New Releases by Julius Lester

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

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.

A prose retelling of Shakespeare''s play in which a jealous general is duped into thinking that his wife has been unfaithful, with tragic consequences.

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...

Whether he is besting Brer Fox or sneaking into Mr. Man''s garden, Brer Rabbit is always teaching a valuable lesson. These classic tales are full of wit, humor, and creativity, and Julius Lester brings an added contemporary sense to these forty-eight timeless stories.

PITR L2NF Uncle John''s Top Secret

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.

Through flashbacks, foreshadowing, and shifting first-person points of view, readers will travel with Emma and others through time and space. They come to discover that every decision has its consequences, and final judgment is passed down not by man, but by his maker.

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.

Retells the life of the legendary African American hero who raced against a steam drill to cut through a mountain.

Highlights the careers of Bessie Smith, Robert Johnson, Mahalia Jackson, Muddy Waters, Billie Holiday, B.B. King, Ray Charles, Little Richard, James Brown, and Aretha Franklin.

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

Paintings by Rod Brown and text by Julius Lester vividly tell the story of slavery in America.

Aan een oude zwarte dominee uit Mississippi trekken op zijn sterfbed mensen en gebeurtenissen voorbij die een rol speelden bij het rassenconflict.

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

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.