African-American

We Beat the Street: How a Friendship Led to Success

Posted on September 15, 2013 by webmaster

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We Beat the Street: How a Friendship Led to Success
by Sampson Davis

Sampson, George, and Rameck could easily have followed their childhood friends into drug dealing, gangs, and prison. Like their peers, they came from poor, single-parent homes in urban neighborhoods where survival, not scholastic success, was the priority. When the three boys met in a magnet high school in Newark, they recognized each other as kindred spirits who wanted to overcome the incredible odds against them and reach for opportunity.

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They made a friendship pact, deciding together to take on the biggest challenge of their lives: attending college and then medical school. Along the way they made mistakes and faced disappointments, but by working hard, finding the right mentors, separating themselves from negative influences, and supporting each other, they achieved their goals-and more.

Lexile Level	Content Rating	Number of Pages	Genre	Date Published	ISBN Number
860L	High School	183	Drama	2003	0399239901

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Posted on July 1, 2013 by webmaster

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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
by Maya Angelou

After Maya Johnson, age five, is raped while visiting her mother in St. Louis, she and her older brother Bailey are returned to the loving care of Momma Henderson (the children’s grandmother) in Stamps, Arkansas. Because of her traumatic experience, Maya stops speaking – even five years after the incident. She becomes instead a keen observer of her surroundings, particularly with the racial politics and divisions in her town.

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Mrs. Bertha Flowers, an “aristocrat of Black Stamps,” helps Maya get back on her feet. She tells Maya: “Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with the shades of deeper meaning.”

It is with these lines that Maya Johnson’s voice becomes alive. A historical autobiography that depicts one woman’s survival through adolescence, breaking down racial barriers, and becoming a mother; all the while showing the trials, motivations and triumphs that come along with being outcast from society.

Lexile Level	Content Rating	Number of Pages	Genre	Date Published	ISBN Number
1070L	High School	246	Autobiographical	1969	0553279378

Monster

Posted on July 1, 2013 by webmaster

Monster
by Walter Dean Myers

“Monster!”

That is what the lady prosecutor called Steve Harmon, a sixteen-year-old black teenager. Steve’s story begins when he is charged as an accomplice to murder. While in prison, Steve passes the time by writing his story like a screenplay. In it he tells of his fears, his past, and the events of his own murder trial. Is Steve a monster or was he merely in the wrong place at the wrong time? Will Steve be freed, or will his worst fear of spending the rest of his life in prison come to pass? As his lawyer Miss O’Brien tells him, “You’re young, you’re black, and you’re on trial. What else do they need to know?”

Lexile Level	Content Rating	Number of Pages	Genre	Date Published	ISBN Number
670L	Middle School	281	Drama	1999	0060280778