"A powerful story." -The Horn Book "A worthy addition to children's biography collections." -Booklist "A solid treatment of an important but little-known figure, and it may prompt kids to think about the role and composition of a free press." -BCCB "Cline-Ransome tells [Ethel Payne's] story with economy and drive. 'Somebody had to do the fighting,' she quotes Payne saying, 'somebody had to speak up.'" -Publishers Weekly Renowned author Lesa Cline-Ransome and celebrated illustrator John Parra unite to tell the inspiring story of Ethel Payne, a groundbreaking African American journalist known as the First Lady of the Black Press. "I've had a box seat on history." Ethel Payne always had an ear for stories. Seeking truth, justice, and equality, Ethel followed stories from her school newspaper in Chicago to Japan during World War II. It even led her to the White House briefing room, where she broke barriers as the only black female journalist. Ethel wasn't afraid to ask the tough questions of presidents, elected officials, or anyone else in charge, earning her the title, "First Lady of the Black Press." Fearless and determined, Ethel Payne shined a light on the darkest moments in history, and her ear for stories sought answers to the questions that mattered most in the fight for Civil Rights.

Before Rosa Parks famously refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin made the same choice. She insisted on standing up - or in her case, sitting down - for what was right, and in doing so, fought for equality, fairness, and justice. In this chapter book biography by award-winning author Lesa Cline-Ransome, readers learn about the amazing life of Claudette Colvin - and how she persisted. Complete with an introduction from Chelsea Clinton!

When Lizzie's parents are granted their freedom from slavery, Mama says its time for Lizzie and her brother Paul to go to a real school--a new one, built just for them. Lizzie can't wait. The scraps of learning she has picked up here and there have just made her hungry for more.
The walk to school is long. Some days it's rainy, or windy, or freezing cold. Sometimes there are dangers lurking along the way, like angry white folks with rocks, or mysterious men on horseback. The schoolhouse is still unpainted, and its very plain, but Lizzie has never seen a prettier sight. Except for maybe the teacher, Mizz Howard, who has brown skin, just like her.
They've finally made it to Freedom's School. But will it be strong enough to stand forever?
Praise for Light in the Darkness
"In this tale, Cline-Ransome] makes the point that learning was not just a dream of a few famous and accomplished men and women, but one that belonged to ordinary folk willing to risk their lives. Ransome's full-page watercolor paintings-in beautiful shades of blue for the night and yellow for the day-are a window, albeit somewhat gentle, into a slave's life for younger readers. A compelling story about those willing to risk " a] lash for each letter." -Kirkus Reviews
"Told from the perspective of Rosa, a girl who makes the dangerous nighttime journey to the lessons with her mother, the story effectively conveys the urgent dedication of the characters to their surreptitious schooling and their belief in the power of literacy...Solid text and soft, skillful illustrations combine for a poignant tribute to the power of education and the human spirit."-School Library Journal

This powerful and inspiring collection features 21 female trailblazers in their sport, perfect for fans of Women in Sports and Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls!
Before girls wore pants or women were permitted to swim in bathing suits at public beaches, who paved the way for women in sports? And who's breaking new ground today?

This anthology introduces 21 trailblazing women who have broken through the boundaries set for female athletes. From basketball slam-dunker Lisa Leslie to tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams, whose father had onlookers jeer at and taunt the girls as they practiced, to Paralympian Tatyana McFadden, who was a speed demon even at her Russian orphanage before she was adopted, to Olympic gold medalist Ethelda Bleibtrey, who was led off to jail when she shed her shoes and stockings to swim in public, Not Playing by the Rules inspires, informs, and illustrates the strength, determination, and accomplishments of women athletes both yesterday and today.

With powerful photographs and hand-lettered, inspirational quotes from the athletes themselves, this is a collection every young girl should own.

The featured athletes include Ethelda Bleibtrey, Bobbi Gibb, Althea Gibson, Gabby Douglas, Flo Hyman, Lisa Leslie, Mia Hamm, Tatyana McFadden, Mo'ne Davis, Ibtihaj Muhammad, Diana Golden, Constance Applebee, Lizzie Arlington, Babe Didrikson, Alice Coachman, Joy Johnson, Nancy Lieberman, Nadia Com neci, Venus and Serena Williams, and Yusra Mardini.

The story of a groundbreaking civil rights leader, John Lewis, comes to life in this compelling and beautifully told nonfiction picture book. John Lewis left a cotton farm in Alabama to join the fight for civil rights when he was only a teenager. He soon became a leader of a movement that changed the nation. Walking at the side of his mentor, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Lewis was led by his belief in peaceful action and voting rights. Today and always his work and legacy live on.

Bug Club Comprehension is part of Pearson's Bug Club - the first whole-school phonics-based reading programme that joins books with an online reading world to teach today's children to read. Bug Club Phonics gives you a fun, firm foundation in phonics! This pack contains 12 copies of The Road to Freedom. Emma and her mother are slaves on a plantation. One day Mama hears that the master plans to sell some of the children and decides that she and Emma have to run away before Emma is sent to auction. The following night they set off through the woods and across a frozen river. They make a shelter out of sticks and leaves, desperately hoping to avoid the slave catcher. Children will discuss the concepts of slavery and freedom and explore the characters' motivations for running away. Suitable for children age 10-11 (Year 6)

Rosa and her mama go to school together-in the dark of night, silently, afraid that any noise they hear is a patroller on the lookout for escaped slaves. Their school is literally a hole in the ground, where they and other slaves of all ages gather to form letters out of sticks, scratch letters in the dirt, and pronounce their sounds in whispers. Young Rosa is eager to learn the letters and then the words, because after the words comes reading. But she must have patience, her mama reminds her, and keep her letters to herself when she's working on the plantation. If the Master catches them, it'll mean a whipping-one lash for each letter. No matter how slow and dangerous the process might be, Rosa is determined to learn, and pass on her learning to others.

"The lively narrative...focuses on [Venus and Serena Williams's] determination to succeed and their close relationship." --Kirkus Reviews

Venus and Serena Williams are two of the greatest tennis players of all time. Some say they're two of the greatest athletes of all time. Before they were world famous, they were little girls with big dreams.

Venus and Serena Williams. Two peas in a pod. Best friends. Sisters.

Six days a week they awoke before the sun came up to practice their serves and returns, to learn to run faster and hit harder. They were unstoppable. At age fourteen, Venus played her first professional match. Three years later, it was Serena's turn. It wasn't easy. Some tennis fans cheered for these two fresh faces, while those who were unhappy to see two black girls competing in a nearly all-white sport booed and taunted them. But they didn't let it stop them.

With vibrant mixed media art, nonfiction superstars Lesa Cline-Ransome and Coretta Scott King Honor winner James E. Ransome share the inspirational story of two tennis legends who were fierce competitors on the courts, but close sisters above all.