CCBC Choices 2015 Best History/Non-fiction Picture Book of 2014, The Huffington Post 2015 Jefferson Cup Overfloweth 2016 Arnold Adoff Early Readers Poetry Award, Honor Book Take a walk through Harlem's Sugar Hill and meet all the amazing people who made this neighborhood legendary. With upbeat rhyming, read-aloud text, Sugar Hill celebrates the Harlem neighborhood that successful African Americans first called home during the 1920s. Children raised in Sugar Hill not only looked up to these achievers but also experienced art and culture at home, at church, and in the community. Books, music lessons, and art classes expanded their horizons beyond the narrow limits of segregation. Includes brief biographies of jazz greats Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Sonny Rollins, and Miles Davis; artists Aaron Douglas and Faith Ringgold; entertainers Lena Horne and the Nicholas Brothers; writer Zora Neale Hurston; civil rights leader W. E. B. DuBois and lawyer Thurgood Marshall. Gr 2–4—This lyrical tribute to the New York City historic district so central to the Harlem Renaissance pays homage to such notable African Americans as Faith Ringgold, W. E. B. DuBois, Thurgood Marshall, Paul Robeson, and Miles Davis. "Sugar Hill, Sugar Hill where life is sweet/And the "A" train stops for the black elite.…Where Duke and Count plunk out new tunes/and Zora spins stories by the moon.…Where grown-ups lift the young ones high/and give them wings to touch the sky." Weatherford's words celebrate the people and the neighborhood where black culture blossomed in the '20s and '30s. Friendly, well-dressed neighbors dance and swing or discuss new ideas while children play stickball, visit the library, and are lifted up by their elders. Christie's signature paintings-bold and simple-capture the excitement and energy of the place and time. An author's note and "who's who" provide background information on the neighborhood and its accomplished inhabitants. Pair this perfect read-aloud introduction to the Harlem Renaissance with Bryan Collier's Uptown (Holt, 2000) to inspire students to write and illustrate their own neighborhood poems.—Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public Schools With spare text and minimalist illustrations, Weatherford and Christie pay fine tribute to the tradition of artistic expression that bloomed during the Harlem Renaissance. Each page turn reveals a luminary of the scene with just a single line of text that gracefully sums up his or her contribution. Although more likely to appeal to nostalgic adults than young readers, this could be a valuable addition to classrooms and libraries. It could be used, for example, to introduce children to the names and work of Zora Neale Hurston, Faith Ringgold, Miles Davis, and many others, showing young readers how the artists of that era were also activists and how that affected the children living there: “Sugar Hill, Sugar Hill / where life is sweet / and kids play stickball in the street. / Where DuBois outlines social tracts / and Thurgood Marshall plots legal attacks.” More than anything, this is about a caring community where cultural pride and the possibility of dreams not deferred ran gloriously rampant. Grades K-3. --Amina Chaudhri CCBC Choices 2015 Best History/Non-fiction Picture Book of 2014, The Huffington Post 2015 Jefferson Cup Overfloweth 2016 Arnold Adoff Early Readers Poetry Award, Honor Book "With spare text and minimalist illustrations, Weatherford and Christie pay fine tribue to the tradition of artistic expression that bloomed during the Harlem Renaissance. Each page turn reveals a luminary of the scene with just a single line of text that gracefully sums up his or her contribution." ―Booklist "Christie's handsome paintings of Harlem's Sugar Hill neighborhood bring warmth to Weatherford's catalogue of the African-American artists who lived there in the 1920s and '30s…This portrait of a community of color that cherished its artists will inspire readers."― Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW! "Weatherford's poetic, swinging textual rhythms meet Christie's artistic razzmatazz to create one hot picture book…A fine tribute to the local color of Sugar Hill, who have made America a better and more interesting country for almost a century." ―Kirkus Reviews starred review "Weatherford's words celebrate the people and neighborhood where black culture blossomed in the '20s and '30s…Christie's signature paintings―bold and simple―capture the excitement and energy of the place and time."― School Library Journal "It's a joyous celebration of community and a poetic tribute to one of this country's most exciting cultural movements."― BookPage "The paintings and Weatherford's poetry give a strong sense of vibrant simultaneous action, and neither slides into nostalgia." ―The Horn Book Take a walk through Harlem's Sugar Hill and meet all the amazing people who made this neighborhood legendary. Carole Boston Weatherford is the author of several acclaimed poetry co