Kids Books: Andrea Davis Pinkney

Eight books by award winning children’s author

Andrea Davis Pinkney!

Sojourner Truth’s Step-Stomp Stride

Andrea Davis Pinkney and Illustrator Brian Pinkney

Born into slavery, Belle had to endure the cruelty of several masters before she escaped to freedom. But she knew she wouldn’t really be free unless she was helping to end injustice. That’s when she changed her name to Sojourner and began traveling across the country, demanding equal rights for black people and for women. Many people weren’t ready for her message, but Sojourner was brave and her truth was powerful. And slowly, but surely as Sojourner’s step-stomp stride, America began to change.

Martin and Mahalia His Words, Her Song

Andrea Davis Pinkney and Illustrator Brian Pinkney

On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and his strong voice and powerful message were joined and lifted in song by world-renowned gospel singer Mahalia Jackson. It was a moment that changed the course of history and is imprinted in minds forever. 

The Red Pencil

Andrea Davis Pinkney and Illustrator Shane W. Evans

Life in Amira’s peaceful Sudanese village is shattered when Janjaweed attackers arrive, unleashing unspeakable horrors. After losing nearly everything, Amira needs to find the strength to make the long journey on foot to safety at a refugee camp. She begins to lose hope, until the gift of a simple red pencil opens her mind — and all kinds of possibilities.

Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters

Andrea Davis Pinkney and Illustrator Stephen Alcorn

Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus and sparked a boycott that changed America. Harriet Tubman helped more than three hundred slaves escape the South on the Underground Railroad. Shirley Chisholm became the first black woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

The lives these women led are part of an incredible story about courage in the face of oppression; about the challenges and triumphs of the battle for civil rights; and about speaking out for what you believe in — even when it feels like no one is listening.

Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down

Andrea Davis Pinkney and Illustrator Brian Pinkney

This picture book celebrates the momentous Woolworth’s lunch counter sit-in, when four college students staged a peaceful protest that became a defining moment in the struggle for racial equality and the growing civil rights movement. 

Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America

Andrea Davis Pinkney and Illustrator Brian Pinkney

Hand in Hand presents the stories of ten men from different eras in American history, organized chronologically to provide a scope from slavery to modern day. Profiles of: Benjamin Banneker, Frederick Douglas, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B DuBois, A. Phillip Randolph, Thurgood Marshall, Jackie Robinson, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Barack H. Obama II.

Rhythm Ride: A Road Trip Through the Motown Sound

Andrea Davis Pinkney

Berry Gordy began Motown in 1959 with an $800 loan from his family. He converted the garage of a residential house into a studio and recruited teenagers from the neighborhood, including: Smokey Robinson, Mary Wells, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and Diana Ross, to sing for his new label. The country was on the brink of a cultural revolution, and one of the most powerful agents of change in the following decade would be this group of young black performers from urban Detroit.

A Poem for Peter: The Story of Ezra Jack Keats and the 

Creation of The Snowy Day

Andrea Davis Pinkney

and Illustrators Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher

The story of The Snowy Day begins more than one hundred years ago, when Ezra Jack Keats was born in Brooklyn, New York. The family were struggling Polish immigrants. Despite Keats’ obvious talent, his father worried that Ezra’s dream of being an artist was an unrealistic one. But Ezra was determined. For more than two decades, Ezra had kept pinned to his wall a series of photographs of an adorable African American child. In Keats’ hands, the boy morphed into Peter, a boy in a red snowsuit, out enjoying the pristine snow. The book became The Snowy Day, the first mainstream book to feature an African American child.

Andrea Davis Pinkney

The book descriptions used are primarily the publishers.

If you like this article, then please consider sharing it and leaving a comment below. Thank you! Barbara Lowell, Children’s Author

You may like: Mahalia Jackson’s Words Changed History https://barbaralowell.com/mahalia-jacksons-words

Books for Kids: Kadir Nelson https://barbaralowell.com/books-for-kids-kadir-nelson

Mahalia Jackson Her Words Changed History

On an August day in 1963, under the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial gospel singer Mahalia Jackson told Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to “Tell them about the dream Martin. Tell them about the dream.”

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Mahalia Jackson Sings At The March On Washington

Mahalia Jackson was a close friend of Dr. King and an important voice for the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King had spoken to Mahalia about his dream that all Americans would someday be judged by their character and not the color of their skin. On August 28, 1963, at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Mahalia sang the spiritual, “I Been ‘Buked and I Been Scorned,” a favorite of Dr. King. When she had finished, Dr. King spoke.

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Dr. King Speaking Before A Crowd

Dr. King read from the speech he had prepared with the help of speech writer Clarence B. Jones. At about eleven minutes into his speech, Mahalia asked him to tell the people about his dream for America, the one she remembered hearing. Dr. King stopped reading, paused for awhile, and then spoke the words we know as his “I Have A Dream” speech — one of the most powerful and influential speeches in American history.

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In their book, Martin & Mahalia: His Words, Her Song, Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkey tell the story of how Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahalia Jackson’s friendship changed the course of history. 

If you like this post, then please consider sharing it and leaving a comment below. Thank you! Barbara Lowell, Children’s Author

You may like:

Marian Anderson Let Freedom Sing: https://barbaralowell.com/marian-anderson-let-freedom-sing

Kids Books: Martin Luther King, Jr. https://barbaralowell.com/kids-books-martin-luther-king-jr

Books For Kids: March on Washington https://barbaralowell.com/books-for-kids-march-on-washington

Books For Kids: Civil Rights Movement https://barbaralowell.com/books-for-kids-civil-rights-movement

Listen to Dr. King speak at the March on Washington. At about 12:00 minutes into the video, you will hear a long pause and then Dr. King will begin the “I Have A Dream” portion of his speech.