Bullies, Baseball Caps and Black History

“Everybody knows on any given day you can read in the newspaper about how wretched and gross we are, or hear lectures at fine universities about how wretched and gross we are, or read books of social criticism about how wretched and gross we are,” says Bruce Brooks in the preface to Boys Will Be (Henry Holt, $14.95; ages 11 and up). “This book,” the author adds, “is a rare chance for boys to read about themselves without being cursed or slammed down. A chance for a few pages, for boys to unfasten the load of society’s self-righteous anger.”

A noble endeavor, and so rare! In this collection of 12 brief and humorous essays, Brooks--author of the award-winning young adult novel “The Moves Make the Man”--does boys a real service. A savvy English teacher, for example, might pick up this book and use one or two of the essays to provoke a more pertinent discussion than one on, say, George Eliot’s “Silas Marner.”

My favorites for lively and relevant roundtable material would be “Bullies” (what they are and what you can legally do with them), “Caps” (why headgear is as necessary to an American boy’s life as are comics, video games and oversized pants), “Ten Things You Cannot Expect Your Mother to Understand” (self-explanatory, and could easily be expanded to a book of its own), or “Arthur Ashe” (a moving tribute to the late tennis star). These make great reading even for people who aren’t boys, but who might like to know a little better what the mysterious lives of young males of the species are like.

Each year many fine books appear that are appropriate choices for Black History Month. Among this year’s best is Joyce Hansen’s exciting and readable novel, The Captive (Scholastic, $13.95; ages 10 and up). Based on history, the story concerns the young son of an Ashanti chief who is sold into slavery in America but amazingly finds his way back to Africa. The same author wrote the Coretta Scott King award-winner “Which Way Freedom?”

“Board books”--those chunky items with pages made of heavy duty, washable cardboard--are always in great demand, but those with African-American characters have been hard to come by. Particularly welcome, then, is the handsomely designed series Good Morning, Getting Dressed, Let’s Pretend and Good Night, by Dessie Moore, illustrated by Chevelle Moore (HarperFestival, $5.95 each; ages 9 mos.-3 yrs.), about what toddlers do all day. Sweet Baby Coming and The Baby, by, respectively, Eloise and Monica Greenfield, illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist (HarperFestival, $$4.95 each; ages 9 mos.-3 years) are aimed at toddlers awaiting--though not necessarily eagerly--new siblings.

Nikki Giovanni’s loving poem of nostalgic praise to her hometown is brought to life beautifully in the picturebook Knoxville, Tennessee, illustrated by Larry Johnson (Scholastic, $14.95; ages 2-6). For older readers, more of her work can be found in Ego-Tripping and Other Poems for Young People (Lawrence Hill / Chicago Review Press, $14.95 hardcover, $9.95 paperback), an expanded edition of her original 1974 collection. Some of poet Langston Hughes’ best work is included in The Dream Keeper and Other Poems (Knopf, $12.95; all ages), along with Jerry Pinkney’s black and white illustrations.

Finally, there’s another moving tribute to Arthur Ashe, Daddy and Me (Random House, $13). Written by and illustrated with the photographs of Ashe’s widow Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, the book shows the sports pro at home and at play with the couple’s six-year-old daughter Camera. Written before Ashe died of AIDS last fall, it does not deal with his passing, but neither does it skirt his illness, which is handled with just the right mixture of honesty and tact. A difficult and important subject is given its due here.

Also Note: Many fantasy-adventure readers aged 10 through the teens will rejoice at the news of the sixth installment in British author Brian Jacques’ award-winning Redwall series: Martin the Warrior (Philomel, $17.95) . . Adriane G. Berg, a radio talk-show host and financial advisor, and Arthur Berg Buchner, her 11-year-old son, put their heads together to co-author a savvy guide to young people’s finances, The Totally Awesome Money Book for Kids and Their Parents (Newmarket Press, 10.95 paperback, $18.95 hardcover) . . . There are two great new books to mark the beginning of the “Year of the Dog”: Red Eggs and Dragon Boats: Celebrating Chinese Festivals (Pacific View Press, $16.95; ages 4-9), in which talented author/illustrator Carol Stepanchuk includes a recipe for “Dragon Boat Dumplings,” and Jama Kim Rattigan’s Dumpling Soup, illustrated by Lillian Hsu-Flanders (Little, Brown, $15.95; ages 3-8).

The winners of the 1994 Newbery and Caldecott Medal winners were announced at the American Library Assn. meeting in Los Angeles last week. Lois Lowry’s “The Giver” received the Newbery for literature; Allen Say’s “Grandfather’s Journey” received the Caldecott, given to honor a picture book.