White Socks Only

Author: Evelyn Coleman
Illustrator:   Tyrone Geter
Publisher:  Albert Whitman & Co.
Publication Year:   1996
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   1996 Notable Book for Children, Smithsonian Magazine; Pick of the Lists, American Bookseller

Summary:  A story told by an African American woman in a form of dialect. A girl sneaks off to town by herself wearing her finest Sunday outfit, including white socks. She wants to find some cement so she can test out the saying "It could get so hot you could fry an egg on the sidewalk." As she's walking, she says a water fountain with a sign that says "Whites Only." She takes off her good black shoes and hops up to the fountain wearing only her clean white socks. Of course she get caught and gets yelled at, but other people from the town start to join her and it becomes an act of civil disobedience. Although she gets whipped by a man, the mysterious "Chicken Man" rescues her and sends her home where she's praised for "doing some good."

Classroom Ideas: Such a great example of dialect. ("And child, was it hot! On that kind of day a firecracker might light up by itself.")
Also, the figurative language here is amazing, and the descriptions are wonderful. If I was reading this with kids, I'd read the narrator's description of herself without letting them see the illustration and then have them draw her.
Obviously, the content fits perfectly with a discussion about segregation and Jim Crow laws. It is especially interesting to think about the awakening of children to the prejudice that was all around them and would be a great companion to the book Goin' Someplace Special.

Extras:

Always Room for One More

Author: Sorche Nic Leodhas
Illustrator:   Nonny Hogrogian
Publisher:  Henry Holt
Publication Year:   1965
Location: Knox County Public Library- Powell

Awards:   Caldecott, ALA Notable

Summary:  Lachie MacLachlan and his wife & his ten "bairns" lived in a "wee house in the heather." He invited every traveler who came by to come and stay with them and promised there was always one room for one more. There is a big party and soon the house is so full that they all tumble out. Then they all work together to build a new house. There is a glossary of Socttish dialect in the back to help readers understand the story. The illustrations are striking-- the backgrounds are beautiful watercolors that use only two colors, a dark green and a beautiful pinkish purple while the figures are made with only back hatched lines.

Classroom Ideas: The theme of the book is about hospitality and being welcome to all. It is a wonderful example of dialect and, of course, of artistic style.

January's Sparrow

Author & Illustrator: Patricia Polacco  
Publisher:  Philomel
Publication Year:   2009
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   SC School Book Award, Sequoyah Award, Charlotte Award,

Summary:  Eight year old Sadie "Sparrow" Crosswhite is a slave. She and her family watch in horror as a runaway slave, January, is drug into the year and whipped. Sadie is devastated as she remembers January giving her a carved sparrow when he told her that he was "fixin' to fly." After learning that the master was planning to auction of Sparrow's brother, her family flees on the Underground Railroad. They finally make it to Marshall, Michigan, where the whole town is part of the railroad. Sadie makes a new friend named Polly, but the family is still worried that the slave patrols are tracking them. One morning, Sadie's carved sparrow turns up on their doorstep and soon the master's soon and other trackers show up to drag the Crosswhite family away. The whole town rallies around them, but the white men quote the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 that the family can be taken back to their rightful owner. January even shows up to back the family but they are brought in front of a judge, Polly's father -- who jails the men for attempting kidnapping so the family has time to flee to Canada. After the war, Sadie returns to Marshall for good. With Polacco's typical marker and pen sketches, this 94 page picture book tells a true story from the town where she lives. 

Classroom Ideas: Obviously there is a lot of historical content here about the Underground Railroad and slavery. There is vocabulary from the time period as well (paddy rollers= slave patrols that captured runaways). The story is told in slave dialect and contains many instances of figurative language ("You lovin' one of the white folks is like a dog lovin' the hickory what beats it.")

Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Dam Creek Affair

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher:  Philomel
Publication Year:   1996
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   School Library Journal starred review

Summary:  In Triple Creek they love TV so much that they've forgotten what books are for. They use them to hold up roofs, mend fences, stuff potholes, and even fix the dam. Aunt Chip is appalled by these changes and tells her nephew Eli about books and the library.  She teaches him to read and he starts reading to the other kids. The kids start grabbing up all the books and then moving them makes the dam explode. When books rain from the sky, kids start teaching their parents to read again and the town rebuilds the school and library.

Classroom Ideas: This would be a good book to teach problem and solution. There is also good vocabulary (vowed, consequences, eiderdown) and dialect ("Now Eli took to reading like a beaver takes to gnawing wood, or a flea takes to a dirty little yella dog.")

Epossumondas

Author:Coleen Salley
Illustrator:   Janet Stevens
Publisher:  Harcourt
Publication Year:  
Location: Personal Collection

Awards: Anne Izzard Storytellers' Choice Award, IRA-CBC Children's Choice,  Irma S and James H Black Honor for Excellence in Children's Literature


Summary: Epossumondas is a possum who visits his auntie each day, and each day she gives him something to take home. Epossumondas ruins each gift by the way he brings it home According to Salley's author note, Epossumondas is a type of story called a noodlehead story which reminds me of the Amelia Bedelia books. This story was obviously meant to be told aloud and is full of Southern dialect. Stevens' clever watercolors capture the feeling perfectly and hint that the main character might be a little smarter than he lets on. I love the endpapers where the pies are complete on the front and stepped on at the back.

Classroom Ideas: For storytelling and fluency, this one can't be beat. It is also a great example of dialect. If you ask whether Epossumondas is just trying to get out of running all those errands, you might have an interesting discussion with kids about character.

Working Cotton

Author: Sherley Anne Williams
Illustrator: Carole Byard  
Publisher:  Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
Publication Year:   1992
Location: Knox County Public Library- Powell

Awards:   Caldecott Honor, Coretta Scott King Award

Summary:  The story of a family of migrant worker in the cotton fields in the 1930s. It's told in dialect. The acrylic illustrations fill the two page spreads and beautifully portray the realities of the story.

Classroom Ideas: This would fit well in a study of the 1930s or for Black History Month. While there are few words on each page, the dialect and subject matter make it most appropriate for upper elementary students who would likely have the academic background to understand it.