Most Popular Books by Jewell Parker Rhodes

After being fatally shot by a police officer who mistook his toy gun for a real threat, twelve-year-old Jerome navigates the afterlife alongside the ghost of Emmett Till, confronting historical racism, his family''s grief, and the moral struggle of the officer''s daughter.

A Bird by Bird for the African-American market--A top-notch writer''s guide filled with practical guidance, essays, and journal exercises for the African-American writer including advice from E.Lynn Harris, Charles Johnson, and Yolanda Joe. In her introduction, Jewell Parker Rhodes writes: "Never (in four years of college or five years of graduate school) was I assigned an exercise or given a story example that included a person of color...While the educational system and the publishing world have become progressively more welcoming of African-American authors, there is still little attention to educating, supporting, and sustaining the writing process of African-American authors. Free Within Ourselves is a solid first step--it is the book I wished I had when I started out as a writer. It is meant to be a song of encouragement for African-American artisits and visionaries. Free Within Ourselves is a step-by-step introduction to fictional technique, exploring story ideas, and charting one''s progress, as well as a resource guide for publishing fiction." For the legions of people who have a novel stuck in their word processors, help is finally on the way! Free Within Ourselves is an excellent guide to all the elements necessary to crafting fiction: character development, point of view, plot, atmosphere, dialogue, diction, sentence variety, and revision. Writing techniques are taught using exercises, journaling, story examples, and analyses of famous writing fragments, as well as several complete stories (including those of James Baldwin, Zora Neale Hurston, and Edwidge Dandicat, among others). The book is further enhanced by inspirational advice from successful contemporary black writers (such as Bebe Moore Campbell, Rita Dove, Henry Louis Gates, John Edgar Wideman, and others), a bibliography, and a guide to workshops, journals, magazines, contests, and fellowships supportive of black arts.

A magical coming-of-age story from Coretta Scott King honor author Jewell Parker Rhodes, rich with Southern folklore, friendship, family, fireflies and mermaids– plus an environmental twist. It''s city-girl Maddy''s first summer in the bayou, and she just falls in love with her new surroundings– the glimmering fireflies, the glorious landscape, and something else, deep within the water, that only she can see. Could it be a mermaid? As her grandmother shares wisdom about sayings and signs, Maddy realizes she may be the only sibling to carry on her family''s magical legacy. And when a disastrous oil leak threatens the bayou, she knows she may also be the only one who can help. But does she have what it takes to be a hero? A tale rich with folk magic, set in the wake of the Gulf oil spill, Bayou Magic celebrates hope and the magic within– and captures the wonder of life in the Deep South.

"A compelling page-turner that will keep readers hoping against hope that everything will somehow, magically, turn out for the best." — Atlanta Journal-Constitution With a new Afterword from the author reflecting on the 100th anniversary of one of the most heinous tragedies in American history—the 1921 burning of Greenwood, an affluent black section of Tulsa, Oklahoma, known as the "Negro Wall Street"—Jewell Parker Rhodes’ powerful and unforgettable novel of racism, vigilantism, and injustice, weaves history, mysticism, and murder into a harrowing tale of dreams and violence gone awry. Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1921. A white woman and a black man are alone in an elevator. Suddenly, the woman screams, the man flees, and the chase to capture and lynch him begins. When Joe Samuels, a young Black man with dreams of becoming the next Houdini, is accused of rape, he must perform his greatest escape by eluding a bloodthirsty mob. Meanwhile, Mary Keane, the white, motherless daughter of a farmer who wants to marry her off to the farmhand who viciously raped her, must find the courage to help exonerate the man she accused with her panicked cry. Magic City evokes one of the darkest chapters of twentieth century, Jim Crow America, painting an intimate portrait of the heroic but doomed stand that pitted the National Guard against a small band of black men determined to defend the prosperous town they had built.

It''s 1889, barely twenty-five years after the Emancipation Proclamation, and a young Black family is tired of working on land they don''t get to own. So when Will and his father hear about an upcoming land rush, they set out on a journey from Texas to

From New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jewell Parker Rhodes comes a heartbreaking and uplifting tale of survival in the face of Hurricane Katrina. Twelve-year-old Lanesha lives in a tight-knit community in New Orleans'' Ninth Ward. She doesn''t have a fancy house like her uptown family or lots of friends like the other kids on her street. But what she does have is Mama Ya-Ya, her fiercely loving caretaker, wise in the ways of the world and able to predict the future. So when Mama Ya-Ya''s visions show a powerful hurricane--Katrina--fast approaching, it''s up to Lanesha to call upon the hope and strength Mama Ya-Ya has given her to help them both survive the storm. From the New York Times bestselling author of Ghost Boys and Towers Falling, Ninth Ward is a deeply emotional story about transformation and a celebration of resilience, friendship, and family--as only love can define it.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection! From award-winning and bestselling author, Jewell Parker Rhodes comes a powerful coming-of-age story about two brothers, one who presents as white, the other as black, and the complex ways in which they are forced to navigate the world, all while training for a fencing competition. Framed. Bullied. Disliked. But I know I can still be the best. Sometimes, 12-year-old Donte wishes he were invisible. As one of the few black boys at Middlefield Prep, most of the students don''t look like him. They don''t like him either. Dubbing him "Black Brother," Donte''s teachers and classmates make it clear they wish he were more like his lighter-skinned brother, Trey. When he''s bullied and framed by the captain of the fencing team, "King" Alan, he''s suspended from school and arrested. Terrified, searching for a place where he belongs, Donte joins a local youth center and meets former Olympic fencer Arden Jones. With Arden''s help, he begins training as a competitive fencer, setting his sights on taking down the fencing team captain, no matter what. As Donte hones his fencing skills and grows closer to achieving his goal, he learns the fight for justice is far from over. Now Donte must confront his bullies, racism, and the corrupt systems of power that led to his arrest. Powerful and emotionally gripping, Black Brother, Black Brother is a careful examination of the school-to-prison pipeline and follows one boy''s fight against racism and his empowering path to finding his voice.

