Showing results by narrator "Corey Allen" in All Categories

Martha Tom knows better than to cross the Bok Chitto River to pick blackberries. The Bok Chitto is the only border between her town in the Choctaw Nation and the slave-owning plantation in Mississippi territory. The slave owners could catch her, too. But crossing the river brings a surprise friendship with Lil Mo, a boy who is enslaved on the other side. Lil Mo discovers that his mother is about to be sold and the rest of his family left behind. But Martha Tom has the answer: Cross the Bok Chitto and become free. 

This rhythmic, read-aloud title is an unbridled celebration of the self-esteem, confidence, and swagger boys feel when they leave the barber's chair - a tradition that places on their heads a figurative crown, beaming with jewels, that confirms their brilliance and worth and helps them not only love and accept themselves but also take a giant step toward caring how they present themselves to the world. Crown is a high-spirited, engaging salute to the beautiful, raw, assured humanity of black boys and how they see themselves when they approve of their reflections in the mirror.

A piercingly raw debut story collection from a young writer with an explosive voice; a treacherously surreal and, at times, heartbreakingly satirical look at what it's like to be young and black in America.  

Reverend F. D. Reese’s favorite subject to teach his students was freedom. But in Selma, Alabama, unfair tests and police officers’ swinging billy clubs kept African Americans from voting. Reverend Reese knew something had to change, so he asked his fellow teachers to do something dangerous - something that might lead to beatings and prison time. He asked them to march.

The only link between a series of grisly murders in New York City is that the victims were all born with 12 fingers and 12 toes. These people are known in occult circles as the Nephilim, a forsaken people, descendants of fallen angels. After a break in the case leads to supposedly killed-in-action Marine sniper Anaba Raines, Michael finds the soldier alive and well, but shockingly no longer human. Michael then discovers that he is also a Nephilim, and next on the killer’s list.

Best Children's Books of the Year—Bank Street College of Education CCBC Choices—Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) The inspiring biography of Ira Aldridge, a Black actor who overcame racism to become one of the greatest Shakespearean actors of the nineteenth century. Ira Aldridge...

Inspired by Egyptian mythology and young America’s coming-of-age story, AMERICUS follows the lives of rambunctious identical twins Asar and Set Americus. After Set contracts vitiligo (a skin disease that fades body pigmentation in patches), he goes from family favorite to stare-provoking freak at 10-years-old. When Set’s super-capable mother can’t keep her promise to cure him, Set blames her, but not more than she blames herself.

Empress reigns as 1930’s Chicago’s cunning Queen Pin, yet sultry Dulce Ella Monroe still longs for freedom from oppression her criminal empire provides. But when rivals threaten all that the influential and glamorous Empress built, her last hope of defense walks through the door in sharp-shooting ex-lover Snipes Creed, now a foe for hire bound to the enemy.

Born with a gift that is more of a curse than a blessing, Jefferarri is an immortal who battles his internal demons and the external forces around him. At a tender age, the orphaned youth is adopted by his grandparents, with the blessings of the government, for his protection and a better life following his parents’ demise. When nefarious beings of the underworld discover his whereabouts, a war between the world of the mortals and the undead ignites.

Ally, an aspiring actress, is about to give up on getting her big break. But then, after another disappointing audition, a charismatic scene partner says he has a fun gig for her. Soon, Ally is making easy money working for a guerrilla-marketing outfit called The Set Up. Now she’s getting lots of practice pretending to be someone she’s not—but each job seems more suspicious than the last.