fact, it was said that Alex Haleys next project, had he lived, would have been to tell the Pea Island surfmens tale.

You can be a King. Stamp out hatred. Put your foot down and walk tall.You can be a King. Beat the drum for justice. March to your own conscience. Featuring a dual narrative of the key moments of Dr. King's life alongside a modern class as the students learn about him, Carole Weatherford's poetic text encapsulates the moments that readers today can reenact in their own lives. See a class of young students as they begin a school project inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and learn to follow his example, as he dealt with adversity and never lost hope that a future of equality and justice would soon be a reality. As times change, Dr. King's example remains, encouraging a new generation of children to take charge and change the world . . . to be a King.

Wendell O. Scott made history as the only black driver to win a race in a NASCAR Grand National (now Spring Cup) division. Born in Danville, Virginia, he scrimped and saved to buy his first car, a Model T, at age fourteen. Although he "loved to turn the wheel of a racecar, work magic on an engine, and then push it faster than it was ever meant to go," he never had the resources or sponsorship to buy a brand-new racecar. Using secondhand Fords that he fixed up in his garage, he competed in five hundred races in NASCAR’s top division.Eric Velasquez’s illustrations and Carole Boston Weatherford’s rhythmic text illuminate the story of a man who worked full-time while racing on the side. A man who married, raised six children, and educated all of them. A man who "didn’t just dust the competition, he blazed a trail." A man who raced against all odds.An author’s note is also included.