J. Brian Pinkney

Loretta, Roly, and Aggie B. Little relate their Mississippi family's struggles and triumphs from 1927 to 1968 while struggling as sharecroppers, living under Jim Crow, and fighting for Civil Rights.

Mama Nsoso knows her chicks need a warm new house, but each day when they set out to collect sticks and mud she is distracted by good things to eat, while Little Chick stays busy gathering the building materials himself.

Joey, the batboy for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, learns a hard lesson about respect for people of different races after Jackie Robinson joins the team.

"Good friends Otter and Beaver use water and sticks for very different purposes as they spend time together"--

"Owen loves soccer, but isn't the best at playing it. After a particularly disastrous day on the field, Owen is benched. He is feeling so low that he doesn't notice the ball rolling away from him until it's too late. In his effort to get it back, he discovers that he has more skills than he realizes"--

Although he doesn't feel like talking, a young boy responds to questions by drumming on various objects, including a bucket, hat boxes, and garbage cans.

"Follow a little girl as she moves, swings, and grooves her way through her bedtime routine, dancing all the while, until she finally closes her eyes and dances through her dreams"--