Lizzie Demands a Seat!


Book Description

• A NCSS/CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book • Winner of Bank Street College of Education's Flora Stieglitz Straus Award for excellence in nonfiction • A Chicago Public Library Best Informational Book for Older Readers • Shortlist for inaugural Goddard Riverside CBC Youth Book Prize for Social Justice • Finalist, Jane Addams Children’s Book Award In 1854, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Jennings, an African American schoolteacher, fought back when she was unjustly denied entry to a New York City streetcar, sparking the beginnings of the long struggle to gain equal rights on public transportation. One hundred years before Rosa Parks took her stand, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Jennings tried to board a streetcar in New York City on her way to church. Though there were plenty of empty seats, she was denied entry, assaulted, and threatened all because of her race--even though New York was a free state at that time. Lizzie decided to fight back. She told her story, took her case to court--where future president Chester Arthur represented her--and won! Her victory was the first recorded in the fight for equal rights on public transportation, and Lizzie's case set a precedent. Author Beth Anderson and acclaimed illustrator E. B. Lewis bring this inspiring, little-known story to life in this captivating book.




Lizzie Demands a Seat!


Book Description

'Lizzie' Jennings tried to board a streetcar in New York City on her way to church. She was denied entry and decided to fight back.




The First Step


Book Description

The inspiring read-to-me eBook about four-year-old Sarah Roberts, the first African American girl to try to integrate a white school, and how her experience in 1847 set greater change in motion. Junior Library Guild Selection 2017 Orbis Pictus Honor Book Chicago Public LibraryKids Best of the Best Book 2016 A Nerdy Book Club Best Nonfiction Book of 2016 An NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book of 2017 In 1847, a young African American girl named Sarah Roberts tried to attend a white school in Boston. After being forced out of the school because of her race, Sarah and her family fought for her right to have an equal education. "It was the first case asking our legal system to outlaw separate schools. It was the first time an African-American lawyer worked in a supreme court. It was also the first time an African-American lawyer and a white lawyer teamed up to fight for justice. Three important steps forward." Although her court case was not victorious, Sarah's first steps paved the way for the changes that ultimately led to triumph in Little Rock, Arkansas in the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education case more than a century later. This picture book is more than a biography; it is also a road map to the beginnings of the fight for civil rights and equality in the United States.Also includes: integration timeline, bios on key people in the book, list of resources, and author's note.




Separate Is Never Equal


Book Description

"Years before the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez, an eight-year-old girl of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage, played an instrumental role in Mendez v. Westminster, the landmark desegregation case of 1946 in California"--




Lizzie & Dante


Book Description

The insightful, audacious, and deeply romantic story of a woman whose life turns upside down after she meets an enigmatic chef on vacation in Italy, from a New York Times bestselling author “Delicious.”—People • “Smart, sexy and funny, full of joy in simple pleasures.”—Minneapolis Star-Tribune What if falling in love means breaking someone’s heart? On the heels of a difficult break-up and a devastating diagnosis, Shakespeare scholar Lizzie Delford decides to take one last lavish vacation on Elba, the sun-kissed island off the Italian coast, with her best friend and his movie-star boyfriend. Once settled into a luxurious seaside resort, Lizzie has to make big decisions about her future, and she needs the one thing she may be running out of: time. She leaves the yacht owners and celebrities behind and sneaks off to the public beach, where she meets a sardonic chef named Dante, his battered dog, Lulu, and his wry daughter, Etta, a twelve-year-old desperate for a mother. While Dante shows Lizzie the island’s secrets, and Etta dazzles with her irreverent humor, Lizzie is confronted with a dilemma. Is it right to fall in love if time is short? Is it better to find a mother briefly, or to have no mother at all? And most pressingly, are the delicacies of life worth tasting, even if you will get to savor them only for a short while? A luscious story of love, courage, and Italian wine, Lizzie & Dante demands to know how far we should travel to find a future worth fighting for.




America's First Freedom Rider


Book Description

In 1854, traveling was full of danger. Omnibus accidents were commonplace. Pedestrians were regularly attacked by the Five Points’ gangs. Rival police forces watched and argued over who should help. Pickpockets, drunks and kidnappers were all part of the daily street scene in old New York. Yet somehow, they endured and transformed a trading post into the Empire City. None of this was on Elizabeth Jennings’s mind as she climbed the platform onto the Chatham Street horsecar. But her destination and that of the country took a sudden turn when the conductor told her to wait for the next car because it had “her people” in it. When she refused to step off the bus, she was assaulted by the conductor who was aided by a NY police officer. On February 22, 1855, Elizabeth Jennings v. Third Avenue Rail Road case was settled. Seeking $500 in damages, the jury stunned the courtroom with a $250 verdict in Lizzie’s favor. Future US president Chester A. Arthur was Jennings attorney and their lives would be forever onward intertwined. This is the story of what happened that day. It’s also the story of Jennings and Arthur’s families, the struggle for equality, and race relations. It’s the history of America at its most despicable and most exhilarating. Yet few historians know of Elizabeth Jennings or the impact she had on desegregating public transit.




"Smelly" Kelly and His Super Senses


Book Description

James "Smelly" Kelly used his super-senses and intelligence to make sure that the New York City subway in the 1930s ran safely throughout his lifetime and beyond. James Kelly smelled EVERYTHING: rats in the shed; circus elephants a mile away; tomorrow's rain. His sense of smell was EXTRAORDINARY. But what good was a powerful nose? How could his super-sniffer make him special? In the New York City subway, James found his calling--and earned the nickname "Smelly" Kelly. Armed with his super-sniffer and the tools he invented, he tracked down leaks from the dangerous to the disgusting, from the comical to the bizarre. Then, he sprang into action to prevent cave-ins and explosions in the tunnels beneath the city. Smelly Kelly not only hunted leaks but also saved lives--and he discovered the truly extraordinary power inside him. Beth Anderson's fast-paced text and Jenn Harney's comical illustrations bring to life this everyday superhero.




Lizzie Demands a Seat!


Book Description

In 1854, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Jennings, an African American schoolteacher, fought back when she was unjustly denied entry to a New York City streetcar, sparking the beginnings of the long struggle to gain equal rights on public transportation. One hundred years before Rosa Parks took her stand, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Jennings tried to board a streetcar in New York City on her way to church. Though there were plenty of empty seats, she was denied entry, assaulted, and threatened all because of her race--even though New York was a free state at that time. Lizzie decided to fight back. She told her story, took her case to court--where future president Chester Arthur represented her--and won! Her victory was the first recorded in the fight for equal rights on public transportation, and Lizzie's case set a precedent. Author Beth Anderson and acclaimed illustrator E. B. Lewis bring this inspiring, little-known story to life in this captivating book.




PoPo's Lucky Chinese New Year


Book Description

When her Chinese grandmother comes to visit, a young Chinese-American girl learns of and participates in the customs and beliefs celebrating an authentic Chinese New Year.




Battle Bunny


Book Description

Alex, whose birthday it is, hijacks a story about Birthday Bunny on his special day and turns it into a battle between a supervillain and his enemies in the forest--who, in the original story, are simply planning a surprise party.