Meet Jerry Lawson, the Black engineer who revolutionized the video game industry, in this engaging picture book biography perfect for fans of Whoosh!: Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions and Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History. Before Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo Switch, there was a tinkerer named Jerry Lawson. As a boy, Jerry loved playing with springs, sprockets, and gadget-y things. When he grew up, Jerry became an engineer—a professional tinkerer—and in the 1970s, he turned his technical know-how to video games. Back then, if players wanted a new video game, they had to buy an entire new console, making gaming very expensive. Jerry was determined to fix this problem, and despite roadblocks along the way and having to repeat a level or two, it was never game over for his mission. Eventually, he leveled up and built a brand-new kind of video game console: one that allowed players to switch out cartridges! He also founded Video Soft, Inc., the first African American–owned video game company in the country. Jerry’s tinkering and inventions changed the video gaming world forever. Today, gamers have access to hundreds of video games at the push of a button, all thanks to him. Game on!

From acclaimed author and illustrator Don Tate, the rousing story of Ernie Barnes, an African American pro football player and fine artist He realized how football and art were one and the same. Both required rhythm. Both required technique. Passing, pulling, breaking down the field-that was an art. Young Ernie Barnes wasn't like other boys his age. Bullied for being shy, overweight, and uninterested in sports like boys were "supposed" to be, he instead took refuge in his sketchbook, in vibrant colors, bold brushstrokes, and flowing lines. But growing up in a poor, Black neighborhood during the 1930s, opportunities to learn about art were rare, and art museums were off-limits because of segregation laws. Discouraged and tired of being teased, Ernie joined the school football team. Although reluctant at first, he would soon become a star. But art remained in Ernie's heart and followed him through high school, college, and into the NFL. Ernie saw art all around him: in the dynamic energy of the game, the precision of plays, and the nimble movement of his teammates. He poured his passion into his game and his craft, and became famous as both a professional athlete and as an artist whose paintings reflected his love of the sport and celebrated Black bodies as graceful and beautiful. He played for the Baltimore Colts (1959-60), Titans of New York (1960), San Diego Chargers (1960-62), and the Denver Broncos (1963-64). In 1965, Barnes signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Canada, but fractured his right foot, which ended his professional football career. Soon after, he met New York Jets owner Sonny Werblin, who was impressed by Barnes and his art. In 1966, Barnes had a debut solo exhibition in New York City, sponsored by Werblin at the Grand Central Art Galleries; all the paintings were sold. Barnes became so well-known as an artist that one of his paintings was featured in the opening credits of the TV show Good Times, and he was commissioned to create official posters for the Los Angeles 1984 Summer Olympics. From award-winning author and illustrator Don Tate, Pigskins to Paintbrushes is the inspiring story of Ernie Barnes, who defined himself on his own terms and pushed the boundaries of "possible," from the field to the canvas. The back matter includes Barnes's photograph and his official Topps trading card. Also included are an author's note, endnotes, a bibliography, and a list of websites where Barnes's work can be seen.

Meet Roto and Roy, helicopter heroes! When a dangerous forest fire burns out of control, helicopter Roto and pilot Roy are ready to fly to the rescue! They're braver than brave, tougher than tough, and nothing will stop this firefighting crew from completing their mission. From Sherri Duskey Rinker, bestselling author of the Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site series, and award-winning illustrator Don Tate, this action-packed series starter will have kids cheering for two awesome new heroes-and imagining how they might save the day themselves!

What happens when the family closes the front door and leaves the house for an outing? "The head of cabbage, sitting in the fridge, hears the front door close, hears the click of the key He looks out sees his people leave. He stands in the middle of the floor throws his head back and yells, "PAR-TAY!" Children and adults will experience this house party through the buoyant, rhythmic words of Eloise Greenfield and the playful, exuberant illustrations of Don Tate. Read and join the PAR-TAY!

