James Haskins

Jim Haskins

Rosa Parks

Discusses Parks' role in the Montgomery NAACP, her refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man, and the Montgomery bus boycott

My Story

A biography of the black photographer who has received acclaim for his prints of Harlem.

The Picture-takin' Man

James Van DerZee

"I am the greatest! I am the king!" Muhammad Ali was one of the most electrifying, inspiring, and confrontational athletes of his generation. At the height of his boxing career, Ali was as despised as he was adored. Loud and aggressive as well as confident and dedicated, he was the quintessential showman, the undeniable champion of his sport, and one of the most recognizable faces in the world. He was challenged at every turn: faced with racial discrimination in his everyday life, mocked by the sports media as his career began, ridiculed for adopting a new religion, and stripped by the U.S. government of his very livelihood for refusing to go to war. Muhammad Ali faced the obstacles in his life the way he faced his opponents in the ring, brashly and with all the force at his command. In his private life, he was also deeply spiritual, committed to standing up against social injustice, and steadfast in his beliefs. Featuring stunning illustrations and covering his entire life from childhood through his professional career to his end of life battle with Parkinson's Syndrome, this is a moving tribute to the legacy of this impressive figure.

The Story of Muhammad Ali

Champion

Clinton Cox

Eleanora E. Tate

Brenda Wilkinson

Explains the history of the Harlem Renaissance through biographies of prominent African Americans living in the era, such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Zora Neale Hurston, and Dorothy West.

Black Stars of the Harlem Renaissance

AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY COMES TO LIFE Discover why young people all over the country are reading theBlack Stars biographies of African American heroes. Here is whatyou want to know about the lives of great black men and womenduring the fabulous Harlem Renaissance: louis "satchmo" armstrong eubie blake thomas andrew dorsey w. e. b. du bois duke ellington james reese europe jessie redmon fauset marcus garvey w. c. handy fletcher henderson langston hughes zora neale hurston hall johnson henry johnson oscar micheaux philip payton jr. gertrude "ma" rainey paul robeson augusta savage noble sissle bessie smith james van der zee dorothy west carter g. woodson "The books in the Black Stars series are the types of books thatwould have really captivated me as a kid." -Earl G. Graves, Black Enterprise magazine "Inspiring stories that demonstrate what can happen when ingenuityand tenacity are paired with courage and hard work." -Black Books Galore! Guide to Great African American Children'sBooks "Haskins has chosen his subjects well . . . catching a sense of theenormous obstacles they had to overcome. . . . Some names arefamiliar, but most are little-known whom Haskins elevates to theirrightful place in history." -Booklist "The broad coverage makes this an unusual resource-a jumping-offpoint for deeper studies." -Horn Book

N. R. Mitgang

Over sixty years after his death, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson is still the most famous tap dancer who ever lived. Robinson was the first black single dancer to star in white vaudeville circuits and he was a headliner for nearly thirty years. He got top billing at the Palace in New York, and he played command performances for kings and presidents. This first full-length biography reveals the charmer, gambler, brawler, athlete, and consummate entertainer behind the crusade for actors' rights, who pushed past the color barrier in the first half of the twentieth century. Haskins and Mitgang, with access to many of the people who knew Bojangles best, and to his scrapbooks and personal papers, have created a vivid portrait of the man behind the myth, from his birth in Richmond, Virginia, to his death and the star-studded funeral where he was eulogized by Rev. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., and Ed Sullivan. When people talk about famous American freedom fighters they talk about Rosa Parks, a brave woman who took a seat in the front of a bus and broke it down. They talk about Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. They talk about Jackie Robinson. They talk about many others who sacrificed to achieve equality and justice. The person they don't talk about is the man who helped to break down vaudeville, Broadway, the recording industry, radio, television, and Hollywood. They don't talk about the man who broke down Miami and was responsible for its first integrated audience. They don't talk about the man who was responsible for the hiring of the first African-American on the Dallas police force. They don't talk about the man who went to F.D.R. during World War II for changes for African-American soldiers who were risking their lives for their country. They don't talk about the freedom fighter, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, who happened to be the world's greatest tap dancer of his day. Rev. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., one of Harlem's greatest leaders and freedom fighters, and Pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, helped to answer that question when he eulogized "Bojangles" in 1949. Rev. Powell said: Born within the shadow of slavery and dying at the middle of the twentieth century, the most glorious century of mankind, Bill Robinson was a legend. He was a legend because he was ageless and raceless. Bill wasn't a credit to his race, meaning the Negro race. Bill was a credit to the human race. No Protestant ever appeared at more benefits for Catholics than Bill Robinson. No gentile ever appeared at more benefits for Jews than Bill Robinson. He was raceless. He was not a great Negro dancer. He was the world's greatest dancer. In some way the legend got around that Bill Robinson was an 'Uncle Tom.' Oh, no! You didn't know Bill if you heard of that story! So, let's ask the question again. Why don't people think of Bill Robinson as an American hero and front-line freedom fighter? They one word answer is simple - racism. Not the racism of white against black, but the racism of black against black. The people he fought for the most turned their backs on Bill Robinson and let the cancer of racism enter his legacy. "Bojangles " was the Mayor of Harlem and a founding member of the Rainbow Coalition long before the term was coined. Bill Robinson fought for respect with every weapon he had - his charming smile, his humor, his dancing feet, his fists, or his gold plated pearl handled gun given to him by the New York City Police Department. During a time when too few African-American voices shouted for justice, Bill Robinson's whispers were heard by presidents, governors, kings, queens, and countless others. Bill "Bojangles" Robinson was a man who fought dignity for himself, and others. Bill "Bojangles" Robinson stood up to fight for what was right from the onset of his sixty-year career. He demanded justice and equality as a performer, and as a man. He stood up then, and never sat down.

