 First edition | |
| Author | Patricia McKissack |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Gordon James |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Children's literature, American history, |
| Published | 2007 (Viking Press) |
| Media type | Print (hardback, paperback) |
| Pages | 108 |
| ISBN | 9780670062096 |
| OCLC | 126225477 |
Scraps of Time: 1928, A Song for Harlem is a 2007 book by Patricia McKissack about a girl, Lilly Belle, who spends the Summer of 1928 in Harlem attending a writers' workshop led by Zora Neale Hurston.
Booklist , reviewing A Song for Harlem, wrote "McKissack writes with empathy for the characters as well as a good eye for details that bring the period to life. Especially appripriate for aspiring writers, the themes of finding your voice and telling the truth resonate throughout this appealing chapter book." [1] and the School Library Journal wrote "This easy-to-read novel has succinct chapters and sentences that, while simple, convey a feel for the characters and the time, and a vivid sense of place." [1]
A Song for Harlem has also been reviewed by The Horn Book Magazine , [2] and Kirkus Reviews. [3]
It is a 2008 CCBC Choice. [4]
Patricia C. "Pat" McKissack was a prolific African American children's writer. She was the author of over 100 books, including Dear America books A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, a Slave Girl;Color Me Dark: The Diary of Nellie Lee Love, The Great Migration North; and Look to the Hills: The Diary of Lozette Moreau, a French Slave Girl. She also wrote a novel for The Royal Diaries series: Nzingha: Warrior Queen of Matamba. Notable standalone works include Flossie & the Fox (1986), The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural (1992), and Sojourner Truth: Ain't I a Woman? (1992). What is Given from the Heart was published posthumously in 2019.
Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman is a 1996 children's picture book by Alan Schroeder and is illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Released in 1996 by Dial Press, it is a fictionalized story of Harriet Tubman as a young girl.
Sojourner Truth: Ain't I a Woman? is a 1992 children's biography by Patricia and Frederick McKissack. It tells the story of African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist, Sojourner Truth.
A Million Fish ... more or less is a 1992 children's picture book by Patricia McKissack. It is about a boy of the bayou, Hugh Thomas, who has a fishing adventure.
Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters is a 1994 Children's book by Patricia McKissack and Frederick McKissack. It is about the preparations and workings around the Christmas season on a slave plantation in 1850s Virginia.
The All-I'll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll is a 2007 picture book by Patricia McKissack and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. It is about a girl, Nella, living during the Great Depression who amazingly receives a doll for Christmas, initially doesn't share with her sisters but then relents after discovering that it's not fun to play by herself.
Run Away Home is a 1997 book by Patricia McKissack. Set in the late 19th century, it is about an African-American girl, Sarah Jane, who finds an Apache boy in the family barn and the subsequent affects on their lives.
Black Hands, White Sails: The Story of African-American Whalers is a 1999 book by Patricia McKissack and Frederick McKissack about the involvement of African-Americans in the history of whaling in the United States.
Days Of Jubilee: The End of Slavery in the United States is a 2002 book by Patricia McKissack and Fredrick McKissack which sets out the history of Abolitionism in the United States.
A Friendship for Today is a 2007 book by Patricia McKissack about the life of a girl, Rosemary Patterson, attending one of the first integrated Missouri schools during the 1950s.
Rebels Against Slavery: American Slave Revolts is a 1996 book by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack.
Black Diamond: The Story of the Negro Baseball Leagues is a 1994 book by Patricia McKissack and Fredrick McKissack, Jr. It tells the history African-American and Latin American involvement with baseball in the United States.
Abby Takes a Stand is a 2005 book by Patricia McKissack. It is the first book in the Scraps of Time series and is predominantly set in the 1960s. It concerns an African-American grandmother, Abby, talking with some of her young relatives about the time she was a young girl in Nashville, Tennessee, her experiences with racial segregation, and her involvement with the Civil Rights Movement.
Ma Dear's Aprons is a 1997 book by Patricia McKissack about the relationship between a son, David Earl, and his mother, Ma dear.
Stitchin' and Pullin': A Gee's Bend Quilt is a 2008 picture book by Patricia McKissack and illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera. It is about a young girl, Baby girl, who, growing up amongst the quilters of Gee's Bend, Alabama, makes her first quilt.
The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay: Life in Medieval Africa is a 1993 book by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack. It is a history of Western Africa and the kingdoms that flourished there from 700AD to 1700AD.
Scraps of Time: 1879, Away West is a 2006 book by Patricia McKissack about a farmboy, Everett Turner, who runs away and joins the Exodusters, travelling to Nicodemus, Kansas.
Young, Black, and Determined: A Biography of Lorraine Hansberry is a 1998 book by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack. It is a biography of the playwright and activist, Lorraine Hansberry.
Tippy Lemmey is a 2003 chapter book by Patricia McKissack about three children, Leandra, Paul, and Jeannie, who are terrorised by a neighborhood dog, called Tippy Lemmey, but manage to overcome their fears and befriend him.
Bruh Rabbit and the Tar Baby Girl is a 2003 picture book by Virginia Hamilton and illustrated by James Ransome. It is a retelling by Hamilton, in the Gullah dialect, of the classic story of Bruh Rabbit outwitting Bruh Wolf.
The text is informative and accessible. Sketchlike illustrations help bring the story to life.
The story line is simply an excuse to namedrop the various historical highlights of the Harlem Renaissance: Countee Cullen, W.E.B. Du Bois, the Savoy, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and Marcus Garvey. But for newcomers to the period, this will serve as a taste of this rich period in American history.
