Frank Carlson Library

History has made me an African American. It is an Africa that I have come from, and an America that I have helped to create. Since they were first brought as captives to Virginia, the people who would become African Americans have struggled for freedom. Thousands fought for the rights of all Americans during the Revolutionary War, and for their own rights during the Civil War. On the battlefield, through education, and through their creative genius,...

In New York Times bestselling author Walter Dean Myers's last novel, he delivers a gripping story based on the life of a real dancer known as Master Juba, who lived in the nineteenth century. This engaging historical novel is based on the true story of the meteoric rise of an immensely talented young black dancer, William Henry Lane, who influenced today's tap, jazz, and step dancing. With meticulous and intensive research, Walter Dean Myers has brought...

A powerful National Book Award Finalist from the acclaimed, bestselling author of Monster. "This novel is like photorealism; it paints a vivid and genuine portrait of life that will have a palpable effect on its readers." (School Library Journal starred review)

With Harlem as its backdrop, Autobiography of My Dead Brother follows the diverging paths of best friends Rise and Jesse. When Rise becomes engulfed in gang activity

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Fifteen-year-old Artemis journeys from New York City to Tombstone, Arizona, in 1882, to avenge the murder of his uncle.

In the second book of the CRUISERS series, Walter Dean Myers explores the world of competitive chess as seen through the eyes of a group of middle school misfits.Sidney Aronofsky is one of the best chess players under age 16. When he's arrested for trying to buy drugs, it comes as a total surprise to those who know him. The expectations of parents, schools, and tutors pressure the young players. Sidney loves and wants to play chess, but dislikes the...

Newbery and Coretta Scott King award-winning author Walter Dean Myers's baseball story THE JOURNAL OF BIDDY OWENS is now available in paperback, with an exciting repackaging!Seventeen-year-old Biddy Owens is part of the Birmingham Black Barons baseball team and dreams of becoming a major league baseball player. However, in 1948 most black players can only play for the Negro Leagues. Jackie Robinson has just recently integrated and is playing for the...

Jimmy and Kevin could really use a guide to life. Their activities almost land them in juvenile detention until Duke employs them in his Harlem barbershop. Duke has rules for everything. But is he offering good advice or just more aggravation? In the groundbreaking tradition of the award–winning Monster and Bad Boy: A Memoir, Walter Dean Myers fashions a complex, layered novel about the rules for success. Handbook for Boys is the book that he wishes...

This is the story of one family whose history saw slavery at its very rawness. It is a story of pride, determination, struggle and hope. And of the piece of land that holds them together through it all

From Walter Dean Myers, the New York Times bestselling author of Monster, comes this 20-page one-act play. Tags is a look at life and death in New York City, complete with a shocking end. Four New York City teens are shot down in the prime of life. They move through limbo, re-creating their distinctive tags in a Harlem walk-up so that they can "live" forever. But what's the point? How can you think of living forever if you're already dead? Walter...

This story told in free verse is set against a background of street gangs and poverty in Harlem in which seventeen-year-old African American Damien takes a bold step to ensure that he and his new love will not be separated.