Prejudice & Racism Books

Maniac Magee

Jerry Spinelli

Amazon Price: $6.99 List Price: $6.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: INGRAM BOOK & DISTRIBUTOR - Model: ING0316809063 Amazon Marketplace: 101 new & used starting at $0.05

Buy at Amazon.com

Features:

• Made with the Best Quality Material with your child in mind.
• Top Quality Children's Item.

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Classics by Age -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> People & Places -> Social Issues -> Prejudice & Racism -> Fiction

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 714 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Maniacs are good friends 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

After reading Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli, I have learned a lot about what it takes to be a good friend. I thought I had good friends before I read it. Friends are supposed to be people you can laugh with, remember forever, and trust enough to ask for a payday loan without any threat of interest. Spinelli produced in Jeffrey Magee a completely different kind of friend.
Maniac, as he came to be known by other characters in the book was homeless, needy, untrusting of most others, independent, and reclusive. He preferred running through town and sleeping with animals at the zoo to staying with his stiff, staunch, and insensitive foster parents. When he does run away, he finds himself in the same town his parents died. He discovers there the racial hate, socio-economic oppression, and disbelief in people he thought he had run away from. But he also discovered that the people there revered him as a legend.
Spinelli wastes no time complicating Magee's life. Soon after he runs away, Maniac is sought after by a neighborhood bully, ousted by racist adults, hunted by arrogant unsupervised white kids, and indebted to the first kind person he meets. Spinelli creates a lovelable boy, with many of the same characteristics as Tom Sawyer, and a lot of the same plights many of his readers recognize from experience. Only one thing makes Magee stand out from all the rest.
Magee is blessed with a shroud of heroism. In his own meandering and misanthropic way, Maniac saves a retired minor league pitcher from his lonliness, restores the legend of a fallen big brother, returns courage to a fearful bully and reaffirms a girls faith in humanity. He also teaches a town to accept differences on both sides of the track...in spite of color differences.
The novel is colored with humor, charm and sincerity. Spinelli seems to be unfolding real events on a neon canvas. So bright and amusing they can't possibly be real, these moments resonate with whispers of reality. Parts of Spinelli's childhood seep from the pages, touching the lives of all readers and embracing the childhood some have yet to leave behind.
Readability is enhanced by short fast paced chapters, a subtle thread of suspense and a genuine curiosity about what Maniac Magee will do next. No matter who reads this book, Magee is sure to run them down leaving their minds stamped with Jerry Spinelli's gifted writing.

Editorial Review:

After his parents die, Jeffrey Lionel Magee's life becomes legendary as he accomplishes athletic feats and other extraordinary exploits that awe his contemporaries. Paperback.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Puffin Modern Classics) (Puffin Modern Classics)

Mildred D. Taylor

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Puffin Amazon Marketplace: 60 new & used starting at $2.98

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> History & Historical Fiction -> United States -> Fiction -> 1900s
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Classics by Age -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 459 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

In all Mildred D. Taylor's unforgettable novels she recounts "not only the joy of growing up in a large and supportive family, but my own feelings of being faced with segregation and bigotry." Her Newbery Medal-winning Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry tells the story of one African American family, fighting to stay together and strong in the face of brutal racist attacks, illness, poverty, and betrayal in the Deep South of the 1930s. Nine-year-old Cassie Logan, growing up protected by her loving family, has never had reason to suspect that any white person could consider her inferior or wish her harm. But during the course of one devastating year when her community begins to be ripped apart by angry night riders threatening African Americans, she and her three brothers come to understand why the land they own means so much to their Papa. "Look out there, Cassie girl. All that belongs to you. You ain't never had to live on nobody's place but your own and long as I live and the family survives, you'll never have to. That's important. You may not understand that now but one day you will. Then you'll see."

