chapters discuss issues impacting the education of African American girls and many of challenges that they encounter during their schooling experiences. The chapters were written by 24 authors including a school superintendent, university administrator and professors, classroom teacher, mother and a 10th grade African American student. The 20 chapters of the book are organized into four sections. Section one introduces the book and provides critical perspectives. Section Two focuses on Curriculum and instruction. Section Three shares information from significant stakeholders while the last section includes other schooling experiences and ends with a powerful poem by a tenth grade African American girl, entitled “Proud.” The forward of the book, written by a Japanese American scholar, Valerie Pang, denotes the urgency of the book noting that the book “warms the heart.” The book ends with an epilogue, written by an African American scholar, Tyrone Howard, who has a vested interest in African American males. He shares commanding interest in this scholarship, because what happens to African American females, impacts African American males and the entire African American community.

"Laura Wagner has managed to get a huge amount of Haiti into the pages of this book: the sun, the rain, the bottomless spiral of catastrophe, rage, despair and indomitable hope." —Madison Smartt Bell, author of All Souls' Rising: A Novel of Haiti "In Haiti they say 'Kreyòl pale, Kreyòl konprann.' Speak plainly and honestly, and be understood. Laura Wagner does just that in this brave, beautiful book, bringing us the complex life of Magdalie, and a glimpse of a people's soul." —Jonathan M. Katz, author of The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster "Haiti, already one of the poorest countries in the world, was devastated by the earthquake in 2010. This is a story of everything that comes after: from a candid depiction of the international response to a young girl’s account of what a life of desperation can do to an individual and to a society. Magdalie’s journey shows the importance of connections, of family and friends, during difficult times and the anguish that comes when those bonds are broken. In her debut novel, Laura Rose Wagner has managed to capture the devastation of loss while providing determined hope for the individual and the nation. An important read for anyone who wishes to better understand the reality of life in Haiti after the earthquake." —Ophelia Dahl, executive director of Partners in Health Hold Tight, Don’t Let Go follows the vivid story of two teenage cousins, raised as sisters, who survive the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti. After losing the woman who raised them in the tragedy, Magdalie and Nadine must fend for themselves in the aftermath of the quake. The girls are inseparable, making the best of their new circumstances in a refugee camp with an affectionate, lively camaraderie, until Nadine, whose father lives in Miami, sends for her but not Magdalie. As she leaves, Nadine makes a promise she cannot keep: to bring Magdalie to Miami, too. Resourceful Magdalie focuses her efforts on a reunion with Nadine until she realizes her life is in Haiti, and that she must embrace its possibilities for love, friendship, and a future.

23 short length plays for a cast of one, two, or three. 5 minutes acting time for each character. Performance times vary from 8-15 minutes.

Founded in 1972 and published by the Yale University Press since 1980, 'Children's Literature' has established a reputation for serious analysis and interpretation covering all aspects of literature for children and adolescents and representing a wide variety of approaches.