James E Ransome Books in Order

Ben loves his dog for all the running, playing, and everyday companionship they share. As the dog grows old and dies, the book stays close to a child's grief without trying to rush past it.

A little girl copies her older sister Kyla through the small events of an ordinary day. The charm comes from sibling closeness, and from the moment the older sister copies back.

In 1914, two Jewish brothers leave their home near Minsk and travel toward safety in Palestine. Their Hanukkah lamp, and the light it carries, holds the family together through a dangerous trip.

Two girls visit their great-great-aunt Flossie, try on her hats, and hear the memories attached to each one. Family history arrives through clothes, stories, and the pleasure of sitting with an elder who remembers.

A little girl is thrilled when Grandmama brings her a pair of bright red shoes. One excited outing leaves them muddy and ruined, and the story turns on disappointment, care, and being set right again.

Taken from her mother and put to work on another plantation, Clara learns to sew and listens carefully to talk of the Underground Railroad. Her quilt becomes a map, and her skill becomes a path toward freedom.

James Weldon Johnson's poem retells Genesis with the sweep and rhythm of a sermon. Step by step, God shapes light, land, creatures, and finally people in language made to be heard aloud.

Ali is fascinated by Silvia, a snake that makes her think differently about fear and beauty. When she volunteers during a class presentation, the story turns on bravery, curiosity, and seeing beyond first reactions.

At dusk, a woman calls hummingbirds into her flower-filled garden while a child watches from nearby. The visit becomes a gentle nature story about close looking and the small surprises of evening.

Seen through Sarah Jean's eyes, this story follows Uncle Jed, the only Black barber in the county, as he saves for his own shop through hard times. His dream survives illness, the Depression, and years of delay.

Bonolo's connection to a peach tree anchors this quiet story in a child's close attention to the natural world. It has a reflective feel, using ordinary moments to suggest memory, growth, and wonder.

Across the days of the week, children show off many kinds of shoes for many kinds of play. The rhyming text makes it a cheerful read-aloud built around motion, style, and everyday delight.

One troublesome cat keeps finding ways to upset the household routine. The fun comes from watching annoyance slowly give way to affection.

After coming from El Salvador to live with her new family, Isabel struggles with language and belonging. Her bond with the old dog Bonesy becomes the bridge that helps grief and love speak for everyone.

On her way to an All Hallows' Eve celebration, young Celie meets a mysterious fiddler and receives a mask. From there the story slips into music, folklore, and a touch of magic.

Mama Marina, a conjure woman living under slavery, uses her wits when a cruel master asks her to protect his grape crop. Her plan turns that request into a chance to buy freedom for her daughter and her daughter's sweetheart.

Bimmi is still grieving the loss of his own beloved cat when he finds another one far from home. Helping the lost cat leads him toward kindness, memory, and a softer way through his sadness.

After a miserable day, 'Manda curls up with Aunt Ruby and starts naming the things she loves. The mood shifts gently from anger to comfort in a story about being heard when everything feels wrong.

Missing his father and angry at his stepfather, eight-year-old Eli decides he can bike all the way from Washington to Alaska. A meeting with the feared Swamp Man turns his runaway plan into something more honest and unexpected.

Born into slavery, a boy grows up under cruelty while his father builds a strong wagon for their master. After emancipation, that same wagon carries the family toward freedom and into the shock of Lincoln's death.

Charlotte asks hard questions about slavery, power, and justice, and her father answers with stories from the Old Testament. Set in South Carolina, the book connects biblical history to Black endurance and hope.

Donna spends a treasured Saturday riding along with her grandfather as he services jukeboxes in diners and truck stops. Music, old records, and one favorite song turn the day into a warm memory piece.

Ten-year-old James wants to impress a local gang, even if it means dragging his little brother into danger. One frightening night forces him to decide what kind of example he wants to set.

A girl named Quinnie listens as her grandmother, who shares her name, tells old family stories. Past and present begin to echo each other in a book about memory, identity, and the way stories travel through families.

Leroy 'Satchel' Paige became a legend because no one pitched quite like he did. This biography follows his showmanship, skill, and rise from the Negro Leagues to baseball history.

When John and Clara come home to find their chores mysteriously done, Aunt Easter points them toward a deeper conjure mystery. The story blends love, danger, and folklore as the couple faces an evil force and the promise of family.

This nonfiction book looks at African American life in colonial America, from labor and laws to resistance and cultural survival. It gives young readers a fuller picture of a period often taught too narrowly.

These Southern animal tales mix suspense, humor, and moral lessons in stories where creatures help people, outwit danger, or explain how the world came to be. The collection is lively enough for reading aloud.

Two brothers help their father take tourists out to see the fall colors. The trip becomes a friendly autumn story full of leaf-peepers, buses, and the bright rush of New England at harvest time.

Each letter becomes a small riddle, framed inside quilt-inspired art and everyday objects. It works as both an alphabet book and a celebration of color, pattern, and home.

Once a month, a girl and her grandmother make the trip to see her father in prison. Woodson turns the waiting, the bus ride, and the visit itself into a tender story about love that refuses to loosen.

Counting up and then back down, this book moves through quilting tools, farm images, and three generations at work on a quilt. It turns a concept book into something warm, handmade, and full of pattern.

