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We have a group of African American parents who want positive up-to-date
books on our high school literature list. They don't want to focus on
history, slavery, poverty or negative relationships. They want positive
stories about people today doing positive everyday kinds of things.
I need your suggestions. I've read lots and haven't found much yet that
meets their criteria. Actually, not many of the books already on the
literature list regardless of race would meet that criteria.Thanks!
Janet Claassen
Library Media Teacher
Madera High School
Madera CA
jclaass@cello.gina.calstate.edu
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This sounds like a sure fire HIT! Please post your results. We have
encountered the same concerns. Unfortunately, writers tend to write from
personal experiences and many of the "Black experiences" have not
tended
to be as you described. If you look at the classics of the "white
experience," they don't seem to be so positive, either. Guess that is
what makes a plot!
Julie A. Walker District Media Center
Director, Library & Media Services 13401 Pond Springs Rd.
Round Rock ISD Austin, TX 78729
jawalker@tenet.edu 512-331-6697/512-331-1811 (FAX)
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Please share. I recommend Angela Johnson's Toning the Sweep and
Contemporary Black Biography.
Walter Dean Myers Motown and Didi (old)
Jan Wojnaroski
jwojnaro@monster.educ.kent.edu
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Waiting to Exhale and Disappearing Acts (can you believe I forgot the author,
but she wrote both of them!) are both excellent, for mature readers. Focus
is on contemporary, successful black women. Good luck.
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Try Walter Dean Myers and Virginia Hamilton, Rosa Guy. I'll keep thinking.
A good challenge.
Johanna Halbeisen "We are confronted by
Rebecca M. Johnson School(K-8) insurmountable opportunties."
Springfield, Mass
jhalbei@k12.oit.umass.edu Pogo
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Two from our biography section that I would like to suggest are
GIFTED HANDS: THE BEN CARSON STORY by Ben Carson ISBN 0-310-54650-8
and YOU GOTTA BELIEVE by Drew T. Brown III ISBN 0-688-09447-3
These are non-fiction, but hope they will prove helpful to you.
Micki Johnston
Prescott (Arkansas) High School
mjohns@prescott.swsc.k12.ar.us
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Janet, I see your parents' point-of-view and it certainly has merit. As
yeast to the subject, I suggest you share with them some of the articles in
the Mar/Apr (I think!) _Hornbook_. It speaks to the necessity of
really-truly multiculturalism, and also to the *untruth* of only showing
nice, positive, all-is-well scenarios for *any* one group of people.
Walter Dean Myers is an author who certainly comes to mind as being of
excellent calliber.
Good luck,
Katharine Bruner Brown Middle School
brunerk@ten-nash.ten.k12.tn.us Harrison TN
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The things that come immediately to mind are Ebony, Essence, Jet, Black
Eneterprise, etc. Our kids love those and use old ones for cutting too.Then
there's Terry MacMillan -- our students love her work. There must be other
modern novelists too, but I'm tired and it's late and I can't think of them.
You aare right when you point out that such works as Anna Karenina, Huckleberry
Finn, and the Scarlet letter are not exactly upbeat. Let me know what else you
hear of. TIA
Faith Williams, librarian at Cardozo High School, 13th & Clifton Sts., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009. 202-673-7385 Faithw@cais.com or fmwill@aol.com
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If they want books by and about African Americans, how about the fairly
new book about Arthur Ashe. I think I ordered it, but it isn't here yet.
Diane Durbin
dianed@tenet.edu
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I'd love a hit or a private e-mail message. I am in a predominantly black
secondary alternative high school and our kids can't seem to find what they
want. I am new and just beginning to create a wish list. Our kids want all
Maya Angelou, Walter Mosley, and Eldridge Cleaver. They are extremely street
smart. I am compiling a mystery author list of black authors but not all of
those will appeal to our students.
Good luck.
Ginny Cook
Work Opportunity Center
A Minneapolis Alternative Public High School
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I have a bibliography compiled by the Iowa Department of Education, 1994,
that uses the principal sources: AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE (Holt,
Rinehart, Winston/Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich, 1992; BLACK VOICES and NEW BLACK
VOICES (Mentor, 1968, 1972); BLACK WRITERS OF AMERICA (Macmillan, 1972);
Barbara Rollock's BLACK AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS (Garland,
1992); and Helen Williams' BOOKS BY AFRICAN-AMERICAN AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS
FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS (American Library Association, 1991). I'm happy
to fax or mail it to you (it's quite lengthy, over 100 pages) if these sources
seem like anything you'd be interested in. Let me know. Pat
Patricia Moore, Media Specialist
North Polk Jr.Sr. High
Alleman, IA 50007
moore@chaos.k12.ames.ia.us
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This is not going to fill your exact requirement, but I do suggest Maizon at
Blue Hill (It's late and I am blanking at the author) The novel concerns a
bright young adult in a ghetto area who has the opportunity to attend a select
private school. She attends, but finally decides that the environment is not
for her. The main character is a strong female who thinks for herself.
I've probably not given a very good summary, but the book is well liked at my
school.
Hope this helps.
susan Gibb
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Try _A Little Love_ by Virginia Hamilton; _Waiting to Exhale_ by Terry
McMillan (although young black men might be put off; young black women
might not want to "share" with them); Adult novels by Paula Fox; Octavia
Butler's science fiction--although one of hers involves very interesting
take on Time travel and slavery times, it is a fascinating book well
worth teaching in high school lit and social studies classes. If I think
of others, I'll post.....
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At our local public library this week-end I discovered the book
_Books by African American Authors and Illustrators for Children and Young
Adults_.
by Helen Williams
published by ALA in 1991
ISBN 0-8389-0570-6
I don't know if anyone has mentioned this source yet. It looked pretty
good to me. Unfortunately, it was a reference item so I couldn't check it
out and I didn't have enough time to browse. I did notice that it had a
pretty good sized part dedicated to YA. All books have review sources
cited so this might carry some weight with your parents. Who knows?
I plan to ask the library to order a copy for circulation. I, as I said in
an earlier note to you, am very interested in this topic too.
Ginny Cook
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Awhile back several people asked for information on African American
books or stories. Please find below a list of these.
Nikki Grimes
"From a child's Heart"
"Meet Danitra Brown"
Dolores Johnson
"Now Let Me Fly:The Story of A Slave Family "
Vaunda Micheaux
"Mayfield Crossing"
Eve Bunting
"Smoky Night"
Robert Coles
"The Story of Ruby Bridges"
African Stories from Thompson Learning Books
115 Fifth Avenue
New York NY 10003
1-800-880-4253
Multicultural Studies Workbook from Turman Publishing Co.
P.O. Box 19680
Seattle, WA 98109
1-800-266-5703
Workbooks are "STARS" and "African Americans"
Hope these help you.
Peace,
William Jackson
Jacksow1@mail.firn.edu
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