Black Books Galore! Guide to Great African American Children's Books about Boys [Paperback]

Black Books Galore! (Author), Donna Rand (Author), Toni Trent Parker (Author)

Book Description

Series: Black Books Galore

A Treasury of Hundreds of Books that Help Boys Grow and Flourish

"Images-strong, proud and happy, brave, and now also humorous . . . what a joy it is to see black faces of all shades in our children's books."-Doug E. Doug, Actor, The Bill Cosby Show

"As a child . . . I wish there had been more books that reflected my world and my interests."-Earl G. Graves, Chairman, Publisher, and CEO, Black Enterprise magazine

How do you know which books are the best for boys at every age? Now, two of the mothers who founded the esteemed Black Books Galore!-the nation's leading organizer of African American children's book festivals-and the authors of the highly acclaimed Black Books Galore! Guide to Great African American Children's Books, share their expert advice. Let BBG! help you open the door to a wonderful world of reading for the boys in your life.

Invaluable for parents, teachers, and librarians, this easy-to-use, delightfully illustrated reference guide features:
* Quick, lively descriptions of over 350 books
* Hundreds of young black heroes and positive role models
* Reflections from kids, famous authors, illustrators, and public figures about their favorite childhood books
* Easy-to-find listings organized by age level and indexed by title, topic, author, and illustrator
* Recommended reading for parents of boys


"This is a great resource that fills a tremendous need. It should be on parents' shelves at home as well as in every school."-Alvin F. Poussaint, M.D., Harvard Medical School, on Black Books Galore! Guide to Great African American Children's Books

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In 1992 two mothers founded Black Books Galore, the nation's leading organizer of African American children's book festivals, and set out to identify and distribute fine children's literature that was for and about African American kids. Ultimately, authors Donna Rand and Toni Trent Parker selected a stellar assortment of books for boys from birth through eighth grade for inclusion in this fabulous resource for boys (as well as hundreds more in the version for girls: Black Books Galore! Guide to Great African American Children's Books About Girls). Parents, teachers, librarians, and kids themselves will find this an invaluable resource, as well as a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience. The authors include brief, lively descriptions of over 350 books, such as Charlie Parker Played Be Bop and The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963, often including text excerpts and pictures of book covers to impart the flavor of the books. They include several special features, such as "The Creator's Reflections"--spotlights on talented authors and illustrators, from Angela Johnson to Tom Feelings to Mildred Pitts Walter--as well as quotations from well-known African American personages and from young readers and their parents. The selections are arranged alphabetically by title and numbered sequentially for easy cross-referencing. Each entry includes title, subtitle, author, illustrator, publisher of hardcover and paperback editions, original publication date, and a brief synopsis of the book. Significant awards are noted, as well as any sequels, prequels, companions, or series titles. --Emilie Coulter

From School Library Journal

The authors of Black Books Galore! Guide to Great African American Children's Books (Wiley, 1998) offer gender-specific titles, each of which presents annotations of more than 300 books with positive African-American characters. The selections are diverse in genre and style and represent a wide variety of authors and illustrators; they are organized alphabetically by title within broad age/interest levels. Most have recent copyright dates. Other features include a few reflections from famous authors, illustrators, and public figures about books and reading; some short quotations from the books; and illustrated "reading testimonials" from parents and children who enjoy reading. There are separate indexes for titles, authors, illustrators, and topics. Although these useful bibliographies are compiled primarily for parents seeking good books for their own children, they will also be helpful to teachers and librarians.
Eunice Weech, M. L. King Elementary School, Urbana, IL
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (December 8, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471375276
• ISBN-13: 978-0471375272
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,360,513 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Black Books Galore, July 25, 2005

By 

Grandma - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Books Galore! Guide to Great African American Children's Books about Boys (Paperback)

I purchased the book relating to boys and found it to be an extremely helpful resource in locating books that depict black children in the stories. The book entries are categorized by the age of the child reader from newborn to teenager, and is accompanied by a thorough description of its contents, as well as background information on the authors. I know I will return to this resource time and time again as my grandson enters each new phase of growing up.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource, October 1, 2006

By 

Danielle Johnson "Mommy" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Books Galore! Guide to Great African American Children's Books about Boys (Paperback)

I found this to be an excellent resource to help locate books with black boys as main characters. This book is divided into different sections --- preschoolers and upward --- which helps you select age appropriate titles. Wonderfully detailed descriptions and opinions of books are given as well as publisher information, etc. Books are of a great variety (educational, entertaining, etc.). Certain authors are highlighted with a biographical sketch. Also highlighted are real black boys of various ages who briefly tell of there favorite book. I never new that 90% of these books existed.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Magnificent Treasure, May 2, 2009

By 

Author D. B. Pacini "Author & Youth Writing M... (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Books Galore! Guide to Great African American Children's Books about Boys (Paperback)

Every now and then I happen upon a book so fantastic that I just can't get over it. This is one of those books. I think that perhaps one in 50 books that I read deserve more than five stars. It is unfortunate that this remarkable book cannot be given six.