LITR 5731: Seminar in
American Minority Literature
Student Research Project
Kristy Pawlak
4 December 2004
African-American Literature for Children and Adolescents
I was a reader growing up. Maybe it was that my mom was an elementary teacher and later an elementary librarian or maybe it was just natural inclination, but I loved to read and spent a great deal of time doing it. I would read anything once, but I developed preferences early. I really tried to like the set of The Chronicles of Narnia that my dad bought me, but even then fantasy wasn’t my thing. What I really loved was revisiting my favorites—Where the Red Fern Grows, A Dog Called Kitty, Bridge to Teribithia, Save Queen of Sheeba, The Trouble With Tuck—and when I could convince my little sister to provide me with the excuse of reading to her I’d pull out the perennial favorites—Goodnight Moon or any Amelia Bedilia book. So, when I began to think of ideas for a research journal, I thought why not children’s literature? As I thought further, I realized that the books I loved and most all of the ones I could remember reading in school had one thing in common—all the characters looked like me, had families more or less like mine or those of my friends, and dealt with situations like those I’d heard about in history or seen in my life. So what if my life was different? What if my culture was not like that in the books? Would I like them as much? Should I? As I began my research I found a wealth of quality multi-cultural literature and after reading twenty or so of the most applauded works, I was able to focus in on seven books written by African-American authors about African-American characters and themes. I found that the very issues we discussed in the works we studied this semester were prevalent in these works for children and young adults. Educators and parents have a talented pool of writers and works to choose from to expose children to works about characters like themselves and to expose other children to honestly depicted characters from cultures they are not familiar with.
Parents and educators everywhere recognize the importance and impact that reading has on the early intellectual and social development of children. These days even pregnant women are encouraged to read to their unborn children so that they can get an early start on language development and recognition. So what happens when the books available for your children don’t reflect the culture in which you live? What happens when the pictures don’t show anyone who looks like your child? This question began to emerge in a major way in the African-American community around the mid-twentieth century and since then has been the focus of numerous studies and educational reform movements. But more important than the psychologists and the school boards who endlessly debate the inclusion of this book or another are the authors themselves who strive to produce quality literature that reflects honestly and faithfully the history, culture, and identity of the African-American community.
The purpose of this journal is to explore a work from several of the talented and influential writers of children’s and adolescent literature. More importantly, the journal will explore the presence of several of the themes of minority literature and course objectives which were discussed in relation to the adult literature studied throughout this course. Though others will surface here and there, the most prominent of these include:
Objective 3a.
“Whereas the American Dream emphasizes immediate individual success, ‘the
Dream’ factors in setbacks, the need to rise again, and a quest for group
dignity”
Objective 5a. “To
discover the power of poetry and fiction to help ‘others’ hear the minority
voice and vicariously share the minority experience”
Objective 6. “To
observe images of the individual, the family, and the alternative families in
the writings and experience of minority groups.
Objective 6a.
“Generally speaking, minority groups place more emphasis on ‘traditional’
or ‘community’ aspects of human society such as extended families or
alternative families, and they mistrust ‘institutions.’”
Of these objectives, the most frequently dealt with and, therefore, the most frequently discussed in this journal is that of family relationships. In the lives of children, nothing is more important than their family and works which explore families and children’s places in them provide compelling subject matter for young readers.
In the process of exploring these representative works and the themes which emerge in them, it is both useful and interesting to briefly discuss some biographical background of the authors and to mention awards and recognition they have received as have produced the first generation of African-American literature specifically for children and young adults. Therefore each section of the journal will discuss a different book and will begin with some information on the author.
Because this literature speaks so well for itself in terms of the class objectives, not much space will be given to academic sources which discuss the topic or the literature. Rather, the purpose of this journal was to delve into the books themselves and discover the artful manner in which children are exposed at a young age to the complex themes present in a Master’s level course.
The true authorities on children’s literature are the children, the authors, and educators. To this end each entry will mention the book awards that the book has won. Two of these awards, The Newberry Medal and the Coretta Scott King Award, are particularly prestigious and relevant. The Newberry Medal was first awarded in 1922 and is given by the American Library Association to the author of the most outstanding children’s book from the previous year. In addition, each year other books are recognized as Newberry Honor Books. Books with African-American or African themes have won the Medal six times and have been named as Honor books twelve times. The Coretta Scott King award was initiated by librarians attending the American Library Association Conference in 1969. They recognized that few African-American authors and illustrators seemed to receive awards such as the Newberry Medal and the Caldecott Award. To honor the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the courage of his wife, Coretta Scott King and her continued work towards peace, they named the award after Mrs. King. The first award was presented in 1970, and the award became an official part of the ALA in 1982. The criteria for the award are that “recipients are African-American authors and illustrators whose distinguished books promote and understanding and appreciation of the culture and contributions of all people to the realization of the ‘American Dream’” (Rand 212-218).