Twenty-five years after it was first published, this special anniversary edition of the classic strikes as deep and powerful a note as ever. Taylor's vivid portrayal of ugly racism and the poignancy of Cassie's bewilderment and gradual toughening against social injustice and the men and women who perpetuate it, will remain with readers forever. Two award-winning sequels, Let the Circle Be Unbroken and The Road to Memphis, and a long-awaited prequel, The Land, continue the profoundly moving tale of the Logan family. (Ages 9 and older) --Emilie Coulter

American Born Chinese

Gene Luen Yang

Amazon Price: $14.53 List Price: $17.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: First Second Amazon Marketplace: 85 new & used starting at $8.99

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror -> Comics & Graphic Novels
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> People & Places -> Multicultural Stories -> Asian & Asian American

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 52 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Indie graphic novelist Gene Yang's intelligent and emotionally challenging American Born Chinese is made up of three individual plotlines: the determined efforts of the Chinese folk hero Monkey King to shed his humble roots and be revered as a god; the struggles faced by Jin Wang, a lonely Asian American middle school student who would do anything to fit in with his white classmates; and the sitcom plight of Danny, an All-American teen so shamed by his Chinese cousin Chin-Kee (a purposefully painful ethnic stereotype) that he is forced to change schools. Each story works well on its own, but Yang engineers a clever convergence of these parallel tales into a powerful climax that destroys the hateful stereotype of Chin-Kee, while leaving both Jin Wang and the Monkey King satisfied and happy to be who they are.

Yang skillfully weaves these affecting, often humorous stories together to create a masterful commentary about race, identity, and self-acceptance that has earned him a spot as a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People. The artwork, rendered in a chromatically cool palette, is crisp and clear, with clean white space around center panels that sharply focuses the reader's attention in on Yang's achingly familiar characters. There isn't an adolescent alive who won't be able to relate to Jin's wish to be someone other than who he is, and his gradual realization that there is no better feeling than being comfortable in your own skin.--Jennifer Hubert

Monster

Walter Dean Myers

Amazon Price: $8.99 List Price: $8.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Amistad Amazon Marketplace: 159 new & used starting at $1.75

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror -> Mysteries, Espionage, & Detectives
Subjects -> Children's Books -> People & Places -> Multicultural Stories -> African-American
Subjects -> Children's Books -> People & Places -> Social Issues -> Prejudice & Racism -> Fiction

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 676 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"Monster" is what the prosecutor called 16-year-old Steve Harmon for his supposed role in the fatal shooting of a convenience-store owner. But was Steve really the lookout who gave the "all clear" to the murderer, or was he just in the wrong place at the wrong time? In this innovative novel by Walter Dean Myers, the reader becomes both juror and witness during the trial of Steve's life. To calm his nerves as he sits in the courtroom, aspiring filmmaker Steve chronicles the proceedings in movie script format. Interspersed throughout his screenplay are journal writings that provide insight into Steve's life before the murder and his feelings about being held in prison during the trial. "They take away your shoelaces and your belt so you can't kill yourself no matter how bad it is. I guess making you live is part of the punishment."

Myers, known for the inner-city classic Motown and Didi (first published in 1984), proves with Monster that he has kept up with both the struggles and the lingo of today's teens. Steve is an adolescent caught up in the violent circumstances of an adult world--a situation most teens can relate to on some level. Readers will no doubt be attracted to the novel's handwriting-style typeface, emphasis on dialogue, and fast-paced courtroom action. By weaving together Steve's journal entries and his script, Myers has given the first-person voice a new twist and added yet another worthy volume to his already admirable body of work. (Ages 12 and older) --Jennifer Hubert

The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963

Christopher Paul Curtis

Amazon Price: $6.99 List Price: $6.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Laurel Leaf Amazon Marketplace: 64 new & used starting at $2.49

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> People & Places -> Family Life -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> People & Places -> Family Life -> Multigenerational -> Fiction
Subjects -> Children's Books -> People & Places -> Multicultural Stories -> African-American

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 625 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The year is 1963, and self-important Byron Watson is the bane of his younger brother Kenny's existence. Constantly in trouble for one thing or another, from straightening his hair into a "conk" to lighting fires to freezing his lips to the mirror of the new family car, Byron finally pushes his family too far. Before this "official juvenile delinquent" can cut school or steal change one more time, Momma and Dad finally make good on their threat to send him to the deep south to spend the summer with his tiny, strict grandmother. Soon the whole family is packed up, ready to make the drive from Flint, Michigan, straight into one of the most chilling moments in America's history: the burning of the Sixteenth Avenue Baptist Church with four little girls inside.

