The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth & Harlem's Greatest Bookstore

• Age Range: 7 - 10 years

• Grade Level: 2 - 4

• 2018 Coretta Scott King Book Award Illustrator Honor

• 2016 Jane Addams Children's Book Award

• 2016 Junior Library Guild Selection

• 2016 ALSC Notable Children's Book Award

• 2016 CCBC Choices

  For classroom and reading resources, click here.

SUMMARY

In the 1930s, Lewis's dad, Lewis Michaux Sr., had an itch he needed to scratch―a book itch. How to scratch it? He started a bookstore in Harlem and named it the National Memorial African Bookstore.

And as far as Lewis Michaux Jr. could tell, his father's bookstore was one of a kind. People from all over came to visit the store, even famous people like Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, and Langston Hughes. But more importantly, people at the bookstore learned from each other. They swapped and traded ideas and talked about how things could change. People came together all because of his father's book itch.

Read the story of how Lewis Michaux Sr. and his bookstore fostered new ideas and helped people stand up for what they believed in.

REVIEWS

 “Nelson and Christie bring the story of Harlem's storied National Memorial African Bookstore to picture book readers in this companion to their 2012 YA collaboration, No Crystal Stair..."―Publishers Weekly

“Christie's richly textured and complex paintings, created with broad strokes of color, showcase full bookcases and avid readers. His use of a billboard motif to frame both scenes and text evokes a troubled but strong neighborhood. Faces in browns and grays are set against yellow and orange backgrounds and depict intense emotions in both famous and ordinary folk... from the author's heart to America's readers: a tribute to a man who believed in and lived black pride."―Kirkus Reviews