In 1983 a new program began on television that would introduce countless children to literature from all different cultural groups. Reading Rainbow was hosted by African-American actor, LeVar Burton, and featured many African-American themed works throughout the years. One of these will be highlighted by this journal.
Draper, Sharon M. Forged
by Fire. New York: Atheneum, 1997.
1998 Coretta Scott
King Award
ALA Best Book Award
Parent’s Choice
Award
Sharon Draper is a highly accomplished and recognized educator and author. She spent over thirty years teaching in public schools and was named the 1997 National Teacher of the Year. Among other honors she is also a Milken Family Foundation National Educator award winner, a YWCA Career Woman of Achievement, the Pepperdine University Distinguished Alumnus award winner, and the recipient of the Dean’s Award from Howard University School of education. She has also served on the Board of Directors of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and on the Board of Trustees of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Draper is an accomplished speaker who travels the country to engage in discussions about literature and education and to read from her poetry and novels.
Forged by Fire is a poignant tale which highlights among other issues the complex relationships among extended family in the African-American community and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of seemingly devastating events. Gerald learns by the young age of three how to keep his mama, Monique, from getting angry at him. He also learns when to hide behind the sofa and avoid her drunken rages and cocaine induced tantrums. But no matter how he tries there is one thing he cannot help but be fascinated about—the fire dancer that his mom can make appear out of her hand before she smokes. Sure, when she caught him playing with it, she held the flame under his hand until the fire dancer sent unbearable pain through him, but Gerald still couldn’t help but be fascinated. One day when the three year old Gerald was again left alone to play in the apartment, he used his imagination and made a torch for his GI Joe from the fire dancer. As the apartment caught fire, he knew how mad his mama would be and hid behind the sofa. This turned out to be the turning point in young Gerald’s life, as he was taken from his mama and allowed to live with wonderful Aunt Queen, who despite her wheelchair, commanded respect from the world and gave unconditional love to Gerald. Aunt Queen took pride in her heritage made sure that she expressed it. When the doctors in the hospital asked if Gerald had a father, Aunt Queen bristled, “I know what you meant. Since this kid is black and is mother is living alone and unmarried, his father must be long gone. Well I’m here to tell you that not all black men are like that. There’s zillions of black families with a mama and a daddy and two kids like the ‘average’ American family . . . But, unfortunately this ain’t one of them . . . I just didn’t want you to assume. You could have been wrong, you know?” (Draper 13). Aunt Queen set about raising Gerald to be the kind of man he should be. Then, on his ninth birthday, his mama showed back up. But she didn’t come alone; she brought a husband, the abusive Jordan Sparks, and a beautiful, fragile half-sister for Gerald, Angel. After the tragic and sudden loss of Aunt Queen to a heart attack, Gerald finds himself forced to move back in with his mother and Jordon where he becomes the sole protector and only source of true love for Angel.
Lacking the stability of a nuclear family, Gerald and Angel form their own family where they can feel safe and protected. But far from being a simple tale—if that could exist—of child abuse and a big brother protecting his little sister, Draper creates a complex tale of familial relations. The children recognize their mother for who she is, an immature woman, incapable of loving them more than she loves her need for affection from Jordan. The children never fully reject their mother and though she is responsible for their exposure to years of abuse, her shortcomings and the tragic events are simply absorbed into their lives as setbacks which make them stronger. Furthermore, Draper integrates the minority theme of community as a family when Gerald is forced to reach out to the father of one of his friends in order to get the help he needs from the law to protect Angel. From this point on, even after the death of his friend, this second family becomes a haven for Gerald and Angel.
Draper presents an honest account of the struggles faced by some children in the African-American community in a way that they can both relate to and become empowered by. In addition, for children who live far away from such struggles, Draper presents characters who they can relate to. They can understand that though a child is poorer or a different color than them, they are still just kids. Draper manages to introduce young readers to an appreciation of the network that exists in the African-American community to protect and care for their own regardless of biological ties.
