Books with author Fredrick McKissack McKissack

Carter G. Woodson, born just ten years after the Civil War ended, grew up in the lingering shadow of slavery. Woodson became a scholar dedicated to learning, teaching, and writing about the history of his people. Today, because of the efforts of this one man, Black History Month is celebrated annually and African-American history is a well-respected field of study. The McKissacks bring this pioneering historian to life for another generation of budding young scholars.

Despite being a slave, Frederick Douglass (1818?–1895) learned to read and write. At age 21, he escaped from slavery and created a new life for himself as a free man. Intelligent and charismatic, Douglass became the leading voice against slavery in the 1800s. "There is no way a nation can call itself free and accept slavery," he said. The McKissacks’ lively, easy-to-read text highlights the importance of this internationally known author and orator.

1990, trade paperback edition, Childrens Press, Chicago. 32 pages. Vintage photos throughout. James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938) was raised in a household full of music. He would eventually graduate from a university with honors in 1894. He would become the first African American in Florida's history to pass the Bar exam. Later, with his brothers, he moved to New York City and became a successful song writer. He is perhaps best known today for the song: Lift Every Voice and Sing. Later in his life, he became a professor at a university in Tennessee. Sadly, he was killed in an auto accident in 1938. Quite a story; quite a man.

George Washington Carver spent his life asking questions and looking for the answers. He gained a reputation as the farmers' best friend after teaching about crop rotation. He told farmers to grow peanuts and sweet potatoes to "rest" their soil between cotton crops. And what could they do with all those peanuts? Carver developed more than 300 peanut-based products—from milk to printers' ink—and more than 100 ways to use sweet potatoes. Young children love the story of this exceptional inventor.