When darkness falls, a young enslaved girl leads her family through the woods toward freedom. Stars, silence, and a quilted signal guide them in this tense Underground Railroad story.

This collection gathers traditional stories from several parts of Africa, including funny trickster pieces and darker cautionary tales. Together they create a lively introduction to oral storytelling across regions and cultures.

Marshall Taylor starts as a stunt-riding boy in Indiana and becomes a world champion cyclist. The book also makes room for the racism he faced on and off the track.

Told through a boy watching from below, this book follows the workers who raised the Empire State Building during the Great Depression. It makes the scale, danger, and speed of the project feel real.

A child wakes in the dark and listens, wondering what moves through the night. The answer opens into a gentle, lyrical look at wind, animals, and the small mysteries between dusk and dawn.

Through patterned verse and strong historical images, this book walks young readers through segregation, protest, and the civil rights movement. It shows both the cruelty people faced and the change they fought to make.

Before he was Pelé, Edson was a small boy in Brazil kicking rocks and rag balls through the street. This biography follows the skill, speed, and determination that turned him into a soccer legend.

After illness leaves Helen Keller blind and deaf, she learns to read the world through touch, smell, and feeling. Annie Sullivan's arrival changes everything, giving Helen language and a new way into life.

Built around Abraham Lincoln's own words, this picture book introduces his childhood, presidency, and the fight over slavery and union. It keeps the history approachable without losing the weight of the moment.

This collaborative collection honors Rosa Parks, Barack Obama, and other American change-makers. Poems and artwork come together to show children how courage, persistence, and public action can reshape a country.

James Ransome gathers songs, poems, and short stories into a Christmas collection made for sharing aloud. It mixes familiar holiday pieces with newer ones, giving the season a warm, family-centered feel.

A mother and father speak their hopes over a newborn son as he grows from baby to big brother. The book reads like a family blessing, full of love, guidance, and everyday tenderness.

Gunner is a third-string Pee Wee quarterback who spends a lot of time waiting for his chance. When the big moment finally comes, he has to prove he belongs on the field.

Long before Mozart's fame, Joseph Boulogne was dazzling people in France as a violinist, composer, and athlete. This picture book brings back a brilliant Black figure often left out of music history.

Tom cannot wait to ride his shiny new bike all over the neighborhood. When it suddenly goes missing at his friend's house, the story turns into a simple, smart lesson about friendship and sharing.

A young girl tries to explain why her older teacher still belongs in the classroom. Her answer comes through the small, steady ways that good teachers shape a child's day.

A tugboat captain's daughter joins her parents on the trip that helps bring the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree into New York City. It turns a real holiday job into an adventure full of harbor sights and family pride.

Belle travels through the segregated South with her grandmother, whose singing voice has made her locally famous. The journey brings music, prejudice, and a hard-earned sense of pride into the same story.

This book looks at Frederick Douglass as a boy, long before he became a famous speaker and writer. It shows how learning words opened a path toward freedom and a larger life.

Rosa and her mother slip out at night to a secret pit school where enslaved people learn their letters underground. The danger is constant, but so is the belief that reading is worth the risk.

A rope found in South Carolina passes through generations as one family makes its way north during the Great Migration. The story is simple on the surface and rich with history, movement, and memory.

This dual biography follows Benny Goodman and Teddy Wilson from childhood to their barrier-breaking work together in swing. Music drives the story, but so do the racial lines their collaboration helped cross.

Joe DiMaggio grows from a fisherman's son into one of baseball's biggest stars. The book captures both his quiet style and the public frenzy around his record-setting years with the Yankees.

After emancipation, Lizzie and her brother finally get the chance to attend a real school built for freed children. Their excitement meets the hard truth that learning, even after slavery, still comes with risk and resistance.

A young boy watches his grandfather dress up and head to the polls for the first time. Their trip becomes a clear, emotional way to talk about voting rights, family memory, and what that long-denied moment means.

Told in Sojourner Truth's voice, this picture book follows her from enslavement to the life of a speaker who refused to stay silent. It gives young readers a direct sense of her courage, grief, and resolve.

Robert Battle grew up wearing leg braces and did not begin formal dance training as early as many performers do. This biography follows the work and determination that carried him to Alvin Ailey and beyond.

Louis Armstrong starts here as a poor boy in New Orleans, surrounded by music and trouble in equal measure. The book traces how discipline, talent, and joy helped him become one of jazz's defining voices.

Harriet Tubman's life unfolds in reverse, moving from her later years back to the girl once called Minty. It is a compact, powerful portrait of the many roles she carried before history fixed her to one name.

Told with help from Sam the Salmonella, this lively nonfiction picture book explains what germs are, how they spread, and why some help us while others make us sick. It mixes science basics with a bit of history.

Set in 1920s Harlem, this retelling follows shy Marie through a crowded Christmas party and a dream full of dancers, mice, and music. It keeps the shape of the classic story while giving it a new setting and pulse.

This picture book follows Venus and Serena Williams from their early training to the sport they would transform. It keeps the focus on family, discipline, and the sisters' refusal to fit anyone else's limits.

Across one week on a plantation, a young enslaved girl watches her brother run for freedom and sees the fear it leaves behind. The story stays close to family pain, but it also holds onto hope.