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This first book in a three volume series celebrates and examines the work of four African American authors of young adult literature. They are Virginia Hamilton, Julius Lester, Walter Dean Myers, and Mildred D. Taylor; they serve as the foundation of young adult literature and provide robust stories that center and illuminate African American youth. In addition, this volume also examines the role of the Coretta Scott King Award in promoting access and visibility to authors and illustrators who shine a spotlight on African American youth and society. The chapter authors--librarians and established and emerging scholars in the field of young adult literature--survey the work of Hamilton, Lester, Myers, or Taylor; their accolades; and how audiences initially responded to their work. Each chapter highlights a single work and discusses how it might be taught, providing pre, during, and post reading activities or, in some cases, individual, small group, or whole class activities. This volume is a resource for classroom teachers, teacher educators, reading specialists, librarians, and other educators who study, research, and read young adult literature. This first volume supplements studies in the foundations of African American authors of young adult literature and explorations of critical works by these authors.
List of contents
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Introduction - Steven T. Bickmore
PART I: CRITICAL FOUNDATION, ESTABLISHED THEMES, AND RECEPTION OF AFRICAN AMERICAN AUTHORS
Chapter 1: Looking back to move forward: A Retrospective of the Coretta Scott King Award Deborah Taylor
Chapter 2: Themes and Critical Foundations of Early African American Authors of Young Adult Literature
Shanetia P. Clark
PART II: FOUNDING AUTHORS AND THEIR EARLY INTRODUCTION
Chapter 3: Walter Dean Myers: A Lifetime of Stories
Ngozi Onuora
Chapter 4: Virginia Hamilton, Liberation, and Bluish: Generating Acceptance and Empathy
Shanetia P. Clark and Steven T. Bickmore
Chapter 5: These Tears Are Real: Historical Representations in Julius Lester's Day of Tears
Ruth McKoy Lowery and Cheryl Logan
Chapter 6: The Early Reception of Mildred D. Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Chris Crowe
PART III: FOUNDING AUTHORS, CURRENT REPUTATIONS, AND THEIR CONTINUED PRESENCE
Chapter 7: Poet of Harlem: The Truth, Text, and Legacy of Walter Dean Myers
M. Cathrene Connery
Chapter 8: Reading, Learning, and Telling Folklore through Virginia Hamilton's Zeely
Nancy D. Tolson
Chapter 9: Julius Lester's Nonfiction Presentation of Slavery in To Be a Slave
Steven T. Bickmore
Chapter 10: Racialized Constructions in the Stories by Mildred Taylor
Wanda Brooks and Desiree Cueto
About the Authors
About the author
Edited by Steven T. Bickmore and Shanetia P. Clark PhD
Summary
This book is a valuable tool teachers can use to help their students be inspired by literary giants who created and shaped the AAYA field.
