Ocean State Libraries

"Jacqueline Woodson, one of today's finest writers, tells the moving story of her childhood in mesmerizing verse. Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and...

"Bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson is known for the unflinching way she writes about, and advocates for, survivors of sexual assault. Now, inspired by her fans and enraged by how little in our culture has changed since her groundbreaking novel Speak was first published twenty years ago, she has written a poetry memoir that is as vulnerable as it is rallying, as timely as it is timeless. In free verse, Anderson shares reflections, rants, and...

"Children's author Donald Crews recalls a childhood visit to Bigmama's house in the country, where he finds his relatives full of news and the old place and its surroundings just the same as the year before."--

Angelou's poem celebrates the promise of peace in the holiday season. In this simple story, a family joins with their community--rich and poor, black and white, Muslim and Jew--to celebrate the holidays.

"Growing up with a mother suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and a mostly absent father, Nikki Grimes found herself terrorized by babysitters, shunted from foster family to foster family, and preyed upon by those she trusted. At the age of six, she poured her pain onto a piece of paper late one night - and discovered the magic and impact of writing. For many years, Nikki's notebooks were her most enduing companions. In this accessible and inspiring...

Children's author-illustrator Tomie De Paola describes his experiences at home and in school when he was a boy.

The story of four generations of an Italian American family, beginning with an immigrant who came through Ellis Island with big dreams, a small shovel, and his parents' good advice: "Work hard, but remember to enjoy life, and never forget your family."

"'Voices of the Lost Year' represents an innovative project that used a grant from the RI Office of Library and Information Services to fund an eleven week writing workshop for Rhode Island teens which culminated in this anthology of their work." -- Flash Fiction: The Seamstress; Safe; Perfect Daughter: Three young women in this series of short tales explore the darker side of fiction with tales of trauma, revenge from beyond the grave, and an artist's...

From Children's Literature Legacy Award-winning author Nikki Grimes comes a feminist-forward new collection of poetry celebrating the little-known women poets of the Harlem Renaissance-- paired with full-color, original art from today's most talented female African-American illustrators. Taking inspiration from the unsung women poets of the era, Grimes uses the "Golden Shovel" poetry method to create original poems drawn from the words of ... groundbreaking...

"From the New York Times bestselling author and National Book Award finalist, a biography in verse and prose of science fiction visionary Octavia Butler. Acclaimed novelist Ibi Zoboi illuminates the young life of the visionary storyteller Octavia E. Butler in poems and prose. Born into the Space Race, the Red Scare, and the dawning Civil Rights Movement, Butler expereinced an American childhood that shaped her into the groundbreaking science-fiction...