Flournoy, Valerie. The
Patchwork Quilt. New York: Dial, 1985.
Reading Rainbow
Selection
1986 Coretta Scott
King Illustrator Award
Christopher Award
for the Best Children’s Picture Book
IRC-CBC
Children’s Choice Award
ALA Notable Book
New York Times Parent’s Guide to the Best Books for Children
Valerie Flournoy writes children’s books which cross racial, cultural, and economic boundaries and are beloved by children and parents everywhere. She has won numerous awards including New York Public Library’s first Ezra Jack Keats Memorial Writer award. She serves as the President of the Palmyra Board of Education and travels the country to visit with children about the importance of reading, writing, and education. She also participates in writers’ workshops to show how her books are made.
The Patchwork Quilt tells the story of a young African-American girl, Tanya, who learns a valuable life lesson from her grandmother and her quilt. Again, the ever present theme of the extended family is highlighted in this colorfully illustrated book. Tanya’s grandmother lives together with her daughter’s family and she is beginning to make a new patchwork quilt. Tanya’s grandmother explains to her how each square comes from a garment with special memories attached—a Halloween costume, a special dress. When Grandmother falls ill, Tanya and the rest of her family chip in to complete the quilt. Tanya finds it doesn’t feel complete until she sneaks into her Grandmother’s room and snips small square of her old quilt and sews it into the new quilt.
Aimed at very young children, this book does a great job of introducing the theme of familial ties and allows children to recognize their own non-nuclear families as acceptable and desirable. Furthermore, children begin to understand the importance of ties to the past which are so central to the appreciation of African-American heritage.
Grimes, Nikki. Bronx
Masquerade. New York: Dial, 2002.
2003 Coretta Scott King Award
Nikki Grimes is a prolific artist in many different areas. Besides producing many award winning works of fiction and poetry, she has also hosted radio and television programs in America and abroad. She is known in Sweden as “a singer who writes” having performed at the Stockholm Philharmonic. Grimes has also exhibited her photography around the world and created a name for herself in wearable arts such as beaded jewelry. Grimes enjoys conducting poetry readings and workshops around the world.
In relation to previous LITR 5731 texts, Bronx Masquerade proved to be immensely engaging. The format and subject matter of the book led to the obvious comparison to Sapphire’s Push. The obvious drawback when contemplating a novel like Push is the raw and graphic depiction of abuse, sexuality, and identity. However, the struggle for identity in the complex world of high school is one that young adults want to read about and relate to. Bronx Masquerade presents the stories of a multi-racial high school class through their first person comments and their poetry compositions. When tough-guy Wesley, who has never shown much interest in school or homework, composes a poem for his English class in tribute to Langston Hughes after a unit on the Harlem Renaissance, he sets of a flurry of desire among his peers to read their poetry aloud in class as well. This prompts Mr. Ward, the teacher to set-up Open Mike Fridays for the sharing of poetry.
Tyrone thinks he has life and everyone in it figured out. He embraces the poetry readings as a way to further his dream of being a rapper and songwriter. He’s never been much of one for school because “School ain’t nothin’ but a joke,” but he doesn’t want to disappoint his “moms” (Grimes 7). This repeated reference to his “moms” is just one of the ways the course objectives regarding familial relationships creep into the story. But more than anything, Tyrone serves as a pseudo-reader as his voice pops back up for a chapter here and there to comment on his surprise at finding out that one classmate or another doesn’t fit his preconceived notion of who they are and how they feel. Tyrone, who feels the sting of racism so strongly in society, realizes that he too has been engaging in some stereotyping of his own. Chankara struggles with her feelings of disgust for her sister who stays in an abusive relationship, but finds herself coming to school with a black eye after a boyfriend tries to go too far. Tyrone plans a rap called “Little Men” about men who hit women after Chankara reads her poem “Bruised Love” at Open Mike. Raul struggles with the racial conflicts among his classmates “The Ricans and the brothers don’t always hit it off” (Grimes 18). Even more poignantly, he works hard to develop his talent as a painter despite ridicule from his brothers--“ain’t no spic gonna be no big-time artist in America.” He is defiant saying, “First off, I ain’t no spic. And second, watch me” (20). Diondra, another frustrated but talented artist, struggles against everyone’s expectations of her to be a basketball player because of her height. She strives for acceptance from her father and highlights the familiar adolescent struggle of expectations versus desires. Devon completely sympathizes with Diondra has he hides his love of reading and poetry from his fellow basketball players who refuse to call him anything other than “Jump Shot.” Lupe misses her absentee father and fears being alone more than anything. She just wants to have a boyfriend and thinks that having a baby like her friend Gloria might solve everything. Of course, Gloria loves her baby, but wishes Lupe knew how lucky she was. Gloria realizes that her life is not her own anymore and struggles with her emotions.
