People of Color Books

Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope

Nikki Grimes

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 2.5 of 5

Voted third party 1 out of 5 stars.
10 of 13 people found this review helpful.

You have GOT to be kidding me???? There is something seriously wrong with any parent that would give this god-king worship book to a child. I fear for anyone that focuses this much adoration towards a man. I fear for any nation that adores a leader to this extent. Lets pull our heads out of the clouds people.

Editorial Review:

Ever since Barack Obama was young, Hope has lived inside him. From the beaches of Hawaii to the streets of Chicago, from the jungles of Indonesia to the plains of Kenya, he has held on to Hope. Even as a boy, Barack knew he wasn't quite like anybody else, but through his journeys he found the ability to listen to Hope and become what he was meant to be: a bridge to bring people together.

This is the moving story of an exceptional man, as told by Nikki Grimes and illustrated by Bryan Collier, both winners of the Coretta Scott King Award. Barack Obama has motivated Americans to believe with him, to believe that every one of us has the power to change ourselves and change our world.

Yes We Can: A Biography of Barack Obama

Garen Thomas

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

I loved reading this book with my 10-year-old son 5 out of 5 stars.
16 of 20 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book for one of my child therapy clients at work and we read it together. We couldn't put it down. I am speaking for the both of us when I say that the book "Yes We Can" was enlightening and inspiring. Not only did it do a great job of explaining the American political system to young readers, but it also detailed Barack Obama's life in a way that offers youth the inspiration to achieve great things in life.

Editorial Review:

In third grade, Barack Obama wrote an essay titled, “I Want to Become President”—and he is, to this day, determined to show the world that, yes, he can.

Born in the U.S.A., the son of an African father and an American mother, a boy who spent his childhood in Indonesia and Hawaii, Barack Obama is truly a citizen of the world. His campaign for the presidency is powered by a fierce optimism, an exuberant sense of purpose and determination, and, above all, a belief that change can happen.

Garen Thomas takes us through the life of Barack Obama, from his struggle to fit in with his classmates and concern about not knowing his biological father, through his term as Illinois senator, to his historic and momentum-building run for president of the United States.

Barack Obama is a man who uses his words to inspire us. We can have a better future. We can be whatever we want to be. Yes. We. Can.

Barack

Jonah Winter

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Excellent gift for grandchildren 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 6 people found this review helpful.

I purchased four Barack books for my grandchildren for this historic election. The book takes a younger child's view and explains much about his background and what he has accomplished. I assume it will be a collector book some day.

A classic ... done in the old style of children's books ... 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 6 people found this review helpful.

This is probably the best of all the children's books of real-life people, political and presidential figures that I've seen.

The illustrations hearken back to a much earlier time in children's books and even evokes a certain sense of nostalgia to many of the old classics. The irony of this is that with such a positive message for the future from the principal subject of the book, it's a nice message of the past about him which tells the moral of remembering where you came from, who you are and what your own story is. The telling is warm and affectionate, but tasteful.

I think this is a great story for children without the necessity for camp or distortion.

Similar luke-warm attempts have been done about so many other political figures in the last two years that one may have re-examine these efforts in their entirety, but I think this book will continue to be seen as a classic for some time to come and separate from the many other submissions that we're already all too familiar with.

I purchased my copy the day it hit the shelves and obtained a first edition. I can't find this book anywhere now. Buy it while you can, it's worth in the future is assured.

Editorial Review:

This is a journey that began in many places.

It began in Kansas, home of Barack's mother. It began in Africa, home of Barack's father. It began in Hawaii one moonlit night, the night that Barack was born.

Sometimes it was a lonely journey. Sometimes it was an enchanted journey. But throughout this most unusual ride, this boy often wondered: Who am I? Where do I belong?

Jonah Winter and AG Ford re-create the extraordinary story behind the rise of the inspirational icon Barack Obama in this stunning picture book.

