New Releases by Julius Lester

Bob Lemmons is famous for his ability to track wild horses. He rides his horse, Warrior, picks up the trail of mustangs, then runs with them day and night until they accept his presence. Bob and Warrior must then challenge the stallion for leadership of the wild herd. A victorious Bob leads the mustangs across the wide plains and for one last spectacular run before guiding them into the corral. Bob''s job is done, but he dreams of galloping with Warrior forever to where the sky and land meet. This splendid collaboration by an award-winning team captures the beauty and harshness of the frontier, a boundless arena for the struggle between freedom and survival. Based on accounts of Bob Lemmons, a formerly enslaved person, Black Cowboy, Wild Horses has been rewritten as a picture book by Julius Lester from his story "The Man Who Was a Horse" in Long Journey Home, first published by Dial in 1972.

"This wonderful book should be a first choice for all collections and is strongly recommended as a springboard for discussions about differences.” —School Library Journal (starred review) In this acclaimed book, the author of the Newbery Honor Book To Be a Slave shares his own story as he explores what makes each of us special. A strong choice for sharing at home or in the classroom. Karen Barbour''s dramatic, vibrant paintings speak to the heart of Lester''s unique vision, truly a celebration of all of us. "This stunning picture book introduces race as just one of many chapters in a person''s story" (School Library Journal). "Lester''s poignant picture book helps children learn, grow, discuss, and begin to create a future that resolves differences" (Children''s Literature). Julius Lester said: "I write because our lives are stories. If enough of these stories are told, then perhaps we will begin to see that our lives are the same story. The differences are merely in the details." I am a story. So are you. So is everyone.

Julius Lester was born the son of a black Methodist minister in the south. His book Lovesong is a beautifully written account of his spiritual journey away from the conventions of his Southern heritage and Methodist upbringing, culminating in his personal self-discovery through a conversion to Judaism. Growing up in the turbulent civil rights era South, Lester was often discouraged by the disconnectedness between the promises of religion and the realities of his life. He used the outlets available to him to try to come to grips with this split and somehow reconcile the injustices he was witnessing with the purity of religion. He became a controversial writer and commentator, siding with neither blacks nor whites in his unconventional viewpoints. He became a luminal figure of the times, outside of the conventional labels of race, religion, politics, or philosophy. Lester’s spiritual quest would take him through the existential landscape of his Southern, Christian upbringing, into his ancestry, winding through some of the holiest places on the planet and into the spiritual depths of the world’s major religious cultures. His odyssey of faith would unexpectedly lead him to discovering Judaism as his true spiritual calling.

When John Calvin Marshall graduated from Harvard in 1956, he was prepared for a life of teaching and relative tranquility. But history had another plan for him: here, a veteran author re-envisions the Martin Luther King Jr. story in fearful, exciting, and violent terms. Political and provocative, And All Our Wounds Forgiven is both a compelling political fable and a striking and tender love story about one of this century''s most charismatic black leaders and the two women he loved.

Mars 1859. Une plantation de coton, en Georgie, Etats-Unis. La jeune Emma vit là entourée des siens et de la famille du maître lorsqu'elle est séparée de ses parents et de ceux qu'elle aime. Elle vient d'être revendue, comme des centaines d'autres esclaves à un nouveau maître. Sarah, la fille du maître, très attachée à Emma, ne pardonnera jamais cette barbarie à son père...

What was it like to be a slave? Listen to the words and learn about the lives of countless slaves and ex-slaves, telling about their forced journey from Africa to the United States, their work in the fields and houses of their owners, and their passion for freedom. You will never look at life the same way again.

A young girl who has not uttered a sound since birth is shunned by the people in her village, until they realize how special she is.

I saved my brother from the soldiers, but the princess says he is hers now. Abba and Ima will never trust me again. In ancient Egypt, there lives a girl named Almah who will do anything to ensure the safety of her baby brother, Mosis. She will leave her enslaved family and assume the role of Egyptian princess. She will change her identity if it means winning health and freedom for her brother. Mosis, however, does not feel completely free. His identity has been changed against his will, and he longs to find himself. And when he does, he will do anything in his power to see that justice is served.

