Marilyn Singer 
(excerpt)
MONDAY ON THE MISSISSIPPI
Lake Itasca, Minnesota
A little lake among so many lakes.
A little stream among so many streams.
A little girl wiggles her toes
in the shallow water and wonders,
How long before we’re big and strong, little Mississipi?
How many miles? How many days?
(excerpt)
DRAGON
Who wouldn’t care to be
a dragon?
To be master of fire
and air?
To wander through a field or two
torching ricks of hay?
To take to the sky and declare you’re there
with a fireworks display?
In winter not to worry if it’s snowing
or it’s sleeting?
To snuggle in a pleasant cave
where you’re the central heating?
(Table of Contents)
PHAT ACCEPTANCE
by Jess Mowry
Brandon’s got that cool white surfer-dude look–even if he isn’t a surfer. He’s worried about fitting in at his new school when his day is turned upside down by the arrival of the one, the only, the fattest black classmate he’s ever seen.
SKINS
by Joseph Bruchac
Mitch, a football player of Native American and Scandinavian heritage, finds his strategy of “hanging back” challenged by the two new kids in town: Randolph, clearly African American, and Jimmy T., purely American Indian. Or are they?
SNOW
by Sherri Winston
When Noelle, a budding journalist, decides to fight against the mistreatment of Haitian students by fellow African-American classmates, she faces a dangerous enemy: the school principal.
THE HEARTBEAT OF THE SOUL OF THE WORLD
by Rene Saldana Jr.
PD was a promising Latino trumpet player. Now, he’s dead. But oh, what he left behind!
HUM
by Naomi Shihab Nye
Sami and his family are haunted by what they left behind in the Middle East, but hopeful about their new life in Texas. Then comes the day that changes everything: September 11, 2001.
EPIPHANY
by Ellen Wittlinger
Pining for her best friend Epiphany, DeMaris dares to ask: Why can’t a white girl sit with the black kids in the cafeteria?
BLACK AND WHITE
by Kyoko Mori
Born in Japan and growing up in rural Wisconsin, Asako wonders if being the misunderstood “foreigner” excuses her act of Halloween vandalism.
HEARING FLOWER
by M.E. Kerr
Bianca, rich and white, falls for Esteban, a handsome, hardworking Latino. What happens to their romance when her father hires him to fix the roof?
GOLD
by Marina Budhos
Jemma’s father was Indian. Her mother is black. In Trinidad that wasn’t a problem. So why, in N.J., does Mama disapprove of African-American boys?
MR. RUBEN
by Rita Williams-Garcia
No one can tell what race Mr. Ruben is. But poor Myra, she just can’t have a crush on the man unless he’s black–and she’ll drive herself and her friend Dee crazy until she finds out if he is or not.
NEGRESS
by Marilyn Singer
Vonny’s insistance that Beth participate in a school assembly performance of the Hottentot Venus–a woman exhibited as a sexual freak throughout Europe in the early nineteenth century–threatens to destroy their longtime friendship.
(excerpt)
The first Saturday in June, the sun comes up smiling on Berkeley Place.
“Block party today.” Mr. Monte hums. “Time to sweep the sidewalk.”
“Block party today.” Steve and Ernie yawn. “Time to hang the banner.”
“Block party today.” Mercedes beams. “Time to bring out the tables and set out the grill.”
“Block party today!” shout Yasmin and Sue. “No cars! No trucks! Time to run in the street! Time to play double Dutch.”
“Isn’t Lola going to join us?” asks Yasmin.
“Maybe, if she ever stops being mad,” answers Sue.
But Lola doesn’t plan to stop being mad. Ever. She’s better than they are at jump rope. She’s better–and they should have let her jump first.
She will not leave her bedroom. She will not leave her bed. “Block party today, yuck!” she grumps. “Time to stay inside all day long.” She pulls the blanket over her head.
(excerpt)
NESSIE
Thousands of miles
from the fair Loch Ness banks,
Swimming in one
of the world’s largest tanks,
(You can feed her some fishes,
but don’t expect thanks)
This way to our greatest attraction!
Is she chartreuse
or is she vermilion?
Is she amphibious?
Is she reptilian?
Is she just one–
or just one in a million?
She stirs up a major reaction!
Holding her breath?
She can do it with ease.
(Though there is some concern
if she happens to sneeze.)
Stay away from the edge
and no flash pictures, please.
You might glimpse the tiniest fraction.
(No refunds for dissatisfaction.)
This way to see Nessie in action!
(excerpt)
HOW TO CROSS A POND
You can swim
or you can float
on a raft
or in a boat.
You can skate
and you can row.
You can get
your dog to tow.
You can fly
if you’re a hawk.
And in the winter
you can walk.
(excerpt)
FIREFLY
Come
(flash)
Choose me
(flash flash)
I am the
(flash)
summer romancer
In the night
(flash)
My light
(flash)
asks Are You the One?
Come
(flash)
flash me back
the answer
(excerpt)
Look at Lulu,
Twirling in her tutu.
Shoe shoe, jump!
Shoe shoe, thump!
Oh, no! boo hoo!
Lulu’s got a boo-boo.
(excerpt)
The moon is big. The moon is bright.
A frog bar-rums on a quiet night.
***
The trees are black. The grass is white.
Two owls whoo-hoo.
A frog bar-rums on a quiet night.
***
The shadows swoop as birds take flight.
Three geese honk-honk.
Two owls whoo-hoo.
A frog bar-rums on a quiet night.
(excerpt)
THE FATHER
Crows like company.
Family breakfasts
on hot summer mornings,
Neighborly roosting
on cold winter nights.
Sometimes it is fine to be
just one
To sail a sweet breeze
To walk a frozen pond
To wander on your own from town to country
and back again.
But always we return to flocks,
feasts, and complications.
Leave solitude to woodpeckers,
hummingbirds, phoebes,
evil owls, hateful hawks.
We are crows.
And crows like company.