From award-winning and bestselling author Jewell Parker Rhodes comes a powerful coming-of-age survival tale exploring issues of race, class, and climate change.u200b Addy is haunted by the tragic fire that killed her parents, leaving her to be raised by her grandmother. Years later, Addy’s grandmother has enrolled her in a summer wilderness program. There, Addy joins five other Black city kids—each with their own troubles—to spend a summer out west. Deep in the forest the kids learn new (and to them) strange skills: camping, hiking, rock climbing, and how to start and safely put out campfires. Most important, they learn to depend upon each other for companionship and survival. But then comes a devastating forest fire… Addy is face-to-face with her destiny and haunting past. Developing her courage and resiliency against the raging fire, it’s up to Addy to lead her friends to safety. Not all are saved. But remembering her origins and grandmother’s teachings, she’s able to use street smarts, wilderness skills, and her spiritual intuition to survive. BCALA 2021 Best of the Best Book A Cadmus Children’s Fiction Award for the Green Earth Book Award winner

Bestselling and award-winning author Jewell Parker Rhodes reimagines the classic novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson in this thrilling adventure set in modern-day Manhattan, in which three children must navigate the city’s hidden history, dodge a threatening crew of skater kids, and decide who they can really trust in order to hunt down a long-buried treasure. Three kids. One dog. And the island of Manhattan, laid out in an old treasure map. Zane is itching for an adventure that will take him away from his family’s boarding house in Rockaway, Queens. So when he is entrusted with a real treasure map, leading to a spot somewhere in Manhattan, Zane wastes no time in riding the ferry over to the city to start the search with his friends Kiko and Jack and his dog, Hip-Hop. Through strange coincidence, they meet a man who is eager to help them find the treasure: John, a sailor who knows all about the buried history of Black New Yorkers of centuries past—and the gold that is hidden somewhere in those stories. As a vicious rival skateboard crew follows them around the city, Zane and his friends begin to wonder who they can really trust. And soon it becomes clear that treasure hunting is a dangerous business… Jewell Parker Rhodes has written a version of Treasure Island like none you’ve never seen—one that takes the reader through little-known Black history, and under the city of Manhattan itself.

A novel focusing on the life of Frederick Douglass explores the romantic passions that drove the abolitionist to love two women--one black and one white.

In college and graduate school, Jewell Parker Rhodes never encountered a single reading assignment or exercise that featured a person of color. Now she has made it her mission to rectify the situation, gathering advice and inspiring tips tailored for African Americans seeking to express their life experiences. Comprehensive and totally energizing, the African American Guide to Writing and Publishing Nonfiction bursts with supportive topics such as: ·Finding your voice ·Getting to know your literary ancestors ·Overcoming a bruised ego and finding the determination to pursue your dreams ·Gathering material and conducting research ·Tapping sweet, bittersweet, and joyful memories ·Knowing when to keep revising, and when to let go The guide also features unforgettable excerpts from luminaries such as Maya Angelou, Brent Staples, Houston Baker, and pointers from bestselling African American authors Patrice Gaines, E. Lynn Harris, James McBride, John Hope Franklin, Pearl Cleage, Edwidge Danticat, and many others. It is a uniquely nurturing and informative touchstone for affirming, bearing witness, leaving a legacy, and celebrating the remarkable journey of the self.

Season In Season (formerly titled Voodoo Season), Jewell Parker Rhodes revisits the sensual, magical landscape of her highly acclaimed debut novel, Voodoo Dreams. Moon In the second part of the New Orleans trilogy that began with Voodoo Season, Rhodes takes on an ancient African vampire in today’s Big Easy, where thrilling chills await. Hurricane In the stunning conclusion to award-winning author Jewell Parker Rhodes’s mystery trilogy, Dr. Marie Lavant, descendent of Voodoo queen Marie Laveau, must confront a murderous evil in New Orleans.

Foreword by Jewell Parker Rhodes. In this powerful collection of stories based on African, black American and Biblical proverbs, some of today''s most exciting new black American writers tackle the unifying themes, delicious wit and undeniable wisdom of the proverbs, making them sing for a whole new generation. Features contributions from best-selling authors Margaret Johnson-Hodge and Timmothy McCann, amongst many others.

From award-winning author Jewell Parker Rhodes comes a powerful novel set fifteen years after the 9/11 attacks in a classroom of students who cannot remember the event but live through the aftermath of its cultural shift. When her fifth-grade teacher hints that a series of lessons about home and community will culminate with one big answer about two tall towers once visible outside their classroom window, Dèja can''t help but feel confused. She sets off on a journey of discovery, with new friends Ben and Sabeen by her side. But just as she gets closer to answering big questions about who she is, what America means, and how communities can grow (and heal), she uncovers new questions, too. Like, why does Pop get so angry when she brings up anything about the towers? Award-winning author Jewell Parker Rhodes tells a powerful story about young people who weren''t alive to witness this defining moment in history, but begin to realize how much it colors their every day.

Offers a collection of anecdotes, advice, and life lessons that the author''s grandmother told her throughout her childhood.

Marie Levant begins her medical residency in New Orleans''s Charity Hospital in the wake of culture shock and increasingly violent dreams, which give way to an awareness of her ancestral heritage as an African and a voodoo queen.