Barack Obama: An American Story: An American Story (All Aboard Reading)

Roberta Edwards

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Great book 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This is a very good book for anyone(including adults) who want the facts about Barack Obamas life. Easy read, nice pictures.

Barack Obama is the 21st Century Reincarnation of 20th Century Black Racist Rap Brown 1 out of 5 stars.
3 of 39 people found this review helpful.

This is not a children's book. It is a work of propaganda. It should be titled, "How to Win Voters and Influence the Media By Playing the Race Card".
1. Obama's only real-world experience during his legal and political career is playing the race card. But for the race card, he would still be a lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School. He has no experience whatever as an executive, manager, or trial atorney. As president his total lack of executive experience would damage America the same way that Mayor Ray Nagin's lack of executive experience has damages New Orleand, But if anyone criticizes Obama, he, his wife, or his surrogates in the media (e.g. Chris Matthews and Andrea Mitchell) will play the race card.
2. Obama's sonorous voice and million dollar smile are not a substitute for his lack of judgment. His decisions on almost every political, economic and social issue have been wrong, and have caused him to lip-flop. He lacks the gravitas required of a president.
3. Obama's so-called policies are jive talk. Like Hitler, he is a charismatic speaker. Like Hitler, he believes that he is the messiah. But like Hitler, he has refused to articulate the "changes" that his political, economic and social policies will cause to America . There is no evidence to support his apocryphal claims. One recent example of his jive talk is his position on the military. Although he has consistently voted against the military, he argued to the VFW that he was pro-military because his relatives had served in the military! Only Democrats can accept the "logic" of his
argument.
4. Obama is a de jure but not a de facto American. He grew up in the alien and exotic cultures in both Hawaiiand Indonesia. After law school, he worked in the hate-filled neighborhoods of South Chicago. As Mark Penn, Hillary's strategist, said, he does not have "roots in America". He does not share our values and culture. His anti-American conduct speaks louder than his pro-American words. The disconnect between his words and actions is like that of his colleague John Edwards who's love affair with a TV producer contradicted hisrhetoric on marital fidelity and family values.
5. Like Stokely Carmichael and H. Rap Brown, Obama is a black separatist. For 20 years, he and his wife approved and supported the hate-speech and hate-ideas of Rev. Wright. Although he is bi-racial, he has chosen to align himself with the Black Establishment and the Congressional Black Caucus. If elected president, he will protect their interests, not the nation's interests. The undisputed evidence supports these claims of his racial animus. First, during the primaries he threw his white grandmother under the bus during the debate about race. If elected, he will do the same to white Ameriica. Second, even now he and his campaign are working to register black voters, but not white voters. How could a man who acts like that unite all Americans?
6. Obama's wife Michelle is an open and notorious anti-American. She speaks and acts as if she was the wife of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez. She has spent her academic and professional life scorning American values and culture. Her senior thesis proves that she eschewes American values.Even though she is a graduate of Princeton and Harvard Law School, and is campaigning for her husband, Obama has made veiled threats to send "boz from the hood" to beat up anyone who dares to criticizes Michelle.
7. The Democrat's lust for the presidency is so great that they are willing to wink at Obama lack of qualification to be President of the United States and Commander in Chief of our armed forces. Like the German industrialists in 1930s Germany who thought that they could control Hitler, they think that in 21st
Century America that they can control Obama. They are wrong. Only Democrats would put their party's interests ahead of the nation's interests, and place our nuclear arsenal in the hands of an unqualified and untested person like Obama.
8. Independent voters should read this book in conjunction with two other books: Obama Nation and The Case Against Barack Obama. They should weigh the evidence. Then they should decide whether they and the nation should assume the risking of electing as president a person like Obama who is not "of the people, by the people, or for the people".

