Snook Alone

By Marilyn Nelson “Nelson writes with extraordinary sensitivity. . . . Ering’s brilliantly drafted artwork sweeps. . . . Triumphant.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) Abba Jacob is a monk who lives on a faraway island with his loyal terrier, Snook. Every day, from the wee hours of dawn till the sun sets over the sea,…

Pemba’s Song

By Marilyn Nelson Pemba knows she’s not crazy. But who is that looking out at her through her mirror’s eye? And why is the apparition calling her “friend”? Her real friends are back home in Brooklyn, not in the old colonial house in Colchester, Connecticut, where none of this would have happened if Daddy were…

Carver: A Life in Poems

By Marilyn Nelson Newbery Honor Book National Book Award finalist Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Flora Stieglitz Straus AwardBeautiful verse explores agricultural scientist George Washington Carver’s life and many achievements, from his work as a botanist and inventor to his unsung gifts as a painter, musician, and teacher.George Washington Carver…

Beautiful Ballerina

By Marilyn Nelson A talented team of children’s book creators craft a beautiful, stirring tribute to the grace and power of prima ballerinas everywhere. Every little girl has the dream to become a prima ballerina! On today’s ever-changing cultural stage, ballerinas come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and abilities. To celebrate the beauty of black…

A Wreath for Emmett Till

By Marilyn Nelson Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies (NCSS/CBC)ALA Notable Children’s BookKirkus Reviews Best BooksCoretta Scott King Honor BookBoston Globe–Horn Book AwardBook Links Lasting ConnectionMichael L. Printz AwardMichael L. Printz Honor BookPublishers Weekly Best BookNotable Children’s Book in the Language Arts (NCTE) 2006 Coretta Scott King Honor Book In 1955,…

Red Thread Sisters

By Carol Antoinette Peacock When a girl is adopted from a Chinese orphanage, everything she knew about family, best friends, and sisterhood must change. Wen has spent the first eleven years of her life at an orphanage in rural China, and the only person she would call family is her best friend, Shu Ling. When…

Sweethearts of Rhythm

Written by Marilyn Nelson Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney In the 1940s, as the world was at war, a remarkable jazz band performed on the American home front. This all-female band, originating from a boarding school in the heart of Mississippi, found its way to the most famous ballrooms in the country, offering solace during the…