Grimes lets the reader get to know these students and several others as they express themselves through poetry and begin to understand that they all struggle with family problems, identity issues, and self-image. As the course objective states, they “discover the power of poetry to help ‘others’ share the minority voice.” As in Push, the students learn from each other and learn to reach out to one another through literacy.
Hamilton, Virginia.
M.C. Higgins, The Great. New York:
Macmillan, 1974.
1975 Newberry Medal
Virginia Hamilton was not only one of the most beloved and successful African-American children’s authors, but one of the most respected children’s authors of any race. Hamilton embodied the best of her culture’s values and her work reflected her deep love of her extended family, her reverence for the land upon which her family was raised, and her devotion to capturing the history and culture of her people. Hamilton was the granddaughter of slaves and grew up hearing the stories of her past from her parents who were talented storytellers. This background in story telling drives Hamilton’s writing which she said was driven by the desire to tell good stories. As an African-American, Hamilton felt that her cultural was central to her stories. She said, “What happens when you tell a story and you’re African American is everything you say or do somehow becomes symbolic as something else—you don’t have to try to say something because its there, it’s in your life, it’s in your history. I’m strongly plot-oriented; I try to represent original ideas—and good stories.” In her acceptance speech for the 1988 Boston Globe/Horn Book Award, Hamilton expresses at least part of the sentiment behind the course objective dealing with the power of fiction to give voice to minorities as well as its importance in preserving and passing on African-American cultural heritage:
Liberation literature not only frees the subject of record and evidence but the witness as well, who is also the reader, who then becomes a part of the struggle. We take our position then, rightly, as participants alongside the victim. We become emotionally involved in his problem; we suffer; and we triumph, as the victim triumphs, in the solution of liberation.
M.C. Higgins, the Great tells the story of a thirteen year old boy who lives on the side of a mountain with his parents, two brothers, and sister. The mountain is called Sarah’s Mountain and his family has owned the land up to the outcropping since Sarah, M.C.’s great-grandmother had settled there after escaping from slavery. M.C. is no ordinary thirteen year old. He is the best hunter and trapper on the mountain (at least the best with no dog and no gun and no heart to kill anything bigger than a rabbit and then only for food) and he is the best swimmer for a long way around. He swam the Ohio River and as a reward asked his father for a tall silver pole like he had seen in town in front of important buildings. From atop this pole, outfitted with a bicycle seat and pedals, he would keep watch over his brothers and sisters and send echoing calls to his father and mother coming up the mountain from work. M.C. has heard that a man is traveling the country with a tape recorder looking for talent, and he can’t wait for his mother to sing into the machine. Then she will become famous and they can all leave the mountain. M.C. loves is home, but strip mining above their property has left a dangerous slide that threatens them all, and M.C., who has an uncanny relationship with the land, has had visions of a dangerous landslide.
Although this story centers around the activities of a nuclear family, the roles within the family are, by necessity, altered. M.C. is the primary caregiver for his younger siblings and handles most of the household affairs. His mother treats him as an equal and at thirteen he feels equal to his father who has an attachment to the land that M.C. feels threatens their safety. In addition, the book deals with the issues of divisions of class that occur even among those of the same race. M.C.’s only friend is Ben, and they must hide their relationship as their parents wouldn’t approve. Ben’s family is “witchy.” They have six fingers, funny reddish hair, and they live in a commune style community where everything, including children, is held in common. Ben and M.C. meet Luhretta, a teenager from the city spending her summer traveling around and camping where she stops. She is horrified at some of the customs and beliefs on the mountain and delighted by others, but in the end unable to understand a world so far from her own despite the now too thin thread of race.
This book truly captures the imagination and will transport readers of all ages and cultures to a place where few have ever been. Hamilton deals with adult themes of poverty, familial struggles, racial and class conflict, and even environmental issues with age appropriate candor.
Johnson, Angela. Heaven.
New York: Simon and Schuster, 1998.
