From the category archives:
Johnny Appleseed by Steven Kellogg (HarperCollins, 1988)
Kellogg blends fact with fiction in this story about an American icon. I love the illustrations—big and lush.
Note: There are many, many books published about Johnny Appleseed. This is one of my favorites.
Read an article about Chapman from Harper’s New Monthly Magazine from 1871 posted on Cornell’s web site.
The Blues Singers: Ten Who Rocked the World by Julius Lester, illustrated by Lisa Cohen (Jump at the Sun/Hyperion, 2001)
What would we do without Georgia On My Mind? In this collective biography of ten greats, Ray Charles soars.
Ray Charles.com highlights the man, the music, the legacy, the movie and more.
Before John was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Sean Qualls (Henry Holt, 2008)
The sounds of Coltrane’s childhood in the 1930s are explored in this simple and lyrical story that celebrates listening.
See and hear Coltrane perform live on YouTube.
Women of Hope: African Americans Who Made a Difference by Joyce Hansen (Scholastic, 1998)
Sadie Delany was the first African American home ec teacher in a NYC high school. She shares the page in this collective biography with her sister Bessie Delany.These two remarkable sisters wrote the story of their lives. Their book, Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years, became a best seller.
A short bio of Sadie Delany’s life can be read at Columbia’s site.
Lives of the Athletes: Thrills, Spills (and What the Neighbors Thought) by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt (Harcourt, 1997)
Tennis anyone? Maureen Connolly was the first woman to win the “grand slam” of tournaments: Wimbledon, French Open, Australian Open and U.S. Open.
Visit the International Tennis Hall of Fame for additional information on “Little Mo” and other tennis greats.