Christopher Paul Curtis's alternately hilarious and deeply moving novel, winner of the Newbery Honor and the Coretta Scott King Honor, blends the fictional account of an African American family with the factual events of the violent summer of 1963. Fourth grader Kenny is an innocent and sincere narrator; his ingenuousness lends authenticity to the story and invites readers of all ages into his world, even as it changes before his eyes. Curtis is also the acclaimed author of Bud, Not Buddy, winner of the Newbery Medal. (Ages 9 to 12) --Emilie Coulter

The Hundred Dresses

Eleanor Estes

Amazon Price: $7.00 List Price: $7.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Harcourt Paperbacks Amazon Marketplace: 73 new & used starting at $2.11

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Classics by Age -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> People & Places -> Social Issues -> Prejudice & Racism -> Fiction

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 98 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Wanda Petronski lives way up in shabby Boggins Heights, and she doesn't have any friends. Every day she wears a faded blue dress, which wouldn't be too much of a problem if she didn't tell her schoolmates that she had a hundred dresses at home--all silk, all colors, and velvet, too. This lie--albeit understandable in light of her dress-obsessed circle--precipitates peals of laughter from her peers, and she never hears the end of it. One day, after Wanda has been absent from school for a few days, the teacher receives a note from Wanda's father, a Polish immigrant: "Dear teacher: My Wanda will not come to your school any more. Jake also. Now we move away to big city. No more holler Polack. No more ask why funny name. Plenty of funny names in the big city. Yours truly, Jan Petronski."

Maddie, a girl who had stood by while Wanda was taunted about her dresses, feels sick inside: "True, she had not enjoyed listening to Peggy ask Wanda how many dresses she had in her closet, but she had said nothing.... She was a coward.... She had helped to make someone so unhappy that she had had to move away from town." Repentant, Maddie and her friend Peggy head up to Boggins Heights to see if the Petronskis are still there. When they discover the house is empty, Maddie despairs: "Nothing would ever seem good to her again, because just when she was about to enjoy something--like going for a hike with Peggy to look for bayberries or sliding down Barley Hill--she'd bump right smack into the thought that she had made Wanda Petronski move away." Ouch. This gentle Newbery Honor Book convincingly captures the deeply felt moral dilemmas of childhood, equally poignant for the teased or the tormentor. Louis Slobodkin, illustrator of the 1944 Caldecott Medalist Many Moons, brings his wispy, evocative, color-washed sketches to Eleanor Estes's time-proven classic about kindness, compassion, and standing up for what's right. (Ages 6 and older) --Karin Snelson

Henry's Freedom Box (Caldecott Honor Book)

Ellen Levine

Amazon Price: $11.55 List Price: $16.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Scholastic Press Amazon Marketplace: 41 new & used starting at $7.99

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> History & Historical Fiction -> United States -> Fiction -> 1800s
Subjects -> Children's Books -> People & Places -> Multicultural Stories -> African-American
Subjects -> Children's Books -> People & Places -> Social Issues -> Prejudice & Racism -> Fiction

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Spare story of one man's struggle against slavery 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

This story documents the slavery and eventual freedom of one man. Henry and his brothers and sisters work for a good master. However, on his deathbed, the master gives Henry to his son, separating Henry from the rest of his family forever. Henry works well in the master's son's tobacco factory, presumably avoiding the beatings of the foreman. Later, he meets Nancy, a slave of another master. The two are allowed to marry and live together, and eventually they have three children. Unfortunately, Nancy's master suffers a financial loss, and Henry is informed one day that his wife and children have been sold.

The loss of this family is forever too, and Henry is now spurred to seek his freedom so he'll never have to suffer a loss like that again. With the help of two friends- one another slave, one a white doctor who doesn't believe in slavery- he literally mails himself to freedom in Philadelphia.

What I liked most about this book was that the author does not force an emotional response out of the reader because she doesn't have to. Young readers- as well as adults- can immediately appreciate the horror of being separated from your family as a child and then losing your children. The author presents the losses, but doesn't dictate the grief and anger that the main character must have felt. This makes the reader's response that much more powerful.

Although Henry does eventually gain his freedom, his previous losses haunt the end of the story, just as they must have haunted him and countless other American slaves.

