Thomas, Joyce Carol

Despite her mean-spirited foster mother's attempts to demean her, fourteen-year-old orphan Marigold finds the song within her heart during the search for a new lead gospel singer for the Rose of Sharon Baptist Church.

A collection of poems, including "First Braids," "Grandma's Way," and "Mama's Glory," in which an African American girl celebrates herself, her family, and her heritage.

Poems for each month of the year celebrate the themes of family love, individuality, and African-American identity.

From the time he is hatched, Little Rooster learns lessons of life from his father and the other barnyard birds at Grandpa Goose's funeral, Crow's wedding, and a Christmas celebration.

A variation on the traditional Cinderella story set in a Southern swamp and with a Great Gospel Convention instead of a ball.

The exquisite horse twelve-year-old Carl Lee finds on his grandfather's farm one summer helps him to understand his difficult father better.

Abyssinia Jackson must learn to cope with tragedy when peace is shattered in her Oklahoma countryside and her boyfriend Carl Lee disappears.

Abby, born in an Oklahoma cotton field in the wake of a tornado, learns the secrets of folk medicine from the healer Mother Barker as she grows up.

A young girl journeys by train from Oklahoma to California in 1948 to begin a new life with her family, and finds there people of all ages and races, new tastes and sounds, and a joyous welcome.

A collection of eleven short stories depicting what it is like to be young in America, exploring such diverse cultures as urban San Francisco, a Chippewa Indian reservation, and a Latino barrio in Chicago.