Teenage brothers Sam and Stick live in Chicago in 1968. Their dad, Rev. Roland Childs, is a respected minister and close friend of Dr. Martin Luther King. Sam’s dad believes passionately in non-violent protest and tirelessly organizes and participates in peaceful protest marches.

Older brother Stick has begun to question Dr. King’s nonviolent philosophy and has been secretly attending meetings of the Black Panthers, an organization whose philosophies are more aggressive than Dr. King’s and are different from what Rev. Child’s preaches and teaches his boys at home. Sam is torn between the ideas of has father and the ideas of his older brother, both of whom he respects and admires.

Everybody can relate to being torn between two choices and being torn between the opinions of two people you respect. When it comes down to figuring out what you think for your own self – that’s when things get hard.

After Dr. King is assassinated and Sam witnesses the brutal beating of a friend by police officers, he becomes more interested in the ideas Stick is learning about at the Black Panther meetings. He begins to attend the meetings also. The conversation the teens have at home, at school, and at these meetings are some of the best parts of the book. They are living the civil rights struggle as they face discrimination every day. Listening to these conversations you get a real sense of each philosophy and why it was chosen by the people committed to it.

This book has a pretty explosive, surprising ending. It isn’t a book for the faint hearted. These are really hard issues and there is violence in the book. It isn’t a happy story with a happy ending because it’s not that kind of story. It wasn’t a happy time. The book is true to the historical period so the violence is part of the story being told.

It hard for Sam and Stick to stand by watching people suffer the injustices of racism. When Sam finds out Leroy, the leader of the student Black Panthers, sneaks away to talk to Rev. Childs, the same way Sam is sneaking off to the Black Panther meetings, he discovers that standing by is different than doing nothing and that you can be agressive, without being violent. A really powerful, emotional book. Don’t miss the author’s note at the end - it is a great discussion of the true events, people and groups that appear in this book. Author: Kekla Magoon Award: Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent 2010

Look Inside The Rock and the River

The Kane Chronicles is a new series by Rick Riordan - the author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Book one will come out May 4, 2010. Here is what Mr. Riordan has to say about these new adventures:

“My Egyptian mythology series will be called the Kane Chronicles, and the first book’s title is The Red Pyramid. The series follows brother and sister Carter and Sadie Kane, who accidentally help unleash the Egyptian gods into the modern world, and then discover they are the only ones who can set things right. …What Egyptian gods will you meet? What powers do Carter and Sadie have that will allow them to combat immortal gods? You’ll have to stay tuned to find out!”

We do have to wait a few more months to read these, but just released today is chapter one - get a sneak peek before anyone else:

• Read Chapter One The Red Pyramid
• Official Website of The Red Pyramid

May 4, 2010

Edna Lewis cooks simple and she cooks Southern. Edna grew up in Virginia and this book tells the story of how she ended up a chef in New York City. When she was a little girl her family ate what they could grow and they ate what was ripe when it was ripe or they canned it to save for later. The dishes served at her restaurant depended on the season because Edna only used fresh ingredients in her recipes. If it wasn’t just picked, she didn’t use it.

An interesting look at a person who followed her passion into a career and life she enjoyed.

• Look Inside Bring Me Some Apples
• Listen to NPR Audio: Memories of Southern Chef Edna Lewis
• Watch the Documentary Fried Chicken & Sweet Potato Pie

If you like learning about Edna Lewis try some of these books:

Indiana’s first black troops in the Civil War were enlisted in November 1863. More than eight hundred black men joined the Twenty-eighth Regiment. The regiment trained at Camp Fremont near Fountain Square in Indianapolis. The regiment is best known for its role in the siege of Petersburg, Virginia, where on July 30, 1864, it participated in the Battle of the Crater. In this battle, Union troops dug a tunnel under the Confederate fort at Petersburg, carried eight thousand pounds of explosives into the tunnel, and blew up the fort. When the war was over the soldiers returned to Indianapolis on January 6, 1866. The regiment lost 212 men in battle or as a result of disease.

There is a historical marker Virginia Avenue and McCarty Street in Indianapolis to commemorate the Twenty-eighth U.S. Colored Troops.

Tuskegee Airmen were African-American pilots who flew in World War II. Before the Tuskegee Airmen, no African-American pilots had every been in the U.S. armed forces. These guys were the first and became highley regarded airmen. They are best known for escorting bombers. In this video you can watch some Hoosier airmen talk about their experiences during the war.

Tuskegee Airmen Official Website

• Tuskegee Airmen at Huntington, Indiana Airport Part 2
• Tuskegee Airmen at Huntington, Indiana Airport Part 3

The big game is tomorrow. While you’re waiting read up on a little Super Bowl history and trivia of find out everything you wanted to know about one of your favorite Colts. Go blue!

• Indianapolis Colts Official Website
  Official Website of Super Bowl 44
  NFL Rush for Kids
• Pro Football Hall of Fame
• FunBrain Power Football