ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, February 19, 1996 TAG: 9602200064
SECTION: NEWSFUN PAGE: NF-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Reading about history is our window to the past. It lets us get a good look at the events that have shaped our country, and it shows us what people have struggled through and triumphed over to become what they are.
The history of black America, started long before slaves were brought to this country, is full of traditions, culture and heroes. It can be exciting and sad at the same time, and sometimes it is hard to believe that what's written is true.
In celebration of Black History Month, here are some of the new books that can give you a peek into the past:
``My Dream of Martin Luther King'' by Faith Ringgold, is a vision of the childhood and major events of King's life and of the civil rights movement.
Ringgold has a dream about Martin Luther King as a child, experiencing segregation - the separation of blacks and whites. She draws and writes about the people of the world gathering in King's memory to trade in their prejudice, fear and hate for hope, peace and love - just as King dreamed about during his life.
This is an easy-to-read book (except for a few long words) for third-graders and up, and short enough to read to younger children. A lot of history is told in a few sentences on each page.
Faith Ringgold also wrote ``Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky.'' The Underground Railroad really existed, but it wasn't really a railroad. It was the name used to describe the hiding places, secret routes and ways slaves traveled to escape captivity in the South. Aunt Harriet (based on real-life heroine Harriet Tubman) helped hundreds of slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad.
This is another short book that makes history exciting. The drawings are simple and colorful.
``Her Stories,'' by Virginia Hamilton, is a collection of black American folk tales, fairy tales and true tales. The stories range from the enchanted world of ``Mary Belle and the Mermaid'' to mysterious tales such as ''Little Girl and Buh Rabby.''
The book includes characters such as Annie Christmas, a 7-foot-tall river operator, and Catskinella, a strong-minded beauty who outwits her father and goes on to win her prince. There are other strange creatures and magical animals.
The drawings are so beautiful, they could be used as art work to hang on a wall - but that would ruin the book. It would make a great gift.
Tanya loves listening to her grandmother talk about the patchwork quilt as she cut and stitched together the pieces of colorful fabric - each with a story of its own. When grandmother becomes ill, Tanya decides to finish the masterpiece herself, with the help of her family. "The Patchwork Quilt,'' by Valerie Flournoy, is a story of trust and sharing. It's a great lap book - a book to read aloud while you're curled up on someone's lap.
``Escape From Slavery" The Boyhood of Frederick Douglas in His Own Words,'' by Michael McCurdy, is a little tougher to read, but worth it. This is the true story of a childhood spent in slavery, from his days as a young boy on a plantation to his first months as a free man in the North.
``I suffered much from hunger, but much more from cold,'' Douglas wrote. ``I had no bed. I must [might] have perished with cold, but that, the coldest night, I used to steal a bag which was used for carrying corn to the mill. I would crawl into this bag, and there sleep on the cold, damp, clay floor, with my head in and my feet out.''
This is one of those hard-to-believe-it's true books.
Another book that explains segregation and the civil rights movement is ``If You Lived at the Time of Martin Luther King'' by Ellen Levine. It answers questions such as, ``Did black and white children play together?,'' ``Were children involved in civil rights protests?,'' and ``Did everyone agree with Martin Luther King?''
This book really gives you a good picture of what life was like for blacks during the exciting time when King led the fight for equal treatment for everyone.
``Please, God, try to forgive those people.
Because even if they say those bad things, They don't know what they're doing.''
These words are from the book ``The Story of Ruby Bridges'' by Robert Coles. Ruby was the first black child to go to an all-white elementary school. She found herself in the center of a storm of hatred and prejudice. Every day, policemen brought her to and from school, often past people yelling awful words at her. Her courage and faith helped her become an important part of history and an example for all Americans.
This book packs a lot into a few sentences on each page. Everyone who reads it can't help but admire Ruby by the end of the book.
``Ashanti To Zulu,'' by Margaret Musgrove, is a beautiful book of African traditions. The illustrations help explain the short descriptions on each page - everything from ceremonies and celebrations to day-to-day customs. The artist tried to show as much as possible about the different tribes in Africa by including lots of details in the drawings.
You'll probably spend a lot more time looking at the drawings than you will reading the words.
Rosa Parks was a quiet woman whose one courageous act changed the lives of blacks all across the country. How could one woman have started the civil rights movement?
This is an easy-to-read book that gives you a good idea of what life was like for blacks before Rosa Parks became a heroine.
Do you know who Jean DuSable and James Beckwourth are? Or Matthew Henson, Mae Jamison or Esteban? ``Five Brave Explorers'' can tell you. Author Wade Hudson tells the stories of these important, but sometimes forgotten, trailblazers of American exploration.
This book is an interesting way to learn about some important people in history. Did you know that the man who everyone thinks reached the North Pole first really didn't? This book will tell you who did. Did you know Mae Jamison is out of this world? Find out about her in this book.
``Kids Explore American's African-American Heritage'' is written for kids, by kids. It's a kids'-eye view of black-American culture. It features real people who share their real-life stories.
In the introduction, the young authors wrote, ``We hope it will help make our world a more peaceful and equal place to live.''
In 1904, Mary McLoed Bethune arrived in Florida with a dream in her heart and $1.50 in her purse. Her dream was to use education to build a future for black children living in the South. Did she make her dream come true?
``Building A Dream,'' by Richard Kelso, is her story. It reads more like a storybook than a history lesson. Dreamers such as Bethune give us an example to live by. They teach us that dreaming is the first step in doing the impossible.
These books and many others on black Americans, their history and culture, are available at Ram's Head Book Shop in Roanoke and other area book stores and libraries.
LENGTH: Long : 124 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ROGER HART/Staff Michael Smith, a third-grader atby CNBFallon Park Elementary School in Roanoke, buries himself in the
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