Currie, Stephen. African American Inventors.

Currie, Stephen African American Inventors
Lucent Books see Gale/Cengage 2010 104p 33.45
978-1-4205-0121-6 ms/hs African American inventors VG-BN
Lucent Library of Black History (Cengage)


In this thoughtful book about the long list of African American inventors, Currie chronicles their lives and work. He discusses the earliest of these "mechanics and tinkerers," and then moves to the great names: Lewis Latimer, Granville Woods, Garrett Morgan, Madam C.J. Walker, and George Washington Carver as well as those currently active.
The history of African American inventors was fraught with difficulties. During the early days of this country, many of these men were slaves whose owners took credit for their work or, if free men, they had great problems getting their inventions patented and manufactured. In this thoughtful book about the long list of African American inventors, Currie chronicles their lives and work. He discusses the earliest of these ╥mechanics and tinkerers,╙ and then moves to the great names: Lewis Latimer, Granville Woods, Garrett Morgan, Madam C.J. Walker, and George Washington Carver as well as those currently active. As time and the country progressed, more and more African Americans became successful at both creating and profiting from their work. This book discusses these people in relation to the social mores of the times describing the prejudices that they found in their communities and the extraordinary efforts that it took to get their discoveries accepted as the work of African Americans. The author has done an excellent job of describing the difficulties and the determination necessary to achieve their goals. The book is enhanced by primary source quotations and period photographs and ends with chapter notes, a bibliography of books and web sites, and an index. Ogintz, Susan

Burlingame,Jeff. Jesse Owens.

Burlingame,Jeff. Jesse Owens.
Enslow 2011 128p 31.93 978-0-7660-3497-6
ms/hs Sports-biography, Owens, Jesse VG-BNS African American Biographies(Enslow)*#7


Another excellent addition to the series of biographies of famous African-Americans, this book chronicles the personal and professional life of Jesse Owens, the African-American superstar sprinter and long jumper.
Born in Alabama, Owens and his family moved to Cleveland as part of the “Great Migration” of the African Americans from the South in search of a better life. An exceptional athlete in both high school and college, his sports career reached its peak at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. His life after the Olympics was very difficult as most of his financial offers were simply publicity stunts.
This book offers a fascinating look at Owens. The information is well organized and presented in a lively and entertaining manner. Each section is supported by quotations from contemporary writings and other primary source material and is enhanced by excellent black-and-white photographs and illustrations. There are additional sidebars located in the each chapter that add to the information presented in the text. The book contains an index, a chronology, chapter notes and a list for further reading. Ogintz, Susan

Sag Harbor

Whitehead, Colson. Sag Harbor
Anchor see Random 2009 329p 15.95
978-0-307-45516-1 hs/adult VG
Fifteen year old Benji’s spends summer in Sag Harbor, an African American enclave near the Hamptons. Whitehead examines 80’s culture through the eyes of a nerdy, well-meaning teen in this coming of age novel. Benji spends his summers with his family in the African American enclave of Sag Harbor, a beach community near the Hamptons. A lot of the parents, are professionals who work in Manhatten during the week and spend the weekends in Sag Harbor. Benji, his brother and most of their friends are unsupervised most of the week, but fear not, because they are teens with jobs who understand the rules. Benji is a self-described nerd who goes to a mainly white private school but interacts during the summers with other African American teens who’s families have been coming to Sag Harbor for generations. Whitehead writes a coming of age novel that examines the 80’s culture through the eyes of a well-meaning and sometimes confused 15 year old. Slice of life vignettes are a mainstay of this novel; scenes in the ice cream store Benji works in are funny, his family dynamics are realistically agonizing, and his adolescent relationships with his friends are honest. This well written book describes Benji’s summer as he yearns to leave his childhood behind and enter the perplexing world of a middle-class African American teen during 1985. Benji offers an alternative to Holden Caufield; less angry but still trying to find his place in the world.
This coming of age novel is a very good selection for high school collections; it will add an extra dimension and additional perspective on aspects of teen angst. Weinraub, Tina

Litwin, Laura Baskes A Reader’s Guide to Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Are Watching God

Litwin, Laura Baskes A Reader’s Guide to Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Are Watching God
Enslow 2010 128p 31.93
978-0-7660-3164-7 ms/hs VG
Multicultural Literature(Enslow)
A basic introduction to Zora Neale Hurston including her life and education, as well as her legacy affirming African-American culture. This is a welcome resource for students that may need assistance studying the author. The Readers’ Guide will give the reader an understanding of the plot and characters and the African American culture at that time.

The first section of the book is a brief biographical sketch and has an explanation of the importance of Hurston’s contribution to African-American literature. This section includes an anecdote about Alice Walker searching for her unmarked grave and after finding it, providing a headstone for it. The headstone is inscribed with the words, “Zora Neale Hurston: A Genius of the South.”
The body of the book follows the convention of literary analysis containing: a plot summary and analysis, several chapters of character studies, a summary of critical reviews, the major and minor themes, and a separate chapter on folklore and language. As an anthropologist Hurston studied African-American folklore and her work with Franz Boas is mentioned here. There is also a final chapter on her legacy.
The layout of the book is bright and clear with a moderate sized font and extra spacing between lines which will help with readability. Numerous photographs are used to illustrate the book.
Additional information includes an annotated bibliography of Hurston’s other work, a chronology, chapter notes, a list of major works, a glossary, additional sources both print and web and a good index.
Highly recommended for middle school and up for an introduction to the author and her most famous work. Spadaro(1), Trish
African-American women in literature - Hurston, Zora Neale

An informative biography

Schraff, Anne. Ida B. Wells-Barnett.
Enslow, 2008. 128p $31.93 978-0-7660-2704-6
African American Biographies series

This informative biography of the civil rights activist, teacher, and journalist provides a solid introduction to the life of Ida B. Wells-Barnett. She was an eloquent and passionate woman who fought for justice and against hate crimes such as lynching. An early incident in her life is a precursor to the Rosa Parks protest, when Wells-Barnett refuses to leave her seat in a whites only train car. Most students know about Parks and will be able to relate to this earlier event. There are historical black and white, sepia, and a few color photographs that elucidate the text at the appropriate places as well as sidebars that provide background about the time period. Some primary sources are pictured, such as a photo of Wells-Barnett’s newspaper article. The format includes a chronology, chapter notes, suggestions for further reading, Internet addresses, and an index. Recommended for Tristate Books of Note Series with the caveat that there is an error on page 97 where a caption for a photograph reads: “Mary Church Terrell was another women who advocated for African-American rights.” This should be changed in later printings.
There are twenty-four other biographies in this series that highlights prominent African-Americans. TW