Colin Bootman

A mysterious man appears in Harlem and promises to rid the city of its rats by playing the steel pan drum.

When flood waters from broken levees submerge their New Orleans neighborhood in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a young cornet player and his parents evacuate their home and struggle to survive and stay together.

While on a trip in 1956 to visit her grandmother in the South, six-year-old Sarah Marie experiences segregation for the first time, but discovers that things have changed by the time she returns the following year.

Kindergartner Alaina is excited about thanking the audience at the end of the second-grade play, but she is overwhelmed by the performance and has to share her enthusiasm, center stage.

"Slap! Flap! Tap! What's that sound? That's the sound of Tap! In the 1800s, African and Irish Americans found that they had something in common: Both cultures shared a love of dance. As people came together in New York City, the dance style 'Tap' grew with each new dancer. New ideas and new moves were inspired by their personal cultures. Read along to hear about the blending of Irish and African backgrounds, and of course keep an ear out for Slaps,...