The Biography of Bill Robinson

Mr. Bojangles

Well-known author Jim Haskins takes children on a journey of ethnic discovery as he counts his way, one to ten, through Germany. Readers learn about three famous German composers and six breeds of German dogs. Helen Byers's soft watercolor illustrations e

Count Your Way through Germany

Kathleen Benson

Count your way from one (yek) to ten (dah) in Farsi! Using simple text, authors Jim Haskins and Kathleen Benson introduce readers to the Iranian culture. Learn about everything from Omar Khayyams famous four-line poems to the seven countries that border Iran. Colorful illustrations bring ancient and modern Iran to life.

Count Your Way through Iran

Uses the numbers one to ten (presented in both Arabic and Hebrew) to introduce the land and people of Israel.

Count Your Way through Israel

Count your way from one (yao) to ten (lahs) in Pashto! Using simple text, authors Jim Haskins and Kathleen Benson introduce readers to the Afghan culture. Learn about everything from Afghanistans one blue mosque to ten kites flying in the sky over Kabul. Colorful illustrations bring modern Afghanistan to life.

Count Your Way through Afghanistan

Count your way from one (WA-hid) to ten (AH-shah-rah) in Arabic! With simple text, award-winning authors Jim Haskins and Kathleen Benson introduce readers to the Egyptian culture. Learn about everything from Egypts one great canal to eight items you might find in a tomb. Full color illustrations from Sue Rama bring ancient and modern Egypt to life.

Count Your Way through Egypt

Count your way from one, or moja (MO-jah), to ten, or kumi (KOO-mee), in Swahili! Using simple text, authors Jim Haskins and Kathleen Benson introduce readers to the Kenyan culture. Learn about everything from one Mount Kenya to the eight-stringed nyatti. Colorful illustrations bring Kenya to life.

Count Your Way through Kenya

A counting book that explores the many facets of Ireland, including its geography, history, culture, and sports.

Count Your Way through Ireland

If it takes four days to go halfway across the Soviet Union by train, imagine how long it would take on two snowshoes! In this fascinating look at Russian culture, Jim Haskins introduces young readers to the Russian numbers from one to ten. The clear text

Count Your Way through Russia

Count your way, from one to ten, through Brazil, home of the Amazon rain forest and the exciting city of Rio de Janeiro, a land of music and dancing, and people of all races. Readers are introduced to Brazil as they learn to count to ten in Portuguese. Th

Count Your Way through Brazil

An introduction to the land and people of India accompanied by instructions on how to read and pronounce the numbers one through ten in Hindi.

Count Your Way through India

For the numbers one to ten, the Japanese language offers two sets of numbers. In Count Your Way through Japan, Jim Haskins uses the set based on Chinese numbers to count such aspects of Japanese life as Japan's oneMount Fuji and

Count Your Way through Japan

With the Korean numbers one through ten, Jim Haskins introduces young readers to diverse aspects of Korean culture. Describing such things as one ancient building and eight food seasonings, Haskins's clear text works together with vivid full-color illustr

Count Your Way through Korea

Count your way, from one to ten, through Canada, land of the five-pointed maple leaf and two official languages. Readers learn to count in French in this fascinating look at Canada's history and cultural diversity. Jim Haskin's simple, appealing text comb

Count Your Way through Canada

In this introduction to the Spanish numbers one through ten, Jim Haskins leads young readers on an adventure of discovery "south of the border." Vibrant full-color illustrations by Helen Byers combine with the text to give children an impression of the ri

Jim Haskins

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