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Author’s Spotlight: Andrea Davis Pinkney

Andrea Davis Pinkney has authored numerous best-selling and award-winning fiction and nonfiction books for children and young adults. BCBA selected 15 of her titles for our Author’s Spotlight. Click on the link below to read more about our featured author.

Andrea Davis Pinkney

Selected Works

The Ren Pencil (2014)

The Ren Pencil (2014)
Finally, Amira is twelve. Old enough to wear a toob, old enough for new responsibilities. And maybe old enough to go to school in Nyala-- Amira's one true dream.

But life in her peaceful Sudanese village is shattered when the Janjaweed arrive. The terrifying attackers ravage the town and unleash unspeakable horrors. After she loses nearly everything, Amira needs to dig deep within herself to find the strength to make the long journey-- on foot-- to safety at a refugee camp. Her days are tough at the camp, until the gift of a simple red pencil opens her mind-- and all kinds of possibilities.

Martin & Mahalia: His Words, Her Song (2013)

Martin & Mahalia: His Words, Her Song (2013)
On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and his strong voice and powerful message were joined and lifted in song by world-renowned gospel singer Mahalia Jackson. It was a moment that changed the course of history and is imprinted in minds forever.

Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America (2012)

Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America (2012)
Stories of ten men from different eras in American history, organized chronologically to provide a scope from slavery to the modern day. The stories are accessible, fully-drawn narratives offering the subjects’ childhood influences, the time and place in which they lived, their accomplishments and motivations, and the legacies they left for future generations as links in the “freedom chain.”

Dear America: With the Might of Angels (2011)

Dear America: With the Might of Angels (2011)
In the fall of 1955, twelve-year-old Dawn Rae Johnson's life turns upside down. After the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, Dawnie learns she will be attending a previously all-white school. She's the only one of her friends to go to this new school and to leave the comfort of all that is familiar to face great uncertainty in the school year ahead. However, not everyone supports integration and much of the town is outraged at the decision. Dawnie must endure the harsh realities of racism firsthand, while continuing to work hard to get a good education and prove she deserves the opportunity.

Sit-in: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down (2010)

Sit-in: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down (2010)
This picture book is a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the momentous Woolworth's lunch counter sit-in, when four college students staged a peaceful protest that became a defining moment in the struggle for racial equality and the growing civil rights movement.

Sojourner Truth's Step-Stomp Stride (2009)

Sojourner Truth's Step-Stomp Stride (2009)
Born into slavery, Belle had to endure the cruelty of several masters before she escaped to freedom. But she knew she wouldn't really be free unless she was helping to end injustice. That's when she changed her name to Sojourner and began traveling across the country, demanding equal rights for black people and for women. Many people weren't ready for her message, but Sojourner was brave, and her truth was powerful. And slowly, but surely as Sojourner's step-stomp stride, America began to change.

Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation (2008)

Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation (2008)
Rosa Parks took a stand by keeping her seat on the bus. When she was arrested for it, her supporters protested by refusing to ride. Soon a community of thousands was coming together to help one another get where they needed to go. Some started taxis, some rode bikes, but they all walked and walked. With dogged feet. With dog-tired feet. With boycott feet. With boycott blues.

Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuosa (2007)

Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuosa (2007)
Ella Fitzgerald began her life as a singer on the stage of the Apollo Theater when she was just seventeen years old. Her rich voice and vocal innovations brought her fame and a remarkable career that spanned half a century and won her generations of fans around the world.

Dear Mr. President: Abraham Lincoln: Letters from a Slave Girl (2001)

Dear Mr. President: Abraham Lincoln: Letters from a Slave Girl (2001)
The Dear Mr. President series brings history alive through fictitious correspondence between a president and a young person. Although the letters are all imagined, they are based upon meticulous historical research…In this latest addition to the series, the United States descends into Civil War, a 12-year-old slave on a South Carolina plantation begins corresponding with the newly inaugurated President Lincoln. Full emancipation, the president writes to her, cannot come easily in so deeply divided a nation. But her continuing appeals prod the conscience of this burdened man, and he drafts the Emancipation Proclamation that sets Lettie on the road to freedom.

Let it Shine! Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters (2000)

Let it Shine! Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters (2000)
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus and sparked a boycott that changed America. Harriet Tubman helped more than three hundred slaves escape the South on the Underground Railroad. Shirley Chisholm became the first black woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. The lives these women led are part of an incredible story about courage in the face of oppression; about the challenges and triumphs of the battle for civil rights; and about speaking out for what you believe in--even when it feels like no one is listening.

Raven in a Dove House (1998)

Raven in a Dove House (1998)
Nell is enjoying the lazy days of summer, especially Foley’s antics and Slade’s flirty talk . . . until the boys surprise her with a frightening request. They want her to hide Foley’s Raven .25—a pistol her cousin got through a gun-running scheme—in her old dollhouse. Nell doesn’t know what to do. Suddenly, she doesn’t trust anyone, even herself. But when tragedy strikes, she knows she can’t handle it on her own.

Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and his Orchestra (1998)

Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and his Orchestra (1998)
Stunning picture book biography of a prominent twentieth-century African-American in the arts.

Pretty Brown Face (1997)

Pretty Brown Face (1997)
An African-American baby boy discovers the unique features that make his face so special.

Bill Pickett, Rodeo Ridin' Cowboy (1996)

Bill Pickett, Rodeo Ridin' Cowboy (1996)
This is the true tale of the feisty cowboy-child who became the most famous black rodeo performer who ever lived.

Alvin Ailey (1993) w/Tylania Moore

Alvin Ailey (1993) w/Tylania Moore
Describes the life, dancing, and choreography of Alvin Ailey, who created his own modern dance company to explore the black experience.

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