The story of the Underground Railroad is presented in a magical, yet understandable way for primary school children. Cassie and her brother begin a journey to freedom, just like generations before them did in order to escape slavery. Cassie and her brother learn about slavery and the reasons why so many braved the perilous journey to the northern states and Canada. Cassie relives the journey and experiences many of the feelings and events that others did as she desperately tries to catch up to her brother, who has boarded the "train". The illustrations of acrylic on canvas enhance and heighten the excitement as Cassie makes her way through the woods and meets with those willing to help her. I recommend this book to others as a great way to explain the concept of the Underground Railroad and it's place in our country's history.

This book is fantastic - its illustrations are haunting and lovely, and the story is magical and historical at the same time. Faith Ringgold's approach makes the history simpler for children to understand while not undermining the depth and horror of slavery in America. I highly recommend it to any parent.

"One day, my brother Be Be and I were flying among the stars, way way up, so far up the mountains looked like pieces of rock candy and the oceans like tiny cups of tea. We came across an old ramshackled train in the sky." So begins Cassie Louise Lightfoot's tale of meeting "conductor" Harriet Tubman and riding the underground railroad to Canada. Based on Harriet Tubman's account of a dream she had while very sick, of flying to freedom and enhanced with historical facts and imagination, Faith Ringgold has authored a superb story that transports youngsters back to the slave holding plantations of the south, over one hundred years ago, and then sends them on a terrifying, yet exhilarating journey to freedom. Her engaging poetic text, full of imagery and magic, is complemented by her bold, expressive, evocative illustrations and together, word and art bring this emotional story to life. With additional biographical notes and map, tracing the underground railroad routes, included to augment lessons and discussions, Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad In The Sky is a masterpiece youngsters 6-10 shouldn't miss and a wonderful addition to all home libraries.

It was very difficult for my students to sit through this book. It was PACKED full of useful information on many different women, but didn't have much of an overall story to keep the listeners interested. It went from woman to woman to woman, teling about each life story and accomplishment. It caused the children to think divergently. The storyline was touched upon briefly, mostly at the beginning and at the end. Personally, I liked this book because I enjoy black history. However, I do not advise reading this book to a large group of small children.

My name is also Connie so I found this book quite interesting and so did my neice and nephew! The story was a great way to introduce several different African-Americans and their accomplishments in a very novel way. I found it to be quite an inspiring story. I am also a teacher. My class really enjoyed the book. The suspense built by the author kept my students actively engaged. They enjoyed painting their own portraits after hearing the story!

Dr. Farrington's book is very well written, receptive to both novices and patrons of art. She examines Faith Ringgold's bold "American People" series and the subtile, yet captivating "Feminist" paintings in exacting detail and of how they reflect the political mood of the Black Power movement and Negro tokenism and the bourgeoisie of the 60's and 70's. Dr. Farrington also notes many of the principals who sponsored and guided Faith Ringgold toward notoriety. If only the paintings in the book were in color(!); however, the illustrations are nonetheless compelling and the book is a rare and thorough examination of a very difficult life, Ms. Ringgold circumventing educational and artistic sexism and racism from the 40's and throughout. Faith Ringgold is a spirit beyond her obstacles. At a time when feminist and sexual politics have been trivialized and racist policies often thought obsolete, Dr. Farrington's profile is a bittersweet reflection of a Black woman's true determination against social divisions that exist to this day.

If you liked Tar Beach, you will love the board book for your baby. Full of color and vivid pages. And if you liked this one you should buy Tar Beach also.

If a bus could talk is about a little girl named Marcie who steps onto a bus that can talk. The bus tells her that she is ridng on the Rosa Parks bus. Then the bus tells her about Rosa Park's life and about Martin Luther King and the bus boycott. I learned alot about Rosa Park's life from reading this book, and I would recommend If a Bus Could Talk to any child who doesn't know much about the civil rights movement.

