Alabama

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Fiction:

Gone Crazy in Alabama by Rita Williams-Garcia

Kindle | Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Audio CD

The third installment in a trilogy about the Gaither sisters, this time the girls head to Alabama for the summer. How will they deal with the split between family members?

  • Age Range: 8 – 12 years
  • Publisher: Amistad (April 21, 2015)
  • ISBN-10: 0062215876
  • ISBN-13: 978-0062215871 


Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai (2011)

Kindle | Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover

Story of a young Vietnamese girl whose life changes when she moves to Alabama to escape the Vietnam War. 

  • Age Range: 8 – 12 years
  • Publisher: HarperCollins; 3rd edition (February 22, 2011)
  • ISBN-10: 0061962783
  • ISBN-13: 978-0061962783 


The Everlasting Now by Sara Harrell Banks (2010) 

Kindle | Hardcover

Set in Alabama during the depression, a young white boy begins to see his hometown with a new light when he makes friends with a black boy from Detroit. (Middle grade).


Saturdays and Teacakes by Lester Laminack and Chris Soentpiet (2004)

Kindle | Hardcover | Audio CD

Picture book tale of a young boy’s visits to his grandmother in rural Alabama during the 1960s.

  • Reading level: Ages 4-8
  • Publisher: Peachtree Publishing Company; Illustrated edition (March 1, 2004)
  • ISBN-10: 1561453030
  • ISBN-13: 978-1561453030

Stitchin’ and Pullin’: A Gee’s Bend Quilt by Patricia McKissack and illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera (2008)

Kindle | Hardcover | Paperback

A picture book of free verse about the rural Alabama community of Gee’s Bend, the residents of which are known for their quilts.

  • Reading level: Ages 4-8
  • Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (October 28, 2008)
  • ISBN-10: 0375831638
  • ISBN-13: 978-0375831638


Leaving Gee’s Bend by Irene Latham (2010)

Kindle | Hardcover | Paperback

Set in Gee’s Bend, Alabama in 1932 a young girl races to fetch a doctor for her mother. She encounters the first white people she has ever seen. The backdrop is the well-known quilting community. Alabama Library Association Children’s Book of the Year

  • Reading level: Ages 9-12
  • Publisher: Putnam Juvenile; 1 edition (January 7, 2010)
  • ISBN-10: 9780399251795
  • ISBN-13: 978-0399251795

Alabama Moon by Watt Key (2010)

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This novel is about a boy named Moon who is raised in the forest by his dad. When the land is sold and his dad dies, Moon faces many challenges (including time in jail).

Note: Watt Key was born in Point Clear, Alabama.

  • Reading level: Ages 9-12
  • Publisher: Paw Prints; Reprint edition (October 15, 2008)
  • ISBN-10: 1439564086
  • ISBN-13: 978-1439564080

Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis (2000)

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Fourth grader Kenny’s family decides to move to Alabama to prevent his older brother from getting into trouble. What they find in Alabama are the troubling events of 1963. A Newbery and Coretta Scott King Honoree

  • Reading level: Ages 9-12
  • Publisher: Yearling (September 8, 1997)
  • ISBN-10: 9780440414124
  • ISBN-13: 978-0440414124

Belle, The Last Mule at Gee’s Bend: A Civil Rights Story by Calvin Alexander Ramsey, Bettye Stroud and illustrated by John Holyfield

Kindle | Paperback | Hardcover

In this fictional picture book based on a true story, Alex notices an old mule eating collards from someone’s garden. At first he thinks she is there by mistake, but then he learns the mule played an important part in the civil rights movement during the 1960s. Belle did her share not just once, but two times!

  • Age Range: 5 – 8 years
  • Publisher: Candlewick (September 13, 2011)
  • ISBN-10: 0763640581
  • ISBN-13: 978-0763640583

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Kindle | Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover

Set in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama, this book is on many high school required reading lists. It is also on the list of banned and challenged classics.

Told through the eyes of a lively youngster named Scout, it centers on a crisis that unfolds when a black man is accused of raping a white woman. 

  • Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (October 11, 1988)
  • ISBN-10: 0446310786
  • ISBN-13: 978-0446310789

Don’t Feed the Boy by Irene Latham

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Set in a fictional zoo that is based on the Birmingham Zoo in Birmingham, Alabama, this book is about a boy who lives at the zoo. He’s not happy with his life until one day he meets the bird girl. Can he help her?