1999 Coretta Scott
King Award
Like so many successful African-American authors, Angela Johnson, credits much of her inspiration to a family history of story-telling. From elementary school on Johnson has been a writer and says she never though about doing anything else. She has won many awards for her writing and enjoys celebrating the African-American family through her stories of kinship and family relationships.
Heaven is a deceptively simple story told by a first-person narrator, Marley. Marley lives in Heaven, Ohio, with her parents and younger brother. Marley relates with candor the struggles of her best friend, Shoogy, to deal with her seemingly perfect family and her own beauty which she seeks to mar by cutting herself. Marley also tells the reader of her friend, Bobby, the artist, who though only a few years older than Marley, has a daughter of his own, Feather, who Marley baby sits for. Of course, Marley finds it safe to sympathize with her friends and help them with their struggles because she lives in Heaven with her nice, normal family. Marley looks forward to getting letters from her Uncle Jack, who travels around the country with his dog, Boy. Everything changes one day when her parents receive a letter in the mail. From that point, the novel becomes a tale about a young woman struggling with her identity and a set of family relationships that she never knew were complicated. Marley explains it herself when she says, “It’s funny how you sometimes don’t realize when you might be doing something for the last time. I didn’t know it then, but that would be my last walk to my bedroom knowing anything about who I was” (42). In fact, Marley would soon have more knowledge about who she was, but less certainty about her place in the world. Marley must face the knowledge that her parents are in fact her aunt and uncle, her brother her cousin, and the Uncle Jack of her letters, her father. Her mother Christine had been killed in a car accident when Marley was very little and a grief stricken Jack had given her to his brother and sister-in-law to raise. Marley struggles to forgive her parents for their deception, her father for his abandonment, and herself for her anger.
Through the straightforward, first-person view of a teenage girl, Johnson shows us the struggles of several characters fighting for their identity in a world they are unable to control. But in the end, the strength and triumph of family, no matter the actual biological connections again prevails.
Taylor, Mildred D. Roll
of Thunder, Hear My Cry. New York: Fogelman, 1976.
1977 Newberry Medal
Mildred Taylor has one of the most impressive bodies of work written for children on African-American themes. Taylor is highly acclaimed as a writer and has received numerous awards including the Newberry Medal, the Coretta Scott King Award, and the ALAN Award. After college she served in the Peace Corps when from her time in Africa she gained pride in her race and inspiration for her future career as a writer. She worked in both education and as a writer and is an outspoken defender of her work which has come under recent attack by those who find it too raw and object to its frankness. There are those who feel that her work is simply too honest. It uses words like “nigger” that children shouldn’t read. Taylor disagrees and explains that “today’s generation of children, as well as many of their parents and teachers, have not had to endure such indignities or even worse aspects of racism that once pervaded America.” She explains that she tried in her writing to “present a history of my family as well as the effects of racism, not only on the victims of racism, but also on the racists themselves.” She explains that she listened to the stories passed on by the talented storytellers of her family and said that she, like them, passes on the words and stories, be they humorous, tragic, or hurtful. She says “My stories will not be ‘politically correct,’ so there will be those who will be offended by them, but as we all know, racism is offensive.” Finally, Taylor explains that although there are those who would “whitewash” history, she knows that her multi-work story of one family traveling through generations represents the stories of many American families who have gained strength and unity through the obstacles they have faced (Taylor intro.).
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry picks up the story of the Logan family through the eyes of Cassie, an outspoken, independent fourth grader who until now has lived in relative ignorance of the world around her in the safety of her close and loving family. The importance of land and land ownership emerges in this novel as it has in others, as the Logans struggle to pay the mortgage and taxes on their small plot of land despite the falling prices of cotton. When things start happening in Cassie’s world, she has to quickly grow up and face the reality of the racism that runs her world. When her momma challenges the local store which is backed by the white family who desperately wants the Logan’s land, the note on the Logan’s land is mysteriously called and the Logan’s must struggle to make the payment. Threatening burnings, a tar and feathering of a neighbor and even an innocent incident in town between Cassie and a white girl fuel the growing fire of unrest in Cassie’s previously peaceful world.
