Julius Bernard Lester was an American writer of books for children and adults and an academic who taught for 32 years (1971–2003) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Lester was also a civil rights activist, a photographer, and a musician who recorded two albums of folk music and original songs.
Drylongso is a 1992 children's book by Virginia Hamilton and illustrator Jerry Pinkney. It is about a farming family who is experiencing a drought and takes in a stranger.
John Henry is a 1994 children's picture book by Julius Lester and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. It is about the American legendary figure John Henry. In 1998, a 19-minute film adaptation of the book was narrated by Samuel L. Jackson and released by Weston Woods Studios.
The Sunday Outing is a 1994 children's picture book by Gloria Jean Pinkney and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Published by Dial Press in 1994, it is a prequel to Back Home, and is about a young girl, Ernestine, who makes sacrifices so she can afford a train trip.
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.
Sam and the Tigers: A New Telling of Little Black Sambo is a 1996 Children's picture book by Julius Lester and illustrator Jerry Pinkney. It is a retelling of the classic story by Helen Bannerman and is about a young boy, Sam, who outwits a group of hungry tigers.
The Little Match Girl is a 1999 adaptation of the classic Hans Christian Andersen story by Jerry Pinkney. It is about a girl who is a street vendor of artificial flowers and matches in a city during the early twentieth century and rather than returning home, as she hasn't made any sales, lights her matches to keep warm, sees wonderful visions, then dies and goes to heaven.
Aesop's Fables is a 2000 collection of 61 fables from the Aesop oeuvre, retold by Jerry Pinkney. It includes stories about wolves, foxes, lions, dogs, mice, and donkeys.
The Nightingale is a 2002 adaptation of the classic 1843 Hans Christian Andersen story by Jerry Pinkney. It is about a king who forsakes a nightingale for a bejeweled mechanical bird, becomes gravely ill, and is then revived by the song of the nightingale.
Noah's Ark is a 2002 book by Jerry Pinkney. It is the biblical story of Noah's Ark, from construction of the vessel and gathering of the animals, to first harvest and the appearance of rainbows.
The Old African is a 2005 book by Julius Lester and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. It is based on an incident at Igbo Landing and is about Jaja, a slave who leads a group of plantation slaves back to Africa by walking into the ocean.
Sweethearts of Rhythm is a 2009 book by Marilyn Nelson and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, published by Dial Books for Young Readers. It is about various musical instruments in a pawnshop poetically reminiscing about the jazz band, International Sweethearts of Rhythm.
The Grasshopper & the Ants, by Jerry Pinkney, is a 2015 adaptation of the classic Aesop fable where a grasshopper relaxes through Spring, Summer, and Autumn, while a colony of ants work at gathering food for the Winter, but although initially refusing the grasshopper's request for help, they relent and invite him in to share.
The Hired Hand: An African-American Folktale is a 1997 book by Robert D. San Souci and illustrator Jerry Pinkney based on an African American folktale about an itinerant worker who is able to rejuvenate and resurrect people.
Albidaro and the Mischievous Dream is a 2000 book by Julius Lester and illustrator Jerry Pinkney telling why teddy bears look as if they have a secret.
God Bless the Child is a 2003 picture book by Jerry Pinkney with the words and music of Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog Jr. It is about an African-American family moving from the rural Deep South to urban Chicago during the Great Migration.
Ain't Nobody a Stranger to Me is a 2007 picture book by Ann Grifalconi and illustrator Jerry Pinkney about an old man telling his granddaughter of he and his young family's journey to freedom with assistance from the Underground Railroad.
The All-I'll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll is a 2007 picture book by Patricia McKissack, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. It is about a girl, Nella, living during the Great Depression, who receives a doll for Christmas. Initially, she doesn't share it with her sisters but later relents after discovering that it's not fun to play by herself.
The Moon over Star is a 2008 picture book by Dianna Hutts Aston and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. It is about a girl, Mae, who, with her family, follows the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing.
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi is a 1997 retelling of Rudyard Kipling's classic story by Jerry Pinkney about a mongoose that protects a family from two cobras. The book won a Caldecott honor in 1998 for its illustrations.
