Faith Ringgold

Names the people and objects that make a girl's New York City apartment, school, and neighborhood special.

A biography of the African American woman and civil rights worker whose refusal to give up her seat on a bus led to a boycott which lasted more than a year in Montgomery, Alabama.

Mama and Papa Love have a child, the Invisible Princess, who saves them and the other plantation slaves from their cruel master so that they can all find happiness in the Invisible Village of Peace, Freedom, and Love.

Cassie counts all the good things that will be part of a special picnic that she and her family and neighbors share on their rooftop Tar Beach.

Join Cassie as she gets ready for a colorful outing with Daddy to the ice cream parlor.

The author recounts the life of Martin Luther King in the form of her own dream. Illustrated in full color. Through the author's dream, key events in the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., are recalled in this picture book, which also explains the impact of his life on humanity. The acclaimed author/illustrator of the Caldecott Honor Book Tar Beach recounts her unique vision of Martin Luther King, Jr. by describing a dream she had about the great civil rights leader. The dream includes scenes of King's childhood and the major events of his life, from the boycott of the segregated buses to his "I Have a Dream" speech to his assassination. Illustrated in Ringgold's signature folk-art style, the text includes the author's own personal vision, in which she imagines the people of the world gathering in King's memory to trade prejudice, fear, and hate for hope, peace, and love.

An African-American Jewish boy traces his ancestry with the help of the Love Bird of Paris.

An interactive biography of the African American artist and children's book author, detailing her experiences, perspectives, and the inspiration for her art. At intervals in the text, the reader is asked related questions.

Dinner at Aunt Connie's is even more special than usual when Melody meets not only her new adopted cousin but twelve inspiring African-American women, who step out of their portraits and join the family for dinner.

Faith Ringgold's artworks - startling "story quilts," politically charged paintings, and more - hang in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum, and other major museums around the world, as well as in the private collections of Maya Angelou, Bill Cosby, and Oprah Winfrey. Her children's books, including the Caldecott Honor-winning Tar Beach have sold hundreds of thousands of copies. But Ringgold's path to success has not been easy. Now, in this gorgeously illustrated memoir, she looks back and shares the story of her struggles, growth, and triumphs.

With Harriet Tubman as her guide, Cassie retraces the steps escaping slaves took on the Underground Railroad in order to reunite with her younger brother.

Cassie Louise Lightfoot, eight years old in 1939, has a dream: to be free to go wherever she wants for the rest of her life. One night, up on "tar beach" --the rooftop of her family's Harlem apartment building--her dream comes true. The stars lift her up, and she flies over the city. She claims the buildings as her own--even the union building, so her father won't have to worry anymore about not being allowed to join just because his father was not a member. As Cassie learns, anyone can fly. "All you need is somewhere to go you can't get to any other way. The next thing you know, you're flying above the stars." This magical story resonates with a universal wish. Originally written by Faith Ringgold for her story quilt of the same name, Tar Beach is a seamless weaving of fiction, autobiography, and African-American history and literature. - Author website.

Caldecott Honor artist Faith Ringgold takes readers on an unforgettable journey through the Harlem Renaissance when Lonnie and his uncle Bates go back to Harlem in the 1920s. Along the way, they meet famous writers, musicians, artists, and athletes, from Langston Hughes and W.E.B. Du Bois to Josephine Baker and Zora Neale Hurston and many more, who created this incredible period. And after an exciting day of walking with giants, Lonnie fully understands why the Harlem Renaissance is so important.

"This book presents over 100 unique handmade African American dolls made between 1850 and 1930 from the collection of Deborah Neff, a Connecticut-based collector and champion of vernacular art. It is believed that African Americans created these dolls for the children in their lives, including members of their own families and respective communities as well as white children in their charge. Acquired over the last 25 years, this renowned collection is considered to be one of the finest of its kind ever to be assembled. The dolls portray faithful yet stylized representations of young and old African Americans-playful boys and girls, well-dressed gentlemen, elegant young ladies, and distinguished older men and women. Made with scraps of cloth, ribbon and lace, or old socks, and stuffed with wool or cotton, these unusual dolls are charming and full of emotional spirit. Their faces are embroidered, stitched and painted to express a variety of emotions, each representing a fascinating story of culture and identity in American history. The book also features an assortment of rare vintage photographs from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, showing both black and white children holding, posing or playing with their dolls. After five years of combing the archives of museums, historical societies and private collections, the research done for this volume uncovered fascinating vernacular photographs of African American children holding white dolls and Caucasian children holding black dolls-but there was not a single image of an African American person holding a black doll. This complex combination of text and imagery has helped transform this book into a commentary about social mobility and racial identity conveyed through the untold story of these dolls. In an essay, renowned artist Faith Ringgold addresses the inherent prejudices of this work as well as her personal connection with the medium. Also included are essays by Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Margo Jefferson and writer Lyle Rexer"--

A biography of Henry Ossawa Tanner, an African American painter who was schooled in Philadelphia in one of the few secondary schools for Blacks. He then studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Tanner later moved to France as he had heard that Black artists were accepted there with less prejudice. His paintings were annually shown in the Paris Salon and in 1923 he was made a chevalier of the Order of the Legion of Honor, France's highest award for an artist.