Fredrick McKissack

A fun and engaging way for young children to figure out concepts and solving problems on his or her own. Rookie Readers (Ages 5-7) have provided entertaining, high-quality introductions to reading for more than a generation. Each title features full-color, often hilarious illustrations and engaging stories that always involve a young child figuring out concepts or solving problems on his or her own. After having fun at their family reunion, Messy Bessey's family cleans up and leaves the park as beautiful as when they arrived.

MIAMI JACKSON CAN'T wait for school to end. But who ever thought five days could be so long? His teacher is leaving for Ghana, his arch-enemy, Destinee Tate, is on his case, and now Miami's keeping secrets from his best friend, String. Summer can't come soon enough

Erased by Time In 1619 twenty Africans stepped foot on American soil. They came not as slaves, but as indentured servants. They knew if they could hold on and finish out their sentences, they would be free. They came with dreams of the future and a vision of life as good as any other person's, black or white. Who were these people? How did they get here? What happened to them? Much of the information about them -- even their names -- has been lost. Stories about them are incomplete, and facts are blurred by centuries of neglect. But their stories are worth knowing and keeping and sharing, for they are a part of the American saga. This is their story.

A fun and engaging way for young children to figure out concepts and solving problems on his or her own. Rookie Readers (Ages 5-7) have provided entertaining, high-quality introductions to reading for more than a generation. Each title features full-color, often hilarious illustrations and engaging stories that always involve a young child figuring out concepts or solving problems on his or her own. When Messy Bessey starts to clean up her desk at school, she inspires the rest of the class to clean up the entire room.

Simple text and illustrations of a variety of insects introduce the numbers one through five.

Carter G. Woodson, born just ten years after the Civil War ended, grew up in the lingering shadow of slavery. Woodson became a scholar dedicated to learning, teaching, and writing about the history of his people. Today, because of the efforts of this one man, Black History Month is celebrated annually and African-American history is a well-respected field of study. The McKissacks bring this pioneering historian into sharp focus for another generation of budding young scholars.

For more than a thousand years, from A. D. 500 to 1700, the medieval kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay grew rich on the gold, salt, and slave trade that stretched across Africa. Scraping away hundreds of years of ignorance, prejudice, and mythology, award-winnnig authors Patricia and Fredrick McKissack reveal the glory of these forgotten empires while inviting us to share in the inspiring process of historical recovery that is taking place today.

Civil Rights Leader

After having a book snatched from her little hand, Mary McLeod, the child of former slaves, resolved to learn to read. Many years later, with 1.50 in her pocket, Mary McLeod Bethune set out to make education a reality for other African Americans. The school she started in Florida is a legacy that continues her mission today. Bethune founded the National Council of Negro Women and was appointed to the National Youth Administration by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This inspiring, readable biography shows the power of determination and a dream.

I always loved running, said Jesse Owens, who as a boy could outrun all his playmates. When he competed in the Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, people used words like express and comet to describe him. Owens won an amazing four Olympic gold medals in track and field events, and demonstrated to the world that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's theory of racial inferiority was wrong. An athlete, humanitarian, speaker, and author, Owens dedicated his later years to helping the youth of America reach for greatness.

Carter G. Woodson, born just ten years after the Civil War ended, grew up in the lingering shadow of slavery. Woodson became a scholar dedicated to learning, teaching, and writing about the history of his people. Today, because of the efforts of this one man, Black History Month is celebrated annually and African-American history is a well-respected field of study. The McKissacks bring this pioneering historian into sharp focus for another generation of budding young scholars.

Rookie Readers "RM" have provided entertaining, high-quality introductions to reading for more than a generation. Each title features full-color, often hilarious illustrations and engaging stories that always involve a young child figuring out concepts or solving problems on his or her own. Every new title contains a Word List and a color-coded reading-level key on the back cover.