Books with author Melrose Cooper

Celebrate the culture, heritage, family, and tradition of Kwanzaa through this beautiful variation of a popular holiday song.On the fifth day of Kwanzaa, my people gave to meFive festive friends!Four spending dollars,Red, green, and black,Two drums-a-drumming,And a promise for unity.Sing in celebration of Kwanzaa with this cheerful holiday rhyme. This creative spin on a familiar Christmas song features rhyming text, and lively artwork from illustrator Jeremy Tugeau.

"An excellent bibliotherapy book to help middle-schoolers talk about AIDS and cope with the death of a loved one." - Booklist Crystal's older sister, Janelle, just won second place in a writing contest, and her younger sister, Roxann, was picked to sing a solo in the school play. It's difficult to be in the middle of two gifted sisters–especially when Crystal thinks she has no talents of her own.Then Uncle Joe comes to town and Crystal finds comfort in their friendship, and starts to feel special. But when she is told that Uncle Joe is dying of AIDS, she must come to grips with his illness. In the process, Crystal learns a lot about her strong family, about life, and most of all, about herself. Full of hope and optimism, this coming–of–age story explores life and death, and one family's struggle to stick together through hard times.

You can't block the dead! The first novel in the Dead Serious series, in which a middle school girl bridges the gap between the living and the dead with her phone. Annabel Craven hopes she’ll fit in—maybe even be popular—at the Academy. She’s worried she’ll stay friendless and phoneless (it’s true). But when she finds a mysterious phone in the woods near the cemetery, one of her problems is solved . . . and another one is just beginning. Someone won’t stop texting her. And that someone seems . . . dead. How is Annabel supposed to make friends when her phone keeps blowing up with messages from the afterlife? And what will happen if she doesn’t text back? Includes morbidly-cute black-and-white illustrations!"Scary--but not too scary." --SLJ"Good, ghostly fun." --Kirkus Reviews

Vienna from 1910 to 1912. Lissi decides that she wants to be a modern, independent woman; but fate has another plan. When she meets Russian Revolutionary Sam Baleinikov her life and aspirations change, despite the objections of her traditional-minded, bourgeois Jewish family. Against the background of the modernist movement in the arts and medicine at that time in the city that dreams of a different kind of world, we follow the romantic problems of Sam and Lissi and their decision to emigrate to America.

in this second novel in the BLOGTASTIC! series, Sofia Becker, Middlebrooke Middle School blogger extraordinaire, is back! And this time her gossip isn't only from the girls' room. The rumor mill is out of control at Sofia's school, so it's a good thing Sofia and her super-secret notebook can set everyone straight. Entertaining and funny, this BLOGTASTIC! novel features super-cute black-and-white illustrations . . . girls will love passing this book around with their friends!

School is out for the summer in this final book in the BLOGTASTIC! series! And Sofia Becker, Middlebrooke Middle School blogger extraordinaire, is back to let you know everything that goes down at camp.Sofia is spending the summer at Camp Krakatow! S'mores, crafts, bug juice, water sports, boys(!) . . . Sofia doesn't want to forget one second of sleepaway camp!

It's Diary of a Wimpy Kid for girls! Find out just what happens when class is not in session in this first book in the BLOGTASTIC! series.Gossip from the Girls’ Room fills readers in on all there is to learn about middle school life at Middlebrooke, where Sofia has her very own blog and discusses all the juicy gossip that comes out of the Girls’ room. In Sofia's words . . . Mia St. Claire is only the most popular girl in all of Middlebrooke Middle School. For three very obvious reasons:1. She's very rich.2. She has tons of money.3. She can buy anything and everything she wants. And she does.I'm sure people like her for other reasons too, but none of those reasons are obvious enough for me to really know. Or care about, for that matter.

School is out for the summer in this final book in the BLOGTASTIC! series! And Sofia Becker, Middlebrooke Middle School blogger extraordinaire, is back to let you know everything that goes down at camp.Sofia is spending the summer at Camp Krakatow! S'mores, crafts, bug juice, water sports, boys(!) . . . Sofia doesn't want to forget one second of sleepaway camp!

in this second novel in the BLOGTASTIC! series, Sofia Becker, Middlebrooke Middle School blogger extraordinaire, is back! And this time her gossip isn't only from the girls' room. The rumor mill is out of control at Sofia's school, so it's a good thing Sofia and her super-secret notebook can set everyone straight. Entertaining and funny, this BLOGTASTIC! novel features super-cute black-and-white illustrations . . . girls will love passing this book around with their friends!

"Girl, you ought to write it down."That's what Aunt Barbara tells her twelve-year-old niece, Janelle, who decides to follow her dream and become a writer. But who wants to read about a family that just had the electricity turned off? Or about a girl with holes in her sneakers and an even bigger hole in her heart left by a daddy who ran away?But as Janelle begins to write about the ups and downs of life and all her sad and mad feelings, she discovers the strangest things: that she can create poetry out of pain, and that a struggle can be a way of making a dream come true . . . ."This book's strengths lie in its strong character development, lovely writing, and heartfelt message about what really makes a family rich."--School Library Journal"A wise, appealing book . . . Well-drawn characters and a lively and consistent voice echoing the rich color and cadence of African-American speech."--Kirkus Reviews