February is Black History Month!

Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons: The Story of Phillis Wheatley
By Rinaldi, Ann

A fictionalized biography of the eighteenth-century African woman who, as a child, was brought to New England to be a slave, and after publishing her first poem when a teenager, gained renown throughout the colonies as an important black American poet.

Warriors Don't Cry: The Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High
By Beals, Melba Patillo

Originally published more than a decade ago, this searing account of the 1957 integration of Central High School in Little Rock--an ALA Nonfiction Book of the Year--is written by one of the black teenagers chosen to become warriors on the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement.

Jumped
by Williams-Garcia, Rita

The lives of Leticia, Dominique, and Trina are irrevocably intertwined through the course of one day in an urban high school after Leticia overhears Dominique's plans to beat up Trina and must decide whether or not to get involved. An acclaimed Coretta Scott King Honor author delivers a fast-paced, gritty narrative about the intertwined lives of three girls during one violent day in an urban high school. Told with refreshing honesty, this is an insightful look at high school dynamics and a revealing portrait of bullying.   

Lockdown
By Myers, Walter Dean

Teenage Reese, serving time at a juvenile detention facility, gets a lesson in making it through hard times from an unlikely friend with a harrowing past.     

Invisible Man
By Ellison, Ralph Waldo

Invisible Man is a milestone in American literature, a book that has continued to engage readers since its appearance in 1952. A first novel by an unknown writer, it remained on the bestseller list for sixteen weeks, won the National Book Award for fiction, and established Ralph Ellison as one of the key writers of the century. The nameless narrator of the novel describes growing up in a black community in the South, attending a Negro college from which he is expelled, moving to New York and becoming the chief spokesman of the Harlem branch of "the Brotherhood," and retreating amid violence and confusion to the basement lair of the Invisible Man he imagines himself to be.

Hip Hop World
By Higgins, Dalton

In Hip Hop World, Dalton Higgins comprehensively examines the hip hop scene as it exists throughout the world. The book reveals the form's musical inspirations from Trinidad, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Jamaica, African American sex satirists, comedians, civil rights-fuelled funk musicians, spoken word luminaries, and dub and Nuyorican poetry.

The Rose That Grew from Concrete
By Shakur, Tupac

His talent was unbounded, a raw force that commanded attention and respect. His death was tragic -- a violent homage to the power of his voice. His legacy is indomitable -- remaining vibrant and alive. Here now, newly discovered, are Tupac's most honest and intimate thoughts conveyed through the pure art of poetry -- a mirror into his enigmatic life and its many contradictions. Written in his own hand at the age of nineteen, they embrace his spirit, his energy... and his ultimate message of hope.

 Flygirl
By Smith, Sherri L.

Read Sherri L. Smith's posts on the Penguin Blog Ida Mae Jones dreams of flight. Her daddy was a pilot and being black didn't stop him from fulfilling his dreams. But her daddy's gone now, and being a woman, and being black, are two strikes against her. When America enters the war with Germany and Japan, the Army creates the WASP, the Women's Airforce Service Pilots-and Ida suddenly sees a way to fly as well as do something significant to help her brother stationed in the Pacific. But even the WASP won't accept her as a black woman, forcing Ida Mae to make a difficult choice of "passing," of pretending to be white to be accepted into the program. Hiding one's racial heritage, denying one's family, denying one's self is a heavy burden. And while Ida Mae chases her dream, she must also decide who it is she really wants to be.

Bronxwood
By Booth, Coe

Tyrell's got a lot going on. His father just got out of jail. His little brother is stuck in foster care. The dealers he's living with are taking bigger and bigger risks. And girls--they only seem to be adding to his problems. Everybody wants something from Tyrell. His father wants him to go back to being a child. His little brother wants his help. The guys he's staying with are pushing him to start dealing. And the girls he's talking to want his time, his money, his attention, and his love. Tyrell's got too much pressure, too many choices. He's got to figure out fast what he's going to do next--before he gets in so deep he can't get back out again"--Jacket cover.

Yummy: the Last days of a Southside Shorty
by Neri, Greg

Eleven-year old Roger is trying to make sense of his classmate Robert "Yummy" Sandifer's death, but first he has to make sense of Yummy's life. Yummy could be as tough as a pit bull sometimes. Other times he was as sweet as the sugary treats he loved to eat. Was Yummy some sort of monster, or just another kid? As Roger searches for the truth, he finds more and more questions. How did Yummy end up in so much trouble? Did he really kill someone? And why do all the answers seem to lead back to a gang-the same gang to which Roger's older brother belongs? Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty is a compelling graphic dramatization based on events that occurred in Chicago in 1994. This gritty exploration of youth gang life will force readers to question their own understandings of good and bad, right and wrong.