John Williams single-handedly conspired and plotted to eliminate all of his competition on the uptown streets. With brute force and calculated moves, he was able to control all illegal activity from numbers to the drug trade. John was an intelligent thinker, manipulative and cunning and a cold-blooded killer as we. When he moved from South Carolina with his younger brother Sam, he had dreams of escaping the racism that was a prevalent in the south, in order to provide a better life for his family. But, racism still existed in the north, and opportunity had also dried up. With his back against the wall and no money in his pockets, John concocted a scheme to rob a local hustler that went horribly wrong. Blood was now on his hands ... and a price was on his head. The events that transpire from that moment on will have John and Sam pitted against some of Harlem s most notorious gangsters. John has dreams of providing a better life for his family, but at what cost? Will he and Sam be lured in by the sex, drugs, money and other dangers of the uptown streets? Only time will tell.

Billy Rhythm, the quintessential American, teams up with Tharbis Jefferson, a "Copper Colored Gal" from the latest Cotton Club revue, to win a dance contest at the Savoy Ballroom. Unfortunately, their competition will stop at nothing to win, including murder.Once Upon A Time In Harlem is a jitterbug love story woven between the lives and times of legendary black entertainers, black and white thugs, and the common man in swinging 1930's Harlem. It takes place when Cab Calloway is at the beginning of his long and storied career and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, already over 50, is still unknown to most people outside of New York. "Air steps," Jujitsu type dance moves, are just making the scene. The white and black gangland violence in the play? It all happened in an almost forgotten time in America's most mythic city: Harlem.Winner of the Jaz Dorsey Fusion Award from the African American Playwrights Exchange, this radio play version is based on the 3-act stage play and screenplay and is suitable for the high school classroom and above. Perfect for Black History month.

Thomas Douglas Adelman looks back at an eventful life in this engaging memoir about growing up in a Jewish family and becoming a successful producer and director. Born in 1954, he grew up on the Upper East Side of New York City in an upper-middle-class family with the normal dysfunction that you find in all families. Notably, his family was Jewish but celebrated Christmas—although he never could figure out why. His father was a businessman passionate about politics, and his mother was an actress in the forties. When they met, it was love at first sight. The author looks back at his adventures growing up, including being thrown out of private schools as a boy and rubbing elbows with notable people. He also looks back at how he made his way into the entertainment industry, producing, directing, and working on numerous films and projects and ultimately launching his own company. Join the author as he looks back at his childhood, adult life, and his rise to the top of the entertainment industry.

Learn how the Three Little Pigs became the Three Little SUPERPIGS in this hilarious story set in Fairyland! Everyone thinks they know how the Three Little Pigs defeated the Big Bad Wolf. But that's not the whole story. The Three Little Pigs always dreamed of being superheroes. They wore superhero outfits and played superhero games. But when they move to Fairyland, they finally get to put their superhero skills to use! When the Big Bad Wolf blows down the houses of the first little pig and the second little pig, all seems lost. But, luckily, the third little pig comes up with a SUPER plan to save the day! The hilarious twist on the Three Little Pigs story teaches readers how exactly the Three Little Pigs became the superpigs who protect Fairyland from the Big Bad Wolf.

A flavorful account of New York City politics during the 1920s Jazz Age centering on the intersecting careers of the city's popular "Night Mayor," Jimmy Walker, and the state's patrician governor, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Mitgang's extensive use of newspaper quotes and legal transcripts helps paint vivid portraits of Walker, Roosevelt and the large cast of characters who played a part in Walker's fall from grace and Roosevelt's meteoric rise to four-term president.

Once Upon a Time in a Different World, a unique addition to the celebrated Children’s Literature and Culture series, seeks to move discussions and treatments of ideas in African America Children’s literature from the margins to the forefront of literary discourse. Looking at a variety of topics, including the moralities of heterosexism, the veneration of literacy, and the "politics of hair," Neal A. Lester provides a scholarly and accessible compilation of essays that will serve as an invaluable resource for parents, students, and educators. The much-needed reexamination of African American children’s texts follows an engaging call-and-response format, allowing for a lively and illuminating discussion between its primary author and a diverse group of contributors; including educators, scholars, students, parents, and critics. In addition to these distinct dialogues, the book features an enlightening generational conversation between Lester and his teenage daughter as they review the same novels. With critical assessments of Toni and Slade Morrison’s The Big Box and The Book of Mean People, bell hooks’ Happy to Be Nappy, and Anne Schraff’s Until We Meet Again, among many other works, these provocative and fresh essays yield a wealth of perspectives on the intersections of identity formations in childhood and adulthood.