Tonya Bolden – författare

"A profile as bold and vivacious as the singer herself." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"Terrific for all collections that want to inspire the musically inclined and highlight innovative pioneers." —ALA Booklist (starred review)"Bolden uses alliteration, assonance, repetition, and rhythm to create an irresistibly musical text that effectively communicates the feel of Tharpe's music. Christie's lively illustrations. . . capture the physicality of Tharpe's performance style and the intensity of her sound." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)"Impressive offering about an often-overlooked figure in American music." —The Horn Book (starred review)“The marriage of Bolden’s words and Christie’s pictures is almost as satisfying as Tharpe’s songs.” —New York Times Book ReviewPerfect for fans of Trombone Shorty and Ada’s Violin!Award-winning author Tonya Bolden and acclaimed illustrator R. Gregory Christie deliver an inspiring true story about the life, career, and impact of twentieth-century blues and gospel singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who was a trailblazer for rock-and-roll. Includes a timeline of Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s life, an author’s note, and a list of sources.Before there was Elvis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Johnny Cash, there was Sister Rosetta Tharpe.The godmother of rock-and-roll started as a little girl from Arkansas with music in her air, in her hair, in her bones, wiggling her toes. With a big guitar in hand and a big voice in her soul, she grew into a rock-and-roll trailblazer in a time when women were rarely seen rocking out. Her guitar picking was like nobody else’s!Boogie along with this rockin’ tribute to the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Sister Rosetta Tharpe by Coretta Scott King Honor–winning author Tonya Bolden and Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator R. Gregory Christie.A CCBC 2024 Choices for the Arts selection!

Sarah Rector was once famously hailed as “the richest black girl in America.” Set against the backdrop of American history, her tale encompasses the creation of Indian Territory, the making of Oklahoma, and the establishment of black towns and oil-rich boomtowns.Rector acquired her fortune at the age of eleven. This is both her story and that of children just like her: one filled with ups and downs amid bizarre goings-on and crimes perpetrated by greedy and corrupt adults. From a trove of primary documents, including court and census records and interviews with family members, author Tonya Bolden painstakingly pieces together the events of Sarah’s life and the lives of those around her.The book includes a glossary, a bibliography, and an index.Praise for Searching for Sarah RectorSTARRED REVIEWS"This handsome volume with its many photographs is carefully sourced and has a helpful glossary, illustration credits and index. Bolden admirably tells a complex story while modeling outstanding research strategy, as her insightful author’s note attests."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review"This book will be extremely useful to teachers and librarians seeking material to align with Common Core State Standards dealing with the craft of writing of informational text."--School Library Journal, starred review "Bolden’s remarks on tracking down Sarah’s story will appeal to those who enjoy untangling historical mysteries."--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Dive in to an exciting nonfiction graphic novel series about some of the greatest Black lives in history! "Sure to delight middle graders and encourage interest in STEM careers." (School Library Journal)This fun and accessible graphic novel for middle grade readers brings to light the lives of great but lesser-known Black scientists. Great Minds of Science is a kid-friendly introduction to some of the greatest scientists in history—doctors, engineers, mathematicians, and biologists.Each of them faced challenges as they rose to the top of their professions, but they didn’t back down. They kept experimenting and questioning and learning, and they made significant contributions in each of their scientific fields.Black Lives is the new graphic novel series from award-winning author Tonya Bolden and illustrator David Wilkerson that celebrates the lives of Black innovators and legends and helps bring these histories to life.Celebrate the lives and contributions of Black scientists throughout history with the inspiring Great Minds of Science.

Dive in to an exciting nonfiction graphic novel series about some of the greatest Black lives in history! "Sure to delight middle graders and encourage interest in STEM careers." (School Library Journal)This fun and accessible graphic novel for middle grade readers brings to light the lives of great but lesser-known Black scientists. Great Minds of Science is a kid-friendly introduction to some of the greatest scientists in history—doctors, engineers, mathematicians, and biologists.Each of them faced challenges as they rose to the top of their professions, but they didn’t back down. They kept experimenting and questioning and learning, and they made significant contributions in each of their scientific fields.Black Lives is the new graphic novel series from award-winning author Tonya Bolden and illustrator David Wilkerson that celebrates the lives of Black innovators and legends and helps bring these histories to life.Celebrate the lives and contributions of Black scientists throughout history with the inspiring Great Minds of Science.