Editorial Review:

Of mixed race and cultures, Barack Obama struggled for years with his identity and place in society. Having found his niche in public service, he has made history as the fifth African American U.S. senator ever to be elected. Now “the skinny kid” continues his political journey and strives to become the nation’s first black president. From Hawaii to Chicago to Washington, D.C., Senator Obama’s life has been interesting and inspiring.

We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball

Kadir Nelson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

"We are the ship; all else the sea."--Rube Foster, founder of the Negro National League

The story of Negro League baseball is the story of gifted athletes and determined owners; of racial discrimination and international sportsmanship; of fortunes won and lost; of triumphs and defeats on and off the field. It is a perfect mirror for the social and political history of black America in the first half of the twentieth century. But most of all, the story of the Negro Leagues is about hundreds of unsung heroes who overcame segregation, hatred, terrible conditions, and low pay to do the one thing they loved more than anything else in the world: play ball. Using an "Everyman" player as his narrator, Kadir Nelson tells the story of Negro League baseball from its beginnings in the 1920s through its decline after Jackie Robinson crossed over to the majors in 1947. The voice is so authentic, you will feel as if you are sitting on dusty bleachers listening intently to the memories of a man who has known the great ballplayers of that time and shared their experiences. But what makes this book so outstanding are the dozens of full-page and double-page oil paintings--breathtaking in their perspectives, rich in emotion, and created with understanding and affection for these lost heroes of our national game.

We Are the Ship is a tour de force for baseball lovers of all ages.

Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela : With Connections (HRW library)

Nelson Mandela

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Subjects -> History -> Africa -> Southern Africa

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 133 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

"Study history or it will repeat itself" 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

A must read for all, especially my generation (1964) and younger. We need to ensure that what South Africa went through and the racism present in the U.S. is never allowed to return. Any racism no matter how small or seemingly insignificant needs to be stamped out. Wouldn't it be nice if someday we were all classified as "Human" and not by some other label? Read this book and realize the struggle this man, his family, and his country went through to gain the simple freedoms we often take for granted.

Editorial Review:

The famously taciturn South African president reveals much of himself in Long Walk to Freedom. A good deal of this autobiography was written secretly while Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years on Robben Island by South Africa's apartheid regime. Among the book's interesting revelations is Mandela's ambivalence toward his lifetime of devotion to public works. It cost him two marriages and kept him distant from a family life he might otherwise have cherished. Long Walk to Freedom also discloses a strong and generous spirit that refused to be broken under the most trying circumstances--a spirit in which just about everybody can find something to admire.

Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message (Reading Rainbow Book)

Jake Swamp

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

A wonderful way to share thankfulness at your Thankgiving table. We read it in class before Thanksgiving and again as grace at our family celebration. It is an affirmation of what our family treasures: the earth, the animals, the rain, and the sunshine. Thank you, Chief Jake Swamp, for making this available to children and adults!

"Again again" 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

My 29 month old loves this book. We read it over and over. What I love most about the construction of the book is that is has a sewn binding--no dangerous staples! He loves the art work and in one day has memorized most of the text. It's simple, to the point, and thorough. A perfect book for any child. NOW he wants to do the "Mother Earth" puzzle. He identifies different types of food, spirits animals, and "thunder beings." I recommend this book for all ages, boy and girl.

Editorial Review:

Giving Thanks is a special children's version of the Thanksgiving Address, a message of gratitude that originated with the Native people of upstate New York and Canada and that is still spoken at ceremonial gatherings held by the Iroquois, or Six Nations. Full color.

