On Shelves Now: BLUISH by Virginia Hamilton

128 p.
Publisher: Blue Sky Press
Ages: 8 to 12

Friendship isn't always easy. Natalie is different from the other girls in Dreenie's fifth-grade class. She comes to school in a wheelchair, always wearing a knitted hat. The kids call her "Bluish" because her skin is tinted blue from chemotherapy. Dreenie is fascinated by Bluish -- and a little scared of her, too. She watches Bluish and writes her observations in her journal. Slowly, the two girls become good friends. But Dreenie still struggles with with Bluish's illness. Bluish is weak and frail, but she also wants to be independent and respected. How do you act around a girl like that?

In this powerful novel researched in NYC schools, Newbery Medalist Virginia Hamilton documents the struggle young people face as they simultaneously assert their independence and yearn for guidance.

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On Shelves Now: THE BELLS OF CHRISTMAS by Virginia Hamilton, illustrated by Lambert Davis

64 p.
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Ages: 5 to 8

Twelve-year-old Jason Bell waits impatiently for Christmas 1890. Set against the carefully researched background life of a middle-class black family in Ohio a century ago, “Hamilton’s story moves along at an elegant pace, giving readers time to savor the holiday preparations.”

On Shelves Now: HER STORIES: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales, and True Tales by Virginia Hamilton

128 p.
Publisher: Blue Sky Press
Ages: 4 to 8

A collection of twenty-five African-American folktales focusing on strong female characters -- including "Little Girl and Bruh Rabby," "Catskinella," and "Annie Christmas."

On Shelves Now: ANTHONY BURNS: The Defeat and Triumph of a Fugitive Slave by Virginia Hamilton

208 p.
Publisher: Laurel Leaf
Ages: 8 to 12

The year is 1854, and Anthony Burns, a 20-year-old Virginia slave, has escaped to Boston. But according to the Fugitive Slave Act, a runaway can be captured in any free state, and Anthony is soon imprisoned. The antislavery forces in Massachusetts are outraged, but the federal government backs the Fugitive Slave Act, sparking riots in Boston and fueling the Abolitionist movement.

Written with all the novelistic skill that has won her every major award in children's literature, Virginia Hamilton's important work of nonfiction puts young readers into the mind of Burns himself.

On Shelves Now: MANY THOUSAND GONE: African Americans from Slavery to Freedom by Virginia Hamilton, illustrated by Diane & Leo Dillon

160 p.
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Ages: 3 to 7

Virginia Hamilton’s award-winning companion to The People Could Fly traces the history of slavery in America in the voices and stories of those who lived it. Leo and Diane Dillon’s brilliant black-and-white illustrations echo the stories’ subtlety and power, making this book as stunning to look at as it is to read.

On Shelves Now: SWEET WHISPERS, BROTHER RUSH by Virginia Hamilton

224 p.
Publisher: Amistad
Ages: 13 and up

Why had he come to her, with his dark secrets from a long-ago past? What was the purpose of their strange, haunting journeys back into her own childhood? Was it to help Dab, her retarded older brother, wracked with mysterious pain who sometimes took more care and love than Tree had to give? Was it for her mother, Vy, who loved them the best she knew how, but wasn't home enough to ease the terrible longing?

Whatever secrets his whispered message held, Tree knew she must follow. She must follow Brother Rush through the magic mirror, and find out the truth. About all of them.

On Shelves Now: DRYLONGSO by Virginia Hamilton, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

64 p.
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Ages: 8 to 12

Lindy and her family are suffering through a long drought. Then the mystical Drylongso teaches them the secrets of finding water hidden in the earth. “Drylongso is a hypnotic, joyful story from a distinguished writer--one that, with the help of Jerry Pinkney’s beautiful watercolor and pastel pictures, depicts well the dry land, the swirling wind and earth, and an African-American family planting in hope with the help of a wondrous, dusty, divining stickfella