Books with author James E. Ransome

One night while their mom’s at work, ten-year-old James and his six-year-old brother, Isaac, leave their house to meet the K-Bones, a group of guys who hang out and do cool stuff. James is ready to prove he’s cool enough to be in with them, but he soon learns that the K-Bones are not just an innocent club--they’re a gang that steals, tags freeway signs, and even plans to buy a gun. After a dangerous confrontation with a crew of older boys, James realizes that he’s put Isaac in danger, and knows that if he finds the courage to walk away, Isaac will follow.

The musical superstar of 18th-century France was Joseph Boulogne—a black man. This inspiring story tells how Joseph, the only child of a black slave and her white master, becomes "the most accomplished man in Europe." After traveling from his native West Indies to study music in Paris, young Joseph is taunted about his skin color. Despite his classmates' cruel words, he continues to devote himself to his violin, eventually becoming conductor of a whole orchestra. Joseph begins composing his own operas, which everyone acknowledges to be magnifique. But will he ever reach his dream of performing for the king and queen of France? This lushly illustrated book by Lesa Cline-Ransome and James E. Ransome introduces us to a talented musician and an overlooked figure in black history.

Beneath a patch of blue Sits a family homestead One farmhouse, proud and true. Come inside and join the quilting fun! Count from 1 to 10 as a child helps her mother and her grandmother gather materials for a special creative project-including 4 scissors, 6 tape measures, and 8 baskets of cloth. Then it's time to begin counting down: starting with 10 stitches, they sew pictures of 9 fields, 7 butterflies, 4 sunflowers, 2 dogs, and much more until they have completed 1 brilliant quilt capturing the color of life on the farm. Lesa Cline-Ransome's gently rhythmic text and James Ransome's cozy, homespun illustrations are sewn together to create the perfect companion to their acclaimed Quilt Alphabet.

HOW DID A POOR BOY named Edson - who kicked rocks down roads and dribbled balls made from rags - go on to become the greatest soccer player of all time? While other kids memorized letters, Edson memorized the scores of soccer matches. And when Edson finally played in a youth soccer tournament in the town of Bauru, Brazil, he focused on only one thing from the moment the whistle blew: the goal. Here is the story of the boy who overcame tremendous odds to become the world champion soccer star Pelé.

It's fall again, and time for Jim and Andy to help their dad run Fred's Fall Color Tours. The tourists they shuttle around are "Leaf Peepers"--and, boy, do those Peepers love to ooh and aah about the dumbest things. Leaves, trees, pumpkins. Bo-o-ring. But this yerar, even as they poke fun at the Peepers, Jim and Andy can't help but notice how the leaves floating in the river look like a brilliantly colored island, and how the spiky tree branches seem to sweep the clouds across the night sky. Maybe the Peepers aren't so silly after all.