Heroes, Books, and Suggested Activities
| Name | Book | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden | Hidden Figures by Margaret Lee Shetterly and Winifred Conkling, illustrated by Laura Freeman | Honor the women who worked at NASA and got us to the moon by launching a rocket made out of a straw, paper, and tape! https://go.nasa.gov/3qSSZ4X |
| Ethel L. Payne | The Power of Her Pen by Lesa Cline-Ransome and John Parra | Channel “the First Lady of the Black Press” by conducting a One Word Interview of someone in your family or neighborhood. Download the template from School Journalism here: https://bit.ly/3pqdRQJ |
| Matthew Henson and others called to sea | How They Got Over: African Americans and the Call of the Sea By Eloise Greenfield, Illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist | Experiment with boating science! https://bit.ly/36hVQg6 Or, honor Henson’s discovery of the North Pole with polar exploration activities: https://bit.ly/3almshs |
| Garrett Morgan | The Unstoppable Garrett Morgan By Joan DiCicco, Illustrated by Ebony Glenn | Play Red Light, Green Light in honor of the father of the modern traffic light today! Check out the game rules, if you’ve forgotten: https://bit.ly/39nMq4r Also, make sure your fire extinguishers and alarms are up to date – Morgan designed breathing devices for firefighters that lead to the gas mask. |
| George Washington Carver | The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver by Gene Baretta, illustrated by Frank Morrison | Honor The Peanut Man and his groundbreaking research of crop rotation and smart farming by trying out one of his many peanut recipes: https://bit.ly/2M7BJdH |
| Fannie Lou Hamer | Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer By Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Ekua Holmes | Hamer fought for equal rights for African Americans, especially the right to vote. Are you, like Hamer’s famous quote, “sick and tired of being sick and tired”? Make a protest poster with this guide from the Tate Gallery and get your voice out there: https://bit.ly/2NHUMvf |
| Charles Henry Turner | Buzzing with Questions by Janice N. Harrington, Illustrated by Theodore Taylor III | Turner investigated how bees and other insects interact. Go outside and follow the paths of ants in Turner’s spirit. Or, go on a bug safari and see what you can find. Don’t forget your pooter! https://bit.ly/3cmClql |
| Wilma Rudolph | Wilma Unlimited by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by David Diaz | Take a jog around the neighborhood in Wilma’s honor today! She was the first American woman to win 3 gold medals in one Olympic games. See how long it takes you to run 100 meters in comparison. (She broke the world record with 11 seconds.) |
| Katherine Johnson | A Computer Called Katherine by Suzanne Slade, illustrated by Veronica Miller Jamison | Johnson’s calculations helped launch the 1969 Apollo spacecraft to the moon. Now NASA is planning the Artemis mission to return. Check out some of these activities to learn about it: https://go.nasa.gov/2NbHsio |
| Ernie Barnes | Between the Lines by Sandra Neil Wallace, illustrated by Bryan Collier | From professional football player to acclaimed painter, Barnes had a lot of talents. Get out your paint set and create your own masterpiece. Like Barnes, you could paint a sports scene, or listen to music and paint an album cover. Embrace your inner artist! |
| Coretta Scott King | Coretta Scott by Ntozake Shange, paintings by Kadir Nelson | A social justice activist, Scott King believed in peaceful protest and equal rights. She spent her career mediating and marching. We particularly love the Coretta Scott King Book Awards here at the library! Check out all of the past winners here: Coretta Scott King Book Awards – All Recipients, 1970-Present | Round Tables (ala.org) |
| Selma’s Teachers | The Teachers March by Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace, illustrated by Charly Palmer | Request the movie Selma from the catalog and get another view into the civil rights marches: Holdings: Selma (einetwork.net) |
| Mae Jemison | Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed and illustrated by Stasia Burrington | To celebrate Dr. Jemison, make your own sundial here: https://bit.ly/3phxGJ2 and/or check out these Dr. Jemison learning activities from Scholastic: https://bit.ly/377Dte0. |
| Rosa Parks | Rosa’s Bus by Jo S. Kittinger and illustrated by Steven Walker. | Puzzle out Parks’s impact on ending segregation with this printable word search, crossword, and coloring page. https://www.woojr.com/rosa-parks-day-printables/ |
| Frederick Douglass | Bread for Words by Shana Keller and illustrated by Kayla Stark | For a full packet of great Frederick Douglass activities, check out this PDF from the National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/frdo/learn/kidsyouth/upload/FRDO_Jr_Ranger_Booklet.pdf |
| Marian Anderson | When Marian Sang by Pam Muñoz Ryan and illustrated by Brian Selznick | Watch her historic performance at the Lincoln Memorial! https://youtu.be/mAONYTMf2pk |
| Harriet Tubman | Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome and illustrated by James E. Ransome | Watch the author read the book: https://youtu.be/k_JZemL5SWI |
| Carter G. Woodson | Carter Reads the Newspaper by Deborah Hopkinson and illustrated by Don Tate | The National Park Service has another great packet to download , so you can do puzzles and learn about Carter’s legacy! https://home.nps.gov/…/upload/CAWO-Jr-Ranger-Book.pdf |
| Lonnie Johnson | Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson’s Super-soaking Stream of Inventions by Chris Barton and illustrated by Don Tate | We did the “Power Popper” activity on this sheet at Afterschool STEAM last year, and it was beyond fun. Whoosh-Edu-Extension.pdf (rif.org) |
| Benjamin Banneker | TickTock Banneker’s Clock by Shana Keller and illustrated by David C. Gardner | Watch Caleb with Curls give his Benjamin Banneker presentation on Youtube – it’s pretty great! https://youtu.be/vYPenzYVgB0 |
| Ella Fitzgerald | Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuosa by Andrea Davis Pinkney | Try out: Ella’s Singing Class | National Museum of American History |
| James Van Der Zee | Take a Picture of Me, James Van Der Zee! by Andrea J. Loney and illustrated by Keith Mallet | Experiment with lighting, and see if you can take any especially extraordinary portraits with your own camera. |
| Ann Cole Lowe | Fancy Party Dresses by Deborah Blumenthal and Laura Freeman | Try sketching out your own designs at home with paper and pencils – we’d love to see what you create! |
| Vivien Thomas | Tiny Stitches: The Life of Medical Pioneer Vivien Thomas by Gwendolyn Hooks and illustrated by Colin Bootman | Try playing the game “Operation” at home in remembrance. |
| Nina Simone | Nina: Jazz Legend and Civil-Rights Activist Nina Simone by Alice Brière-Haquet | Have a Nina Simone listening party with your family – many of her songs are free to check out on Hoopla. |
| Dave the Potter | Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave by Laban Carrick Hill and illustrated by Bryan Collier | Pull out some clay or playdoh and make a pinch pot with instructions from the Met Museum after you read. https://www.metmuseum.org/…/metkids-create/make-a-clay-pot |
| August Wilson | Feed Your Mind: A Story of August Wilson by Jen Bryant | |
| Ona Judge | Runaway: The Daring Escape of Ona Judge by Ray Anthony Shepherd and illustrated by Keith Mallet |