The Invisible Princess is an enchanting 'fairy tale' that draws on African American Slave myths and legends. As always, Ringgold provides fascinating background information at the close of the story. The only character on the plantation who can see the daughter of two slaves, the Invisible Princess, is the plantation owner's blind daughter. He is forced to make a powerful decision that changes his life, and the lives of many people. Creatures and forces of nature are personified utilizing a range of gender and race. Ms. Ringgold's illustrations are in keeping with her unique style, though I've been yearning for another with the quilt motif.

This is the first book I've read by this author and it will be quite a stretch to get me to read another. Only through sheer willpower did I convince myself to read halfway through this text in desperate search for a plot. The plot finally started to reveal itself, but it was so weak, I couldn't believe anyone would use it as the basis for a novel. I've got to confess - I never finished the book. I NEVER quit midstream in a book (I attacked Moby Dick three times before finishing it!), but I finally conceded that I had better uses for my time than trying to plod through the rest of this weak effort.

I'm an unashamed MacDonald acolyte. A completely biased fan. Seek objectivity elsewhere.

This is MacDonald's last published novel. He died soon and suddenly before paperback publication of this swiftly and briskly told entertainment, full of the utterly believable characterizations for which MacDonald has always been particularly esteemed.

MacDonald has always been a writer's writer. From Stephen King to Dean Koontz and just about every kind of popular novelist from this half of the century (and from more than a few highly-admired literary novelists), you can read unstinting praise for MacDonald. His work influenced and inspired over a generation of popular novelists, and in his particular specialty, the procedural crime thriller, he may well be peerless.

In Barrier Island, the plot may keep you turning the pages (another MacDonald specialty: by the time he reached his artistic maturity his tales unfolded with the spooky, organic precision of an amoeba digesting a bit of flotsam; not a seam or dumb loose end to be found); but it's the mastery of language (and through it the mastery of character) that makes the page-turning worth doing: in this, his last novel, MacDonald had honed his prose down to an almost austere simplicity that camoflages his enormous craft. MacDonald advanced as a writer through the evolution of his language. Even in some of his early novels there are moments of Art, with a capital "A," but here, in this last work, there is Art everywhere. The irony of this clean prose revealing the utter messiness of human affairs (about which MacDonald knew more than most), is part of what makes this novel Art, not just another light entertainment.

And it is this very quality of language that will have the last page resonating in your head and heart long after you've closed the back cover.

This book is extremely DARK.

While I absolutely LOVE multi-cultural books and am raising my daughter with cultural and racial awareness and sensitivity, I cannot recommend this book AT ALL. I picked it up, as I liked the title and thought my daughter would like to hear/read a children's story from France.

Unfortunately, this is one of the worst books I have ever seen. I feel compelled to warn others about it. While it does indeed delve into cultural diversity, it goes WAY TOO FAR! It talks about World War I and II, using adult words, such as "renaissance", "nazi", "infantry", and "exterminated". And, do you really think the subject of jews being exterminated is an appropriate topic for children, ages 4 - 9? Or illustrations of soldiers holding jews at gunpoint? NOT!

And, an editorial side note (I'm an editor), the story hops around from city to city (Paris, Vienna, Champagne, Harlem, Germany, etc.) and it's hard for young children to understand the difference of these places, unless they have been there themselves. There were WAY too many details for children of those ages to follow and understand.

It's just an absolutely APPALLING book. What a shame; the writer had a good idea but went on to create a literary disaster with it.

Bonjour Lonnie by Faith Ringgold is a fable based in realism, filled with the beautifully imaginative images of the artist and author. Lonnie is an orphan who follows a magical Love Bird to Paris, where he discovers his family history. He finds out that he is African American, French and Jewish and that his life mirrors some of the most significant events of the 20th century. His heritage has been molded by the World War I Harlem Hell Fighters Troop, the Harlem Renaissance, the African American experience in Paris, the Holocaust and an escape to America. Readers will be happy to follow Lonnie's adventures to a home and family of his own.

This book is unique in that it weaves serious content into a children's book in a most appropriate way. Important issues are presented for children to consider, question and explore with the guidance of parents and teachers. How refreshing it is to find a book that is not afraid to include "real life" content. Today's students are multi-racial, multi -lingual and certainly multi-cultural. It's high time that our children can enjoy and be challenged by a book like Bonjour Lonnie.