Editorial Review:

Henry Brown doesn't know how old he is. Nobody keeps records of slaves' birthdays. All the time he dreams about freedom, but that dream seems farther away than ever when he is torn from his family and put to work in a warehouse. When Henry grows up and marries, he is again devastated when his family is sold at the slave market. Then one day, as he lifts a crate at the warehouse, he knows exactly what he must do: He will mail himself to the North. After an arduous journey in the crate, Henry finally has a birthday -- his first day of freedom.

We're Different, We're the Same (Pictureback(R))

Bobbi Kates

Amazon Price: $3.99 List Price: $3.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Random House Books for Young Readers Amazon Marketplace: 49 new & used starting at $0.19

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> People & Places -> Explore the World -> Fiction -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> People & Places -> Social Issues -> Prejudice & Racism -> Fiction
Subjects -> Children's Books -> People & Places -> Social Issues -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Excellent! 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This book is absolutely great for young children. It stresses the importance of how even though we are all different, we are all basically the same. It teaches children to accept everyone no matter how they look, what race they are, etc. This should be on the bookshelf of every child. It is also great for those with multi-racial families.

Great Book for All Kids 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This is a wonderful book for all kids. I read it with the children in my life and have them point out which one is their nose, eyes, mouth, skin, etc. and point out that we are all different and the same and isn't it great?!

Great teaching tool. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book is so sweet and my 3 year old loves it. I love the fact that it teaches that deep down we are the same but at the same time being different is a good thing. How boring would our world be if we were all the same?

Editorial Review:

Illustrated in full color. The colorful characters from Sesame Street teach

young children about racial harmony. Muppets, monsters, and humans compare

noses, hair, and skin and realize how different we all are. But as they look

further, they also discover how much we are alike.

Warriors Don't Cry

Melba Pattillo Beals

Amazon Price: $6.99 List Price: $6.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Simon Pulse Amazon Marketplace: 57 new & used starting at $2.84

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> People & Places -> Biographies -> People of Color
Subjects -> Children's Books -> People & Places -> Biographies -> Historical
Subjects -> Children's Books -> People & Places -> Explore the World -> United States

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 122 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Well-Written Must Read! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I read Warriors Don't Cry for school, and when I began reading it, I knew I would enjoy it. Yes, I enjoyed it, but it is actually very terrifying to read. Everything that Beals writes is based on fact, and it is very terrifying to imagine that this is what she and the other young black students faced when segregating into an all-white school.

This is a must-read, and is a well-written, terrifying look into the world before blacks and whites could be as one in a school. It's a must read!

Editorial Review:

An innocent teenager.

An unexpected hero.

In 1957, Melba Pattillo turned sixteen. That was also the year she became a warrior on the front lines of a civil rights firestorm. Following the landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling, Brown v. Board of Education, Melba was one of nine teenagers chosen to integrate Little Rock's Central High School.

Throughout her harrowing ordeal, Melba was taunted by her schoolmates and their parents, threatened by a lynch mob's rope, attacked with lighted sticks of dynamite, and injured by acid sprayed in her eyes. But through it all, she acted with dignity and courage, and refused to back down.

This is her remarkable story.

The Crayon Box that Talked

Amazon Price: $10.15 List Price: $12.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Random House Books for Young Readers Amazon Marketplace: 37 new & used starting at $6.93

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Baby-3 -> Basic Concepts -> Colors
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Poetry -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The Crayon Box That Talked 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I recieved my book in great condition and within a weeks time. Was great, I have continued to order from Amazon.

Fun idea! 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is a well written book about a very cute idea. My daughter (2 1/2) loves it.

THe Crayon Box 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

A very simple book that demonstrates how we must all get along and accept each other because together we make a better world.

Editorial Review:

"While walking through a toy store, the day before today, I overheard a crayon box with many things to say..." Once upon a time, Shane DeRolf wrote a poem. It was a deceptively simple poem, a charming little piece that celebrates the creation of harmony through diversity. The folks at the Ad Council heard it--and liked it so much that they made it the theme for their 1997 National Anti-Discrimination Campaign for Children. Following on the heels of nearly a year's worth of televised public service announcements, Random House is phonored to publish the picture book, illustrated in every color in the crayon box by dazzling newcomer Michael Letzig and conveying the sublimely simple message that when we all work together, the results are much more interesting and colorful.