Troy’s life has been a roller coaster lately. His mom passed away and now it’s just Troy, his dad and grandma. Things have changed so much and Troy has started to get into trouble with his best friend Foster. When Foster and Troy are busted for their most recent incident they are given the option of working at the horse stables in the city instead of going to juvie. Cleaning up after horses does not seem like a great option, who wants to spend their time shoveling horse poop? But, Troy and Foster get a chance to learn to ride the horses too. Troy begins to enjoy working with the horses and even starts to get excited at opportunity to join the stable’s polo team, but Foster is not interested at all. Troy really begins to bond with a horse named, Chance, who he rides during polo practice. As Troy gets more involved at the stables he has to make decisions about his friendship with Foster and also how to handle some tricky situations that come with the other polo players. Riding Chance is a great read for fans of G. Neri and Jason Reynolds.
Tag: African Americans
Book Trailer of the Week
February 5, 2011
In celebration of African American History Month, our next Book Trailer of the Week is for Isabel Wilkerson’s phenomenal The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration. Named one of the NY Times’ 10 Best Books of 2010, this beautifully written masterwork focuses on the years 1915 to 1970 when six million black Southerners undertook an exodus from the terrors of Jim Crow to an uncertain future in the North. Combining extensive research with the riveting stories of three remarkable men and women who made the Great Migration, The Warmth of Other Suns is a bold, resonating portrait of a pivotal time in American history.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm9vkR6MjKo]Alliance Francaise de Chicago celebrates “Black Paris”
January 19, 2011
A lecture highlighting the history of Africans and African Americans in Paris, France will be held on February 1 at the Alliance Francaise de Chicago, 810 N. Dearborn.
The travel guide discovery of historical African-American Paris will be lead by Kiratiana Freelon, a Harvard graduate who has traveled and lived in over 25 countries, and is the author of Kiratiana’s Guide to Black Paris: Get Lost and Get Found.
The lecture will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Alliance, 54 W. Chicago Avenue entrance. Free admission for members and $5 for non-members. Contact Alliance Francaise at (312) 337-1070 for details. Register at http://www.af-chicago.org/app/Calendar.asp?event=686&type=
Susan M., RA
The Open Road Wasn’t Quite Open to All
August 26, 2010
For almost three decades beginning in 1936, many African-American travelers relied on a booklet to help them decide where they could comfortably eat, sleep, buy gas, find a tailor or beauty parlor, shop on a honeymoon to Niagara Falls, or go out at night. In 1949, when the guide was 80 pages, there were five recommended hotels in Atlanta. In Cheyenne, Wyo., the Barbeque Inn was the place to stay.
Susan M., RA