Cary Hite

You may think that the story of the saxophone begins with Dexter Gordon or Charlie Parker or on a street corner in New Orleans. It really began in 1840 in Belgium with a young daydreamer named Joseph-Antoine Adolphe Sax, a boy with bad luck but great ideas. Coretta Scott King Honoree Lesa Cline-Ransome unravels the fascinating history of how Adolphe's once reviled instrument was transported across Europe and Mexico to New Orleans. Follow the saxophone's...

Hall-of-famer Elgin Baylor was one of basketball's all-time-greatest players-an innovative athlete, team player, and quiet force for change. One of the first professional African-American players, he inspired others on and off the court. But when traveling for away games, many hotels and restaurants turned Elgin away because he was black. One night, Elgin had enough and staged a one-man protest that captured the attention of the press, the public,...

Young Neil deGrasse Tyson was starstruck when he first visited the sky theater at the Hayden Planetarium in New York City. He couldn't believe the crowded, glittering night sky at the planetarium was real-until a visit to the country years later revealed the impossible. That discovery was like rocket fuel for Neil's passion about space. His quest for knowledge took him from the roof of his apartment building to a science expedition in northwest Africa,...

"Alex Cross enters the final battle with the all-knowing genius who has stalked him and his family for years. Dr. Alex Cross and Detective John Sampson venture into the rugged Montana wilderness--where they will be the prey. They're not on the job, but on a personal mission. Until they're attacked by two rival teams of assassins, controlled by the same mastermind who has stalked Alex and his family for years. Darkness falls. The river churns into...

"A fun read-aloud written in upbeat rhyming verse, Girl Dad is a picture book that honors the strong men who raise, love, and uplift strong girls."--Provided by publisher.

The feud between YaYa and Leah has ruined the lives of everyone around them. In The Prada Plan 4, the animosity is alive, and resentments run deeper than ever. Indie has watched YaYa's past destroy the woman he once knew, and his patience has run thin. After being left at the altar, he is heartbroken and confused. His quests to save YaYa from herself have failed, and he finally decides that it's time to let the love of his life go. Her thirst for...

The only family Eve Panelli has ever known is the infamous Twenty Gang. Orphaned as a small child, Eve quickly learned the art of the hustle, and by age seventeen she had spent two years in prison. But now, Eve is eighteen, back on the streets of Harlem with her gang and up to one of her old tricks: strong-arm robbery. Despite her edge, she's got a soft spot for Felon, the up-and-coming street king. Eve's life takes a serious turn when the powerful...

The definitive history of the pervasiveness of racial inequality in American higher education. America's colleges and universities have a shameful secret: they have never given Black people a fair chance to succeed. From its inception, our higher education system was not built on equality or accessibility, but on educating-and prioritizing-white students. Black students have always been an afterthought. While governments and private donors funnel...

After graduating from High School John "Dre" Dodson finds his future looming before him. He is forced to make a number of decisions that will change his life. Choosing school over the mean Detroit's Eastside streets, the sudden reality of his poor circumstances make him painfully aware of the fortunes that can be made if he embarks on the career path of a hustler. Deciding that he wants to be a baller, Dre meets and forms an alliance with an older,...

''It's the penthouse or the morgue.'' This is the philosophy adopted by Keshawn Wilson, a.k.a. ''K-Dawg,'' self-proclaimed lord of the streets. Keshawn is the youngest of five kids and one of only two that doesn't belong to his mother's husband. As a little boy he feels the distance between he and his stepfather, and life becomes increasingly difficult for him as the years pass. His childhood and young adult years are spent in a home for boys and...