Ezra Jack Keats Foundation Honors Black History Month With Select List of Picture Books That Celebrate African-Americans

Going North
Written by Janice Harrington, illustrated by Jerome Lagarrigue (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004)
A poetic and stunningly illustrated story of a family leaving the Jim Crow South of the 1960s and travelling toward the hope of better jobs and a better life in Chicago.

Added Pope, "Children's illustrated literature is a pathway to understanding, showing young readers relatable stories about people from different walks of life. The books we are recommending for Black History Month celebrate friendship, determination, courage against all odds and other universal qualities that transcend age, race and ethnic background."

About the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation
The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation supports arts and literacy programs in public schools and libraries across the country that bring the joy of reading to children while highlighting the importance of diversity in children's books. Among the Foundation's programs are the annual Ezra Jack Keats Book Award, presented to an outstanding new writer and new illustrator of children's picture books; the Ezra Jack Keats Bookmaking Competition for New York City public school students, grades 3-12; and the Ezra Jack Keats Minigrant program, which has put more than three-quarters of a million dollars in funding directly into the hands of teachers and librarians across the United States whose programs reach beyond the basic curriculum to inspire. For information about the Foundation, please visit www.ezra-jack-keats.org.

Contacts: Sheree Wichard/Donel Young
718-788-9585/732-295-2406
sheree@wy-pr.com / donel@wy-pr.com

SOURCE Ezra Jack Keats Foundation