  • Age Range: 8 – 12 years
  • Publisher: Square Fish; Reprint edition (June 24, 2014)
  • ISBN-10: 1250044286
  • ISBN-13: 978-1250044280

Nonfiction Books:

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose (2009)

Kindle | Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover

Before Rosa Parks, there was a teenager named Claudette Colvin who also refused to go to the back of the bus. With her role in history largely forgotten, Philip Hoose brings her back to her proper place in this award-winning nonfiction book.

  • Age Range: 12 – 13 years
  • Publisher: Turtleback; Reprint edition (December 21, 2010)
  • ISBN-10: 0606231889
  • ISBN-13: 978-0606231886

Helen’s Big World: The Life of Helen Keller by Doreen Rappaport and Matt Tavares 

Audiobook | Hardcover

This picture book biography uses quotations from Helen Keller to tell her own story. It is enhanced by big, beautiful illustrations.

  • Age Range: 6 – 8 years
  • Publisher: Disney-Hyperion (October 16, 2012)
  • ISBN-10: 078680890X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0786808908

Time For Kids: Rosa Parks: Civil Rights Pioneer (Time for Kids Biographies) by Editors of TIME For Kids with Karen Kellaher 

Paperback

Covering the life of Rosa Parks, this biography reveals how she came to be an icon for civil rights.

  • Age Range: 6 – 10 years
  • Publisher: HarperCollins (December 26, 2006)
  • ISBN-10: 0060576243
  • ISBN-13: 978-0060576240

Rosa’s Bus: The Ride to Civil Rights by Jo S. Kittinger and illustrated by Steven Walker

Kindle | Paperback | Hardcover

With a focus on the events that swirled around bus #2857 during the 1950s in Montgomery, Alabama, Kittinger reveals a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights movement.

Age Range: 7 – 9 years
Publisher: Calkins Creek (October 1, 2010)
ISBN-10: 1590787226
ISBN-13: 978-1590787229


We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March (Jane Addams Award Book by Cynthia Levinson 

Kindle | Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover

This photo essay tells the unpublicized story of the 4,000 black students who went to jail voluntarily in Birmingham, Alabama, between in May 1963 to fight segregation.

  • Ages 10 +
  • Publisher: Peachtree Publishers (February 1, 2012)
  • ISBN-10: 1561456276
  • ISBN-13: 978-1561456277

Alabama (From Sea to Shining Sea, Second) by Kathy Feeney 

Paperback | Hardcover

An informational book that is filled with maps, history, landmarks, natural resources, recipes and everything else you would expect to describe a state. It also contains a nice timeline of events that shaped Alabama.

  • Age Range: 8 and up
  • Publisher: Children’s Press(CT) (September 1, 2008)
  • ISBN-10: 0531208001
  • ISBN-13: 978-0531208007

Alabama (Hello USA) by Dottie Brown 

Paperback | Hardcover

This title also has maps, songs, and recipes, as well as colorful photographs.

  • Age Range: 9 and up
  • Publisher: First Avenue Editions; 2 edition (October 2001)
  • ISBN-10: 0822541432
  • ISBN-13: 978-0822541431

Alabama (This Land Is Your Land) by Ann Heinrichs

Paperback | Hardcover

Organized into sections for ease of finding information, this book describes the history of Alabama, starting with the Native Americans. It also contains information about jobs, cultural life and significant landmarks.

  • Age Range: 7 and up
  • Publisher: Compass Point Books (September 1, 2003)
  • ISBN-10: 0756503329
  • ISBN-13: 978-0756503321

Alabama Facts and Symbols (The States and Their Symbols) by Emily McAuliffe 

Library Binding

This title is for the slightly younger reader. It focuses on the symbols for the state such as its name, flag and nickname. Other symbols covered include state tree, insect and reptile.

  • Ages 4-8
  • Publisher: Social Studies Collections; Rev Upd edition (September 1, 2003)
  • ISBN-10: 0736822313
  • ISBN-13: 978-0736822312

Y is for Yellowhammer: An Alabama Alphabet (Discover America State By State. Alphabet Series) by Carol Crane and illustrated by Ted Burn 

Kindle | Hardcover

Using an alphabetical format, this book features people and landmarks from throughout Alabama, Y is for Yellowhammer uses a two level approach to appeal to a wider range of ages.

  • Age Range: 6 and up 
  • Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press (September 30, 2003)
  • ISBN-10: 1585361186
  • ISBN-13: 978-1585361182

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