Learn about the remarkable work of costume designers, toy makers, and architects in award-winning author Tonya Bolden and illustrator David Wilkerson’s exciting new graphic novel series about some of the most fascinating Black lives in historyAnn Lowe (fashion designer). Ed Welburn (automotive designer). Ruth E. Carter (costume designer). These aren’t names that many people learn about in school, but they’re some of the greatest designers that people should know about—and they join the ranks of toy designers, architects, and graphic designers celebrated in Icons of Design.Each faced challenges as they rose to the top of their professions, but they didn’t back down. They kept creating and experimenting and learning, and they made significant contributions in each of their fields!Black Lives is a new graphic novel series from award-winning author Tonya Bolden and illustrator David Wilkerson that celebrates the lives of Black innovators and legends and helps bring lesser-known histories to life.

Legal legend Judge Louis F. Oberdorfer once stated that there were ""only two people in the world who really understood the Constitution"" and its impact on American lives. One was Hugo Black, deceased Supreme Court justice. The other was William Benson Bryant Sr. (1911-2005), who in the early 1950s became the first Black assistant US attorney to try cases in Washington, DC’s federal court, and became that same court’s first Black chief judge in 1977. Written by award-winning author Tonya Bolden, this biography presents the story of Bryant’s remarkable, pioneering life in the law—one that began in a segregated DC and included many years as an extraordinary criminal defense attorney, most notably as the dogged defender of Andrew Mallory, a young poor Black man sentenced to the electric chair for the 1954 rape of a white woman. Bryant fought for Mallory’s life all the way to the US Supreme Court, chiefly on the grounds that Mallory’s confession—the most damning evidence against him—was the fruit of an illegal detention. The High Court overturned Mallory’s conviction. Mallory v. United States was among the cases that culminated in the landmark 1966 Miranda rule.Appointed to federal judicial service by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965, Bryant’s forty-year tenure included cases ranging from overturning a corrupted election of the United Mine Workers and unconstitutional conditions at the DC jail. The biography draws upon an array of documents, newspaper articles, interviews with the judge’s friends, colleagues, and family members, as well as oral histories, including Judge Bryant’s. Bolden beautifully narrates the story of a life of compassion, unparalleled integrity, and unwavering belief in the dignity of every human being.

Legal legend Judge Louis F. Oberdorfer once stated that there were ""only two people in the world who really understood the Constitution"" and its impact on American lives. One was Hugo Black, deceased Supreme Court justice. The other was William Benson Bryant Sr. (1911-2005), who in the early 1950s became the first Black assistant US attorney to try cases in Washington, DC’s federal court, and became that same court’s first Black chief judge in 1977. Written by award-winning author Tonya Bolden, this biography presents the story of Bryant’s remarkable, pioneering life in the law—one that began in a segregated DC and included many years as an extraordinary criminal defense attorney, most notably as the dogged defender of Andrew Mallory, a young poor Black man sentenced to the electric chair for the 1954 rape of a white woman. Bryant fought for Mallory’s life all the way to the US Supreme Court, chiefly on the grounds that Mallory’s confession—the most damning evidence against him—was the fruit of an illegal detention. The High Court overturned Mallory’s conviction. Mallory v. United States was among the cases that culminated in the landmark 1966 Miranda rule.Appointed to federal judicial service by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965, Bryant’s forty-year tenure included cases ranging from overturning a corrupted election of the United Mine Workers and unconstitutional conditions at the DC jail. The biography draws upon an array of documents, newspaper articles, interviews with the judge’s friends, colleagues, and family members, as well as oral histories, including Judge Bryant’s. Bolden beautifully narrates the story of a life of compassion, unparalleled integrity, and unwavering belief in the dignity of every human being.

