New Releases by Janice N. Harrington

Black history, cultural expression, and the natural world fuse in Janice N. Harrington''s Yard Show to investigate how Black Americans have shaped a sense of belonging and place within the Midwestern United States. As seen through the documentation of objects found within yard shows, this collection of descriptive, lyrical, and experimental poems speaks to the Black American Imagination in all its multiplicity. Harrington''s speaker is a chronicler of yesterdays, using the events of the past to center and advocate for a future that celebrates pleasure and self-fulfillment within Black communities.

Meet Charles S. Parker, an unsung yet trailblazing Black scientist who made major contributions to the fields of botany (the study of plants) and mycology (the study of fungi) in this inspiring STEM/STEAM picture book biography from the creators of Buzzing with Questions. In 1882, Black botanist and mycologist Charles S. Parker sprouted up in the lush, green Pacific Northwest. From the beginning, Charles’s passion was plants, and he trudged through forests, climbed mountains, and waded into lakes to find them. When he was drafted to fight in World War I, Charles experienced prejudice against Black soldiers and witnessed the massive ecological devastation that war caused. Those experiences made him even more determined to follow his dreams, whatever the difficulties, and to have a career making things grow, not destroying them. As a botanist and teacher, Charles traveled the United States, searching for new species of plants and fungi. After discovering the source of the disease killing peach and apricot trees, Charles was offered a job at Howard University, the famed historically Black college where he taught the next generation of Black scientists—men and women—to love plants and fungi as much as he did.

A young girl stops to call out all the sights and sounds on her morning trip to pre-school, but that’s not what makes her late—it is her dad’s goodbye hug. Kate was late for preschool, but not for the reasons you might expect. It wasn’t because her daddy brushed her hair into poofs, or because they slowed to say hello to neighbors on the way to the bus stop. It wasn’t even because she had to wave to all the trucks, cars, and street cleaners on the road. No, Kate was late because just after they arrived at school, her daddy swooped in to give her a great big goodbye hug that lasted a very long time. Janice N. Harrington is the Ezra Jack Keats Award winning author of Going North. With Hurry Kate or You’ll be Late, she has teamed up with illustrator Tiffany Rose to create a delightful picture book about a vehicle obsessed girl and her very patient father.

The story of Charles Henry Turner, the first Black entomologist — a scientist who studies bugs — is told in this fascinating book for young readers. Can spiders learn? How do ants find their way home? Can bugs see color? All of these questions buzzed endlessly in Charles Henry Turner’s mind. He was fascinated by plants and animals and bugs. And even when he faced racial prejudice, Turner did not stop wondering. He constantly read, researched, and experimented. Author Janice Harrington and artist Theodore Taylor III capture the life of this inspiring scientist and educator in this nonfiction picture book, highlighting Turner''s unstoppable quest for knowledge and his passion for science. The extensive back matter includes an author''s note, time line, bibliography, source notes, and archival images.

This lyrical middle-grade novel-in-verse celebrates the power of story and of finding one’s individual voice. Keet knows the only good thing about moving away from her Alabama home is that she''ll live near her beloved grandfather. When Keet starts school, it''s even worse than she expected, as the kids tease her about her southern accent. Now Keet, who can "talk the whiskers off a catfish," doesn''t want to open her mouth. While fishing with her grandfather, she learns the art of listening and gradually, she makes her first new friend. But just as she''s beginning to settle in, her grandfather has a stroke, and even though he''s still nearby, he suddenly feels ever-so-far-away. Keet is determined to reel him back to her by telling him stories; in the process she finds her voice and her grandfather again.

A biographical reflection on the art and life of Horace H. Pippin—the best-known African-American artist of his time—Primitive is a critique on current perceptions surrounding African-American folk art, as well as the absence of key African-American history in present-day curricula. Award-winning poet Janice Harrington connects readers with a fascinating, odds-defying artist, all while underscoring the human need for artistic expression.

Maman poule est très occupée et bien distraite. Si bien que le temps lui manque pour bâtir une nouvelle maison qui les accueillerait, elle et les siens. Heureusement P''tit Coco est là, qui veille et s''affaire.

Harrington''s retelling of a little-known Central African story is perfectly matched with "New York Times"-bestselling artist Pinkney''s jazzy depiction of a can-do little critter. Full color.

As people live longer, we face the challenges that come with caring for, and living as, an aging population. This collection focuses on the sad, funny, mundane reality of life in a nursing home. In her own words, Janice N. Harrington worked her way through college as a nurses'' aide and wrote The Hands of Strangers because she "cannot forget the ''girls'' I worked with or the ''residents'' under my care. I haven''t forgotten what I saw, heard, felt, or learned." Janic N. Harrington''s debut Even the Hollow My Body Made is Gone earned teh 2007 Kate Tufts Discovery Award, the A. Poulin Jr. Poetry Prize, and an NEA fellowship for poetry.

Roberto is very angry when his older brother Miguel promises to walk him home from school and then forgets.

A young farm girl tries to catch her favorite chicken, until she learns something about the hen that makes her change her ways. Meet one smart chicken chaser. She can catch any chicken on her grandmother''s farm except one - the elusive Miss Hen. In a hilarious battle of wits, the spirited narrator regales readers with her campaign to catch Miss Hen, but this chicken is "fast as a mosquito buzzing and quick as a fleabite." Our chicken chaser has her mind set on winning, until she discovers that sometimes it''s just as satisfying not to catch chickens as it is to catch them. A fresh voice full of sass and inventive, bold collage illustrations full of surprises create a childlike escapade brimming with funny high jinks that leads the reader on a merry, memorable chase.

"Memory and its embodiment in a colloquial, yet highly wrought musical language are what originally drew me to Harrington''s manuscript and what continues to pull me back. We learn the story of Lillian and Webster and their children and grandchildren, a black family living a hardscrabble life in the rural South more than sixty years ago. Set on the cusp of the Civil Rights era, the poems chronicle a way of life that has long since vanished."--Elizabeth Spires, from the foreword Janice N. Harrington is an award-winning children''s book author and a nationally recognized storyteller. She works as a librarian in Champaign, Illinois.

An African American family becomes a new kind of pioneer Leaving behind Big Mama, loving relatives, and the familiar red soil and cotton fields of Alabama, Jessie and her family are going north to Nebraska. They are pioneers searching for a better life, one with decent schools and jobs. But traveling through the segregated South is difficult for an African American family in the 1960s. With most public places reserved for "whites only," where will they stop to get gas and food? Lyrical free verse and evocative paintings capture the rhythm of the road and a young girl''s longing as she wonders: Will I like it there? Will I like the North?

Whether you''re looking for innovative programming specialized literature resources, or suggestions on motivating young patrons to read, ALA Editions has something for you. With these authoritative selections, you can: -- Expand outreach to children with special needs and hard-to-reach public segments -- Create multicultural collections and programming -- Entertain children with top-notch programming material The supplied sample checklist helps to analyze your library''s long-term commitment to multicultural programming. Details ideas for integrated programming designed to help children develop the social, cognitive, and communication skills they need in an increasingly diverse American society