As in the other works reviewed here, the Logans represent a close family composed of members outside the nuclear unit. Cassie’s grandmother lives with the Logans and is the undisputed matriarch of the family though she and her daughter-in-law, Cassie’s mom, get along well and respect one another. Mr. Morrison is a mysterious stranger brought home by Cassie’s father under the pretense of helping around the farm, but his enormous size and superhuman strength, explained to Cassie to be the result of his coming from bred stock slaves, soon make it apparent he is there to protect the family while Cassie’s father works on the railroad to make enough money to pay for the precious land. Finally, Uncle Hammer doesn’t live with the Logan’s, but he plays a major role in the story and in the family dynamics. The overall result is a tale of close and loving people struggling to overcome setbacks and pursue the dream of living in a world of equality.
Woodson,
Jacqueline. Miracle’s Boys. New
York: Putnam, 2000.
2001 Coretta Scott
King Award
Jacqueline Woodson grew up among the influences of both South Carolina and Brooklyn and as a result she finds her art infused by both the culture of the African-American community and that of her Puerto Rican neighbors. Aside from her Coretta Scott King Awards, she has also received the Kenyon Review Award for Literary Excellence.
Miracle’s Boys introduces the reader to one of the most non-traditional families of any of the works previously discussed. Through the eyes of youngest brother, Lafayette (Laf), the struggles of three brothers left alone after the death of their mother are explored. The eldest brother, Ty’ree had a promising life ahead of him. He was a gifted student and the only from his class to be accepted to college—and on a scholarship to MIT. But after his mother passed he willingly became the guardian of his two younger brothers. The novel provides an interesting look at the value that the minority community (the boys are half black and half Puerto Rican) puts on placing the community over the individual. Laf explains, “Before Mama died, some guys used to make fun of him [Ty’ree] and call him Professor. But later on, once he started working full-time and taking care of me, people started showing him respect” (44). Middle brother, Charlie, is recently home from the years he spent in a juvenile facility as a result of an attempted armed robbery at the age of twelve. He is not the kind-hearted, animal living brother that Laf remembers and he introduces him to the reader as Newcharlie and calls him that inside is head and occasionally by accident to Ty’ree. Charlie seems determined to get in trouble again which would result in the boys being taken away from Ty’ree and being sent South to live with their aunt, whom they love, but don’t want to live with.
It takes a frightening run-in with a gang initiation and a trip to jail by Charlie and a heart to heart talk between Ty’ree and Laf before the brothers come to terms with their own demons and realize that blame and guilt won’t bring their parents back. It is then they are able to heal their little family and love one another as they say “B to B,” brother to brother.
As a journal, this was a challenging piece of research. To balance the relative simplicity of children’s writing with the complex themes of the course, required a more straightforward manner of addressing the works. It is difficult to sound “academic” when talking about a book written for a ten year old, and yet just because the books were written for children and young adults, they contain shockingly adult themes and problems as seen through the eyes and minds of the adolescent characters. After reading these books and others it is impossible not to gain a tremendous respect for the authors. It is not easier to write on a lower reading level. If anything, it is a rare talent to be able to see life through the eyes of a child and still not loose the complexity of the cultural themes and struggles which are present in literature written for adults. The authors in this journal took on the added burden of creating a body of literature where none existed before. Responding to the need of African-American children to be able to relate to the characters in the books they read, these authors created books which empower, inform, and entertain.
As anyone looking back on their childhood can remember, the world of a child rises and sets around family. Thus, the course objectives 6 and 6a regarding the familial relationships in minority literature are especially prevalent in African-American children’s literature. Other important themes such as the importance of poetry in giving voice, the value of and relationship to the land, and the importance of facing and overcoming obstacles en route to fulfilling the “Dream” also enrich the works. Children of all races and cultures can learn from and relate to these works as they grow in their appreciation of literature and all its many themes and objectives.
Works Cited
(Other than reviewed books)
AALBC.com. 4 December 2004. < http://aalbc.com/authors/angela.htm
>
Falcon.JMU.edu.
4 December 2004 < http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/taylor.htm
>
MTPS.com. 4 December
2004. <http://www.mtps.com/high/bcsma/flour1.htm>
NikkiGrimes.com. 4
December 2004.< http://nikkigrimes.com/bio.html
>
Rand, Donna and Toni Trent Parker. Black Books Galore: More Great African American Children’s Books.
New York: Wiley, 2001.
SharonDraper.com. 4
December 2004.< http://sharondraper.com/bio.asp
>
TeenReads.com. 4 December
2004. < http://www.teenreads.com/authors/au-woodson-jacqueline.asp
>
VirginiaHamilton.com. 4 December 2004.< http://virginiahamilton.com/pages/biostuff .htm >