The blues. It's that low-down feeling that makes you ache from your soul to the soles of your shoes. Here in the voice of a grandfather passing on a legacy to a younger generation, renowned author Julius Lester introduces ten of the hottest black blues singers of our time. The diva Aretha Franklin, the legendary Billie Holiday, and the fabulous B.B. King are just a taste of what's in store.

Relates what happens when a little boy named Sam matches wits with several tigers that want to eat him (a retelling of Little Black Sambo).

A collection of six original fables with morals both silly and serious.

A collection of traditional and original Jewish tales interpreting the Biblical story of the creation of the world.

YA. Set in 1956 in Nashville, Tennessee. Tells of a young black boy and white girl who become interested in each other and of the helplessness of the situation, in the face of adult hostility.

An illustrated collection of twelve folk tales, ten African and two Jewish.

Delightfully funny animal stories and beautifully detailed paintings certain to captivate children.

A modern retelling with contemporary references to 12 African and African American folktales.

A retelling of the classic Afro-American tales relating the adventures and misadventures of Brer Rabbit and his friends and enemies.

The author retells the classic Afro-American tales.

A retelling of the Afro-American tales about the adventures and misadventures of Brer Rabbit and his friends and enemies.

Two short stories and one novella (all based on true stories) about love in the time of slavery. The first is about Ras, who helps other slaves escape, and ultimately escapes with his girlfriend, Sally. The second is about Maria, whose husband (a free black man) buys her but neglects to officially set her free; when he dies, she finds herself a slave again because her husband had debts and so she becomes the payment. The third is about William and Ellen Craft, a famous slave couple who escaped by pretending that Ellen (with her very light skin) was a white woman being escorted north by her slave; they went on to speak against slavery form the home base of Boston.

Meet Rambler, a runaway slave roaming the countryside with a guitar, who knows the only way to stay free is to keep moving. Louis is another runaway, fleeing the plantation where he was raised, because he is about to be sold. And Jake and Mandy''s marriage is damaged by slavery''and destroyed by freedom. Here is the African-American experience, brought alive by a master storyteller.''Lester has an eye for capturing the essence of a human experience.''AHis work? boldly proclaims the heritage of African-Americans.'' ? The New York Times Book Review

A collection of essays introduce various facets of the struggle for radical change in American society, ranging from Women's Liberation to the Yippies

From Introduction: "Huddie Ledbetter, nicknamed Leadbelly, died in December, 1949 at the age of 64. He had come out of the deep South, settled down in a little apartment on New York's lower East Side, determined to build a successful career as a musician. Unfortunately, there was not much interest in folk music then. He got occasional jobs singing for schools and colleges, or at little parties where they were raising money for some cause like helping Loyalist Spain. Until the last three years of his life, he had barely recorded more than a few dozen songs. Today, through his recordings, he is world famous as one of the greatest singers of folksongs of this century. Songs he composed, or helped put together out of the fragments of older tunes, or adapted into the form in which we all know them now, have sold in the tens of millions: Good Night Irene, Bring Me A Little Water, Silvy, Midnight Special, Rock Island Line, Kisses Sweeter Than Wine (the tune), Old Cotton Fields At Home, and many others. The driving rhythms he developed on his unusual guitar, with its double strings, are unforgettable to anyone who ever heard them. Today, many young people wishing to learn his songs as he sang them, are trying to learn his style of guitar playing. This book is designed to help them, but it cannot be considered a substitute for listening to the recordings of Leadbelly....It must be remembered that more is involved than playing the correct notes and rhythm. When you listen to Leadbelly on record, you are listening to a man with many years of experience play an instrument. To achieve what he achieved is something which cannot be communicated in a book." - Julius Lester