This young adult adaptation of the New York Times bestselling White Rage is essential antiracist reading for teens.An NAACP Image Award finalistA Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the YearA NYPL Best Book for TeensHistory texts often teach that the United States has made a straight line of progress toward Black equality. The reality is more complex: milestones like the end of slavery, school integration, and equal voting rights have all been met with racist legal and political maneuverings meant to limit that progress. We Are Not Yet Equal examines five of these moments: The end of the Civil War and Reconstruction was greeted with Jim Crow laws; the promise of new opportunities in the North during the Great Migration was limited when blacks were physically blocked from moving away from the South; the Supreme Court’s landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision was met with the shutting down of public schools throughout the South; the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 led to laws that disenfranchised millions of African American voters and a War on Drugs that disproportionally targeted blacks; and the election of President Obama led to an outburst of violence including the death of Black teen Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri as well as the election of Donald Trump.Including photographs and archival imagery and extra context, backmatter, and resources specifically for teens, this book provides essential history to help work for an equal future.

Published on the anniversary of when President Abraham Lincoln’s order went into effect, this book offers readers a unique look at the events that led to the Emancipation Proclamation. Filled with little-known facts and fascinating details, it includes excerpts from historical sources, archival images, and new research that debunks myths about the Emancipation Proclamation and its causes. Complete with a timeline, glossary, and bibliography, Emancipation Proclamation is an engrossing new historical resource from award-winning children’s book author Tonya Bolden.Praise for Emancipation Proclamation:FOUR STARRED REVIEWS "A convincing, handsomely produced argument..." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review "Bolden makes excellent use of primary sources; the pages are filled with archival photos, engravings, letters, posters, maps, newspaper articles, and other period documents. Detailed captions and a glossary interpret them for today’s readers." —School Library Journal, starred review "The language soars, powerfully communicating not just the facts about the Emancipation Proclamation but its meaning for those who cared most passionately." —Booklist, starred review "Bolden tackles these questions in a richly illustrated overview of the lead-up to the Proclamation, organizing and reiterating information already familiar to many middle-schoolers, while introducing material that will probably be eye-opening to students who have taken their textbook’s version of history at face value." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, starred reviewAward School Library Journal Best Book of 2013 Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbons List 2013 Notable Children's Books from ALSC 2014 2014 Carter G.Woodson Middle Level Book Award

Michael Shiner's Capital Days introduces young readers to Washington, D.C. during the early to mid-nineteenth century. Spanning over 60 years, the story of Michael Shiner highlights a period of immense change in America and its capital. From the burning of the city during the War of 1812 to the rebuilding/renovation of the Capitol and White House to the raising of the Washington Monument to the Civil War, the end of slavery and numerous other "capital days," this book offers readers fresh insights and background about how our nation's capital came to be. The book includes excerpts from Shiner's diary, other primary sources and archival images. Much as she did in Maritcha and Searching for Sarah Rector, award-winning author Tonya Bolden expertly examines the intricacies of American history through the lens of one man's life. This book is illustrated with archival photographs and will include a bibliography and endnotes.

Bolden offers an insightful look at some of the most fascinating yet relatively unknown African American figures, from the first Africans to arrive on American soil to those who helped the United States land on the moon. Over the centuries untold numbers of black men and women in America have achieved great things against the odds.Pathfinders is a collective biography of sixteen American men and women of African descent who made their mark on American history: people who dared to dream, take risks, and create goals not only for themselves but also for others and the betterment of their society.Each profile includes several images, ranging from paintings and photographs to primary documents. The book ends with an author’s note, timeline, bibliography and index.

This Coretta Scott King Honor Book provides a much-needed window into a little-documented time in black history. The poignant story, based on the memoir of Maritcha Rémond Lyons, shows what it was like to be a black child born free and living in New York City in the mid-1800s.

A fresh look at this pioneering American innovator. Shampoo from peanuts? Wallpaper from clay? Ink from sweet potatoes? Discover Carver’s imagination and inspiration in this one-of-a-kind biography.With imagination and intellect, George Washington Carver (1864–1934) developed hundreds of unexpected products from everyday plants. This book reveals what an exceptionally uncommon man Carver was: trailblasing scholar, innovative scientist, pioneering conservationist, and impassioned educator.This book follows his life from slave and orphan to his college days as the first African American to attend Iowa State College (where he later taught), and on to his life and work in the field of agriculture. Illustrated with historical artifacts and photographs, the book traces Carver’s life, discoveries, and legacy.