Realizing Black Heroes Newly Released Children’s Books Teach Of Strength Of Black Individuals In History

Four new books, released in time to coincide with Black History Month, provide lots of inspiration and food for thought for young readers.

“The Story of Ruby Bridges” by Dr. Robert Coles, illustrations by George Ford (Scholastic, $13.95, ages 5-9) is a poignant retelling of how, in 1960, 6-year-old Ruby became the first Afro-American child to attend an all-white elementary school, the Frantz School in New Orleans. The heartfelt text and soft-toned watercolors capture the tensions and fortitude of Ruby and her family during several tense months. Young audiences will be moved by the courage and dignity of the little girl as, escorted by federal marshals, she stood fast in the face of racism and walked bravely past angry protesters every day for months to attend school, virtually alone, until the boycott by white parents finally started to break down. Though lesser known than the saga of Rosa Parks, this was an important event in race relations. Pulitzer Prizewinning author Coles, a child psychiatrist at Harvard University Health Services, followed Ruby’s progress through Frantz Elementary on through high school and college and remains a friend of Ruby’s.

“The Well” by award-winning author Mildred D. Taylor (Dial Books for Young Readers, $14.99, ages 8-12) is a fast-paced novel that takes place in a Mississippi farming community in the early 1900s, when a drought dries up all the wells in the area except the one belonging to the Logans, hard-working black landowners.

The family generously shares their plentiful water with both black and white neighbors, but all during the hot, dry summer, the potential for racial violence looms. Charlie Simms, a nasty young white teenager who resents everything about the Logans, instigates all sorts of trouble for 10-year-old David and his proud but hot-headed 13-year-old brother Hammer.

When water from the well mysteriously starts to smell of a foul odor, long-brewing prejudices surface in a powerful confrontation that shows that a loving family can best come out of a conflict using brains, not fists.

“The Well” was written as a “prequel” to several other books about David, Hammer and later generations of Logans and Simms, including “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry” which won a Newbery Medal, and “Let the Circle Be Unbroken,” which won the Coretta Scott King Award.

“Leagues Apart” by Lawrence Ritter, illustrations by Michard Merkin (Morrow Junior Books, $15) is a marvelous celebration of the men and times of the Negro Baseball Leagues. Long before Hank Aaron and Willie Mays made their marks on America’s favorite pastime, a generation before Jackie Robinson demolished the color barrier, racist segregation rules prevented talented black athletes from sharing the major league diamonds with white players. The Negro Leagues, formed in 1920 to circumvent playing restrictions, flourished for almost 30 years.

The teams, barnstorming around the country, fostered such talents as Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and James “Cool Papa” Bell, along with Jackie Robinson and others - like Roy Campanella and Monte Irvin - who later made the leap to the Major Leagues. (In fact, 11 players who spent all or most of their careers in the Negro Leagues were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.)

Vibrant portraits of many of the players in uniform on the playing fields enhance this fact-filled history that will likely fascinate fans of all ages.

“Black Eagles: African Americans in Aviation” by Jim Haskins (Scholastic, $14.95, ages 8-13) brings to life the exciting but little known history of African-American aviators from the outbreak of World War I to the space age. This engrossing nonfiction accounting brings to light the brave exploits of several “pioneers.”

One of the earliest was Eugene Bullard, who, like other black Americans at the time, was denied the right to serve in combat in the U.S. military. Not to be thwarted, he joined the French Foreign Legion and took to the skies as a scout and fighter pilot, eventually earning the French Legion of Honor medal and the Croix de Guerre (War Cross), the highest honor given by the French military.

The book also chronicles the progress of Thomas C. Allen and J. Herman Banning, the first African Americans to fly cross-country, in 1932; Dr. Guion Buford Jr., the first black American to fly in space, in 1982, and Dr. Mae Jemison, who in 1992, earned the distinction of being the first black American woman launched into space, among other talented, stalwart fliers.

Numerous fascinating vintage and recent black and white photos complement the absorbing text.