1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving (I Am American)

Catherine O'Neill Grace

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In cooperation with the Plimoth Plantation, a living-history museum in Massachusetts, National Geographic has recreated the first Thanksgiving. Photographs by National Geographic photographers of the recreation at Plimoth Plantation illustrate this book. In 1621, in a small settlement on the edge of the sea, 52 English colonists celebrated their first harvest. The colonists were joined by 90 men of the Wampanoag tribe for a gathering that was to last three days in a town now known as Plymouth. Over the centuries, there have been countless versions of this story, creating a popular myth of the first Thanksgiving. Many Americans imagine brave, peaceful settlers inviting a few wild Indians over for a turkey dinner. But there was no pumpkin pie or cranberry sauce at this celebration. There were no Indians with woven blankets over their shoulders and large feathered headdresses. No pilgrims with somber black clothes and silver buckle hats either. The English didn't even call themselves Pilgrims. This book puts aside that myth and takes a new look at our American history. It questions what we know and recovers lost voices of the Wampanoag people. True history includes the voices of all its participants. 1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving invites young people to read, listen, and think about our shared history. The book also features a foreword, a section on the actual reenactment and the concept of living history, a chronology, an index, and a bibliography.

Wangari's Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa

Jeanette Winter

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

This is one "get-it-done" woman 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

"The earth was naked. For me the mission was to try to cover it with green." - Wangari Maathai

Growing up in the shadow of Mount Kenya in Africa, Wangari is surrounded by an umbrella of green trees. The trees protect the birds, provide firewood to the women of the village and help keep the soil rich for the sweet potatoes, sugarcane and maize Wangari helps to harvest.

Wangari travels to America for school, but when she returns six years later, the trees are gone. No crops grow, the birds are gone and the women have to travel far distances to find firewood. On World Environment Day in 1977, Wangari plants nine seedlings in her backyard and begins the Green Belt Movement which, over the next 27 years, plants thirty million trees across Africa.

Wangari's Trees of Peace: a true story from Africa is the story of one woman's effort to return green to Africa. Told in Jeanette Winter's simple language and blocky, colorful illustrations, Wangari's Trees of Peace is wonderful means to introduce 3-to-7-year- olds to environmentalism, the interconnected nature of ecosystems and political activitism. It also introduces some difficult subjects that may make some children and parents uncomfortable: prejudice ("Women can't do this"), violence ("Wangari blocks their way, so they hit her with clubs") and imprisonment ("They call her a troublemaker and put her in jail").

While Winter's tale simplifies Wangari's story to a basic level, it carries within it an important message, that one person can make a difference. Wangari's simple act of planting a tree translates to an important environmental movement and Wangari receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. Children are innate idealists and it is never too early to foster their belief that they can achieve anything.

In keeping with the environmental nature of Wangari's Trees of Peace, the book is printed on 100 percent recycled paper with 50 percent post-consumer waste.

Armchair Interviews says: Book both educates and entertains.

Editorial Review:

As a young girl growing up in Kenya, Wangari was surrounded by trees. But years later when she returns home, she is shocked to see whole forests being cut down, and she knows that soon all the trees will be destroyed. So Wangari decides to do something—and starts by planting nine seedlings in her own backyard. And as they grow, so do her plans. . . .

This true story of Wangari Maathai, environmentalist and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, is a shining example of how one woman’s passion, vision, and determination inspired great change.

Includes an author’s note.

This book was printed on 100% recycled paper with 50% postconsumer waste.

North American Indian (DK Eyewitness Books)

David S. Murdoch

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Lots of Detail ~ Beautiful Pictures 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

Great pictures and lots of information throughout. This book captures my 1st grader's attention. Will be a good resource for homeschooling. For those concerned, this book acknowledges that archeologists do not agree when human beings "trekked across the Ice Age land bridge from Siberia". It states various theories as to who & when people were in the Americas. Love the organization of the book and so will be wonderful resource in our American studies.

NATIVE INDIANS 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

THIS WAS THE MOST THE BEST DK BOOK I EVER READ
AND I JUST LOVE HISTORY

KYLE VENTURA
(...)

Native American History for Kids! 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

DK Eyewitness books are great and informative. I am teaching ESOL students who are learning English and taking content courses at the same time. They are unfamiliar with American History and Native American history is an even greater enigma to them. This book which supplies graphics and photos, allows students to gather a lot of information visually at a time when they have troubling reading English.