The true story of the high-flying Harlem Globetrotters -- the team that changed basketball forever. In this book you will find one-finger ball-spinning, rapid-fire mini-dribbling, and a ricochet head shot! You will find skilled athletes, expert players, and electrifying performers--all rolled into one! You will find nonstop, give-it-all-you've-got, out-to-win-it, sky's-the-limit BASKETBALL! You will find THE HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS, who played the most groundbreaking, breathtaking ball the world had ever seen, and played a pivotal role in the desegregation of the National Basketball League (later, the NBA). With rhythmic writing and dynamic illustrations, Swish! is a celebration of the greatness, goodness, and grit of this remarkable team.

This rip-roaring rescue adventure series by bestselling author Sherri Duskey Rinker and award-winning artist Don Tate celebrates the teamwork of man and machine! When a flash flood threatens a nearby town, helicopter Roto and pilot Roy soar to the rescue! Quick-a truck needs to be hoisted to safety! Hurry-that family's car is being swept away! Now grab as many sandbags and supplies as you can carry! This mission's going to be rough, but Roy and Roto are tougher than tough. From Sherri Duskey Rinker, bestselling author of the Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site series, and acclaimed illustrator Don Tate, this action-packed story showcases two awesome heroes and the power of teamwork.

John Roy Lynch spent most of his childhood as a slave in Mississippi, but all of that changed with the Emancipation Proclamation. Suddenly people like John Roy could have paying jobs and attend school. While many people in the South were unhappy with the social change, John Roy thrived in the new era. He was appointed to serve as justice of the peace and was eventually elected into the United States Congress. This biography, with its informative backmatter and splendid illustrations, gives readers an in-depth look at the Reconstruction period through the life of one of the fi rst African-American congressmen.

May 1969 the Vietnam War Atrocities, Curruption, Murder. The Falsification of History. Anzacs Betrayed is a companion piece to the best-selling memoir, The War Within. Don Tate now provides an in-depth analysis of one of the most sordid matters in Australian military history, the deletion of the 2nd D&E Platoon from all the histories of the Vietnam War and his 38 year battle to have it reinstated. It is a story of many parts- but at it's heart, it is a story of betrayal. Not only the betrayal of the thirty-nine Infantry Privates who formed the ad hoc, 2nd D&E Platoon in Vietnam during 1969, but a story the gatekeepers of our military heritage don't want told- the 'red hats' of the military establishment, and the historians of the Australian War Memorial. And there is good reason why- because it turns on its head the romanticised image of Anzac and the noble traditions of the Australian Defence Force. Don Tate volunteered to go to the Vietnam War as a naive, but patriotic nineteen year old boy in 1969 and served as an infantry reinforcement with three units - the 4th Battalion, the 2nd D&E Platoon, and the 9th Battalion. He was badly wounded in action on the 19th July 1969 and was hospitalised for more than two years. Many years later, he learned that not only hadn't he been recorded with the 9th Battalion, but that all trace of the 2nd D&E Platoon had been erased from the histories of the Vietnam War. Worse, that the curruptions of his service records (and those of every man who fought in the platoon) was the result of a cover-up of atrocities that reached the highest levels of the military and the government.

"'...a memoir that is at once dramatic, disturbing, sexually charged, and often very funny, but ultimately a moving portrait of a man who has found the inner strength to overcome....' - Paul Ham, international journalist and author"

This is a complex, virtuoso analysis of an Australian life written by an unabashed and unrepentant author-an acidic dissection of the role that genes and environment have in developing a person's character, as well as a sauntering chronicle of social analysis.

In turn, we follow the life of the author as he comes to terms with being a disaffected youth, a patriotic but naive infantryman in the Vietnam War, and an alienated, disabled veteran struggling with male status anxiety-apparently inexhaustible in its capacity to cause suffering. Along the way, Tate examines the dark crevices of the male psyche as he battles inner demons and the unconditional love of his beautiful Christian wife, Carole.

Above all, this memoir is a celebration of the human condition and of a man with a can-do, cavalier attitude to life and his desire to rise above mediocrity.

An outstanding contribution to Australia's rich heritage of memoir.