Birmingham, 1963

In spare free verse, a fictional eyewitness offers an account of the bombing of Sixteenth Street

Baptist Church and tributes to the four girls who died in that tragedy.

Wordsong, 2007

Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award

 Starred reviews: Kirkus Reviews, Library Media Connections, School Library Journal

Best Book: Librarians Choices

Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane

Ill. by Sean Qualls

Henry Holt, April 2007

Hear the sounds of the jazz legend's southern childhood.

.Peep some spreads in Sean Qualls' blog.

See Coltrane jam.

Champions on the Bench:

The 1955 Cannon Street YMCA All-Stars

Ill. by Leonard Jenkins

Dial Books for Young Readers, 2007

Bank Street College Best Children's Books of 2007

Favorite Books of 2007, Birmingham Public Library

Freedom on the Menu:

The Greensboro Sit-Ins

Ill. by Jerome Lagarrigue

Dial Books for Young Readers, 2005

North Carolina Juvenile Literature Award

Bank Street College Best Children's Books of 2005

North Carolina Children's Book Award Finalist

Notable Book, National Council for the Social Studies

Now in paperback!

Lesson plan

Banana Split Bookmark

Review of Picture Books on Segregation

Writing & Researching the Book

Sidewalk Chalk: Poems of the City

Ill. by Dimitrea Tokunbo

Boyds Mills Press/Wordsong, 2002

Now in paperback!

Bank Street College Best Children's Books of 2003

Lesson ideas: Sidewalk Chalk Poetry Fest

Reproducible:

Who Needs Poetry? bookmark

The Carolina Parakeet:

America's Lost Parrot in Art and Memory

Avian Publications, 2005

A cautionary tale combining natural history, culture and sentiment .

Press Kit

Hear a radio interview

(See air date of 12/14/2005)

Grandma and Me; Me & the Family Tree;
Mighty Menfolk; and My Favorite Toy

Preschool board books

Ill. by Michelle Mills

Black Butterfly Books, 1997

Special order from author

The Sound that Jazz Makes

Ill. by Eric Velasquez

Walker Books, 2001 (out of print/sson to be reissued)

Carter G. Woodson Award, National Council for the Social Studies

NAACP Image Award Finalist

Notable Book, National Council of Teachers of English

Notable Book, National Council for the Social Studies

Lesson materials: Timeline & discography

I, Matthew Henson

Ill. by Eric Velasquez

Walker Publishing, 2008

Starred reviews: Publisher's Weekly, Booklist

School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews,

Jesse Owens: Fastest Man Alive

Ill. by Eric Velasquez

Walker Publishing, 2007

Starred reviews: Publisher's Weekly,

School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews

Dear Mr. Rosenwald

Ill. by R. Gregory Christie

Scholastic Press, 2006

SCBWI Golden Kite Honor for Picture Book Text

NAACP Image Award Finalist

Starred reviews: Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal,

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books,  Book Sense Children's Picks List

Best Book: IRA Notable Books for a Global Society, Librarians' Choices, Louisville Courier-Journal, Wilde Awards; Notable Book, National Council for the Social Studies

Author Q&A

The Rosenwald Schools Initiative

Rosenwald Schools in North Carolina

A Negro League Scrapbook

Lively verse, fascinating facts and historic photos

from all-black baseball's glory days.

Boyds Mills Press, 2005

IRA Notable Books for a Global Society 

Lesson Plan
Sign a Pledge to remember the Negro Leagues.

Hear Carole's commentary from NPR's News & Notes.

Remember the Bridge: Poems of a People

Philomel Books, 2002

North Carolina Juvenile Literature Award

Teachers' Choices, International Reading Association

Notable Book, National Council for the Social Studies

Notable Book of the English Language Arts

Bank Street College Best Children's Books of 2003

Center for Children's Books Best Books of 2002

Poetry Pick, Voices of Youth Advocates

Lesson ideas

Jazz Baby

A jazz pat-a-cake

lll. by Laura Freeman

Lee & Low Books, 2002

Now in paperback and Spanish!

Peek inside.

Sink or Swim:

African-American Lifesavers

of the Outer Banks

(Out of print/soon to be reissued)

Character education connections

Juneteenth Jamboree

Ill. by Yvonne Buchanan

Lee & Low Books, 2002

Now in paperback and Spanish!

The African-American Struggle

for Legal Equality

Enslow Publishers, 2003

The African-American Struggle

for Legal Equality

Enslow Publishers, 2000

Upcoming Titles
Becoming Billie Holiday (Boyds Mills/Wordsong)

Racing Against the Odds (Marshall Cavendish)

The Library Ghost (Upstart)

Poetry for Adults
The Tan Chanteuse

North Carolina Writers' Network

Harperprints Chapbook Competition winner, 1995
The Tar Baby on the Soapbox

Longleaf Press, 2001.

Read excerpt.
Stormy Blues

Xavier Review Press, 2003.
Read selected poems from books and journals.
Hear Rosa Parks tribute poem that aired